When I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease at 16 years old, my doctor told me I would lose my hair, and I was devastated. I got it cut short, and I remember feeling like I was losing a part of myself. In fact, losing my long, brown hair seemed worse than the disease itself.

In Chapter 9 of my book, When Cancer Hits, I talk about all the aspects of losing your hair, what you can do about it, and most importantly, how to help yourself feel better and more confident about the whole thing.

The Emotional Side of Losing Your Hair

For this chapter, I talked with hair loss expert Susan Beausang, who surveyed women about the emotional effects of losing their hair. Susan explains that hair loss can affect women down to their very core. She provides examples of how women felt about hair loss, and how absolutely normal it is to feel however you’re feeling. This is not about vanity, but about who we are as mothers, daughters, wives and girlfriends.

Straight away, I give you five things to do when you first learn that you’re going to lose your hair, plus help you create a plan—based on your personality—for how you can best deal with it. And though men may have more bald role models than women, many are just as devastated by hair loss, and can benefit from the steps outlined in this chapter.

How to Find a Wig

Finding a wig is about a lot more than just taking a trip to the wig shop. When is it best to start looking? What kind of wig should you get—synthetic or real hair? Do you have to pay for it, or will your insurance plan help? What if you can’t afford it? I answer all these questions and more, so you know exactly what you need to do to find a wig you feel comfortable with.

I also tell you exactly how to care for your wig once you have it. Even if you go with a real-hair wig, you have to follow certain steps in washing and drying it. If you don’t, you risk damaging it, and unlike your hair, it won’t grow back!

Oh, and in case you were wondering, there’s a whole section on wigs for guys. Yes, they look very natural!

Scalp Care

If you’ve ever worn a wig before, you know that sometimes it can feel hot, uncomfortable, and itchy. I tell you what kind of steps you can take to make sure your wig is comfortable, and what you can do throughout the day to care for the tender skin on your scalp. Most likely you’ve never had to worry about your scalp before, so you’ll need some help, especially if you have sensitive skin.

Scarves and Hats

Not sure you want to wear a wig? I help you decide whether or not a wig is for you, then show you some of your other options, such as scarves and hats. These can be extremely stylish, and I help you find those that are specifically made for cancer patients, which means they’re warmer, easier to wear, and more comfortable than standard types.

Finally, if you’re considering going “all natural,” I help you examine the pros and cons to see if this is the right option for you.

Losing your hair doesn’t have to be a traumatic and depressing experience. Once I had my wig and started experimenting with hats and other styles, I actually had a lot of fun with it. Remember that your hair is going to grow back. With the tips in Chapter 9, you’ll make it through your temporary hair loss feeling confident and in control—and that’s exactly how you need to feel to give your body the strength it needs to heal.

(When Cancer Hits is available now—click here.)

How did you cope with hair loss during cancer? Have you read Britta’s chapter on the subject? Please share your story.

My father struggled with an acne-like rash while he was going through cancer, and I have to say it was one of the most difficult side effects he had to deal with. He didn’t want to leave the house! Realizing how devastating these effects can be, I dedicated chapter 5 of my book, When Cancer Hits, to caring for the face during cancer treatments.

Changes to Your Regular Routine

How should you care for your skin when you’re going through treatments? What changes should you make? These are the questions answered in chapter five, where you’ll also discover:

• How to develop your new facial care routine
• Skin-saving solutions from your own kitchen
• Skin-care products you should not use during treatment
• Ingredients that are particularly helpful to fragile, dry skin
• How to adapt shaving habits
• How to keep your facial-care items bacteria free
• The best way to protect your newly sensitive skin from the sun

Dealing with Specific Concerns

In addition to adjusting your daily habits to care for tender, fragile skin, Chapter 5 also covers specific concerns that often come up during treatment. I’ll give you tips on how to deal with that acne-like rash like my father had, as well as flushing and burn-like pain; dry, chapped lips; and photosensitive skin.

Is it Still Safe to Go to the Spa?

If you enjoyed facials before treatment, you may be wondering now—are they safe? In Chapter 5, I’ll give you the guidelines you need to still enjoy your spa treatments, but to minimize your risk of dangerous reactions and injuries. Plus I’ll clue you in on some industry secrets—namely, some that will save you money at the spa cash register.

The key to a healthy, glowing complexion always starts with careful skin care. Cancer treatments will challenge you to change your old routine, but with a few adjustments, precautions, and new habits, you’re likely to be able to recognize your old self in the mirror again!

(When Cancer Hits is available now—click here.)

Have you read Britta’s book? Please let us know what you think.

Contest Giveaway: look below for our last contest—you could win free CV Skinlabs products!

Restorative Skin Balm

This petrolatum-free, nourishing salve helps protect and instantly soften severely dry, rough and chapped skin—including lips, cuticles, cuts, scrapes, IV areas, abrasions, new scars and areas needing extra care.

