4 minute read
BEAUTY
HOW TO FIND THE BEST beauty products WHEN YOU’RE GOING THROUGH TREATMENT
Finding beauty products you feel confident using when you are going through treatment for breast cancer can be a challenge. Which is why campaigner Helen Addis, otherwise known as @thetittygritty, and beauty expert, Lisa Potter-Dixon, are doing some of the hard work for you...
Helen Addis knows how it feels. ‘Dealing with a cancer diagnosis is one thing... but when you’re then told that while on treatment your beauty regime is going to have to change and you need to avoid certain chemicals then it really feels like a blow to your selfconfidence,’ says Helen (top left). ‘I wanted to look and feel as much like “me” as possible. I didn’t want to have to re-think my entire bathroom cabinet and make up bag.
‘After my diagnosis I had to have a mastectomy the following week. I was then quickly put onto chemotherapy and my hair and skin changed dramatically. I felt like I aged overnight and wanted desperately to feel attractive and feminine again.
‘I was told by my breast nurses to use mild products and avoid anything heavily fragranced because your skin can get understandably more sensitive. I was also very aware that my body was under so much stress from the chemo chemicals that I wanted to use the most kind products possible... to give my body that extra special care it needed.
‘So off I went with my shopping list to the high street to buy my new products. I walked up and down the aisles looking at the ingredients on the back of the bottles but it was like I was trying to decipher a foreign language. I was feeling so overwhelmed and scared about what I could and couldn’t
use. What was considered mild and what wasn’t? I asked the shop assistant to tell me which shampoo and suncream had the least chemicals in and she was as clueless as I was. It wasn’t her fault. Even the manager didn’t know. It just wasn’t something that was on their radar. I felt like an alien and left in tears.
‘One thing that I noticed in the store is that if I were vegan, I’d find a whole section of beauty products all signposted and labelled and on its own dedicated shelf. One in 100 British people are vegan and many shops and supermarkets cater specifically for that market. So what about
cancer? One in two people in the UK get cancer and almost a half will receive chemotherapy, radiotherapy or both. So that’s a whopping percentage of our population who need to potentially buy new daily essential beauty products but no-one on the high street or online is catering for them or making the experience any easier.
‘It’s often suggested that cancer patients should just use baby products... but I don’t recall a six week old needing deodorant or a splash of suncream. You? I wanted proper products.
‘So this is why The C List was born. I was lucky to host an Instagram live with best-selling author and leading beauty industry expert Lisa PotterDixon about her make up tips and tricks for my online cancer community. I told my story about how hard it was for me to find the right products and so many followers agreed and shared their own experiences. Lisa and I made a pact to find the best cancer-treatment-friendly products and bring them all together in one simple shopping experience.
‘The C List will be the ultimate guide to beauty products, from well-known trusted brands or recommended by cancer patients at price points to suit every budget. It will have everything, from moisturisers to mascaras, shaving foam to shampoo and concealers to conditioners... whatever your beauty needs The C List will have it covered.’
Make up artist Lisa (pictured opposite, bottom) is certainly no stranger to the power of beauty products.
‘ I wanted to create The C list as the experience of shopping shouldn’t add to your stresses,’ she says. ‘Putting on your favourite lipstick or moisturiser should make you feel good. The C list will be a place for you to find
products that work and look after you during your cancer treatment.’
Says Helen, ‘The real beauty (pardon the pun) of the website is that it’s more than just a shop. It will be a community and we’ll be inviting YOU to join.
‘There will be tutorial videos from Lisa on everything, from how to create the perfect eyebrow when you’ve lost them to how to protect your finger nails while on treatment. Plus we’ll have uplifting and inspiring stories from cancer thrivers who will share their stories. We will use our C List profits to give back to the community.’ LOOK OUT FOR ANNOUNCEMENTS To find out more about The C List, follow Helen @thetittygritty on Instagram.
@thetittygritty @futuredreamscharity @lisapotterdixon
@futuredreamss
futuredreams.org.uk
