Eyebrows!

I promised an update on the tattooed eyebrows!

A few months ago I started researching cosmetic tattooing. I had gotten so tired of my sparse eyebrows and having to brush on brown eye shadow every morning just to give my face a "frame." I didn't want  to go through chemo again if losing all my hair made me look like a bald, egg-shaped space alien every morning to myself.

One day, while walking along 45th Street in Wallingford, Rik and I came across Radiant Med Spa. They were just closing, but the esthetician who does the cosmetic tattooing was happy to talk with me for a few minutes. She explained the procedure, told me she had already worked with cancer patients, and that she offered a 50% discount to cancer patients. I took home a brochure and thought about it some more, for a few months at least.

About three weeks ago I decided I wanted to do it. If I was going to lose my hair to the eribulin (only 45% chance, but still), I wanted the tattooed eyebrows. Dr G gave permission, provided I waited until he said it was okay. Last week, when I had a kidney infection and couldn't get chemo, he gave the go-head. and sent an approving note to the spa

On Tuesday I showed up at the Lynnwood location for my tattoos. Dawn Hunter, the esthetician and chiropractor who I had met earlier, was ready for me. She was very capable and extremely good at listening to my suggestions about how to improve her cleanliness procedures for my compromised system (washing every time before gloving, giving me a clean blanket straight from the wash, etc.). Dawn first tweezed my brows, then drew on the shape she intended to tattoo. She numbed the area with a topical lidocaine mixture and re-applied it as necessary throughout. I felt a buzzing sensation from the needle and an occasional zing, which was when she'd apply more numbing meds. She mixed two colors: a dark brown and a reddish tint. After she'd done most of the work, she handed me a mirror (first cleaned with an alcohol solution, what a gal!) and I had a look. We agreed on some tiny tweaks, but the shape but basically fantastic, as you can see.

I am not to pick at the scabbing for two weeks and place Vaseline across each brow twice a day to keep the skin moist while healing. The shade will lighten during this time as well, but it's already the same color as my hair and lashes. (I just don't have a lot of lashes anymore.)

All in all, I am extremely satisfied and would recommend Dawn Hunter at Radiant Med Spa to any cancer patient who wants to look like him- or herself while undergoing chemotherapy.