• Tri-rescue complex soothes and heals
• Rich, thick salve designed to coat skin and create a soothing barrier to trap in moisture.
• Calendula, sea buckthorn oil, and arnica encourage healing, boost immune activity, protect from contaminants and help regenerate skin
• Carnauba and bee’s wax safeguard the moisture barrier
• Vitamin E provides powerful antioxidant activity while aiding in wound healing
• In a blind, independent clinical study with women and men panelists, 70% saw an improvement in the overall condition of their skin after one week of use
• 100% natural content with 15% organic ingredients

Four Unique Products—Easy to Use Together

We’ve now introduced all four premiere products in the CV Skinlabs line. For best results, use them together as follows:

• After cleansing, apply Rescue + Relief Spray to any area that is flushed, dehydrated, or irritated. Also great for use after shaving, waxing or laser treatments.
• Follow with Calming Moisture to the face, neck and scalp, and Body Repair Lotion to the rest of the body.
• Use Rescue + Relief Spray throughout the day to refresh, soothe, and hydrate. This product is especially effective when sunbathing, traveling, or visiting dry climates, or for freshening the scalp under a wig.
• For difficult areas that need extra care, use Restorative Skin Balm, which is perfect for lips, elbows, knees, heels, cuticles, scars, and scrapes. Especially effective when used overnight.

For a quick review, here are the four products:

Calming Moisture for Face, Neck & Scalp: Super-rescue moisturizer helps instantly soothe and hydrate dry, flushed skin suffering from the post-procedural effects of chemotherapy, microdermabrasion, laser and chemical peels­—leaving skin soft and dewy, with an even tone and healthy radiance.

Rescue + Relief Spray: This refreshing, milky emulsion drenches skin in moisture, bringing instant, cooling relief to itching, burning, inflamed skin caused by radiation, sun exposure, laser treatments, chemical peels, shaving, household appliances, or from wearing a wig.

Restorative Skin Balm: This petrolatum-free, nourishing salve helps protect and instantly soften severely dry, rough and chapped skin, including lips, cuticles, cuts, scrapes, IV areas, abrasions, new scars, and areas needing extra care.

Repair Body Lotion: Ultra-soothing, fast-absorbing, deeply hydrating body lotion that replenishes and soothes dry, inflamed skin compromised by chemotherapy, dermatitis, eczema, radiation burns and post-laser hair removal.

Last Chance On Our Launch Giveaways – WIN CV Skinlabs Products!

To win the Restorative Skin Balm this week, take the following steps:

1. Please leave a comment below by midnight (EST) Tuesday, April 2^nd, 2012 and your name will be included in the drawing.
2. If you’d like another chance to win, “like” our CV Skinlabs Facebook page and leave a comment below the post named “CV Skinlabs Skincare—Introducing Restorative Skin Balm and Last Contest Giveaway!”

Introductory Promo Offer

Lasts until March 31^st: 20% off when you purchase a minimum of $125 at www.cvskinlabs.com!

• Use code Launch20 at checkout (case sensitive)
• These prices won’t last—stock up now for yourself and those you love.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter!

Contest Giveaway: look below for this week’s contest—you could win free CV Skinlabs products!

Body Repair Lotion

Soak in the restorative power of this ultra-soothing body lotion. It gently glides on to absorb quickly and provide deep-hydrating and nourishing benefits to fragile skin. It replenishes and soothes inflamed, dry skin. Designed for sensitive, dry skin, dermatitis, eczema, radiation burns and post-laser hair removal.

• Tri-rescue complex soothes and heals
• Gently glides on to absorb quickly and provide deep-hydrating and nourishing benefits to fragile skin
• Beta glucan and St. John’s wort super moisturize, boost collagen production, and encourage wound healing
• Calendula and aloe calm, soothe, and reduce inflammation
• Replenishes and soothes inflamed, dry skin, and relieves dry, itchy skin
• Leaves skin soft, looking luminous and healthy
• In a blind, independent clinical study with women and men panelists, 70%-72% said the overall condition of skin and overall feel/texture of skin was improved after one week of use.
• 99.4% natural content with 58.5% organic ingredients

High Performance Natural and Organic Ingredients

CV Skinlabs is dedicated to choosing only the best natural and organic ingredients for our products—those that have no known links to health hazards or skin irritation. Here are just a few of the ingredients we’re using:

• Aloe Vera and Water Lily: Help cool and heal burns, encourage healing, calm irritated skin and reduce inflammation.
• Jojoba, Olive, and Safflower: Provide superior moisturization, protect from dryness, soothe irritated skin, protect skin’s outer layer and give skin a smoother, softer appearance.
• Oat Kernal Extract and Beta-Glucan: Conditions skin, helps encourage healing, relieves itching and discomfort.
• Calendula and Sea Buckthorn: Reduces inflammation, encourages wound healing, supports skin-cell regeneration, promotes skin recovery, protect from the damaging effects of the sun, soothes skin conditions like eczema and dermatitis.
• Ginger and Vitamin E: Provides antioxidant protection, conditions skin, controls oil production, protects from the damaging effects of the sun, helps reduce age spots.
• Fair trade, certified organic shea butter from the Léo region in Burkina Faso provides superior moisturization to help heal cracks and peeling.

Medical Panel

To ensure maximum efficacy and safety of all our products, CV Skinlabs assembled a team of doctors and experts in the field of health and safety to provide objective feedback during research and development. Each professional offered a unique perspective on patient care, skin treatment and topical applications appropriate for all compromised skin.

1. Jennifer Choi, M.D.: Assistant Professor of Dermatology and Director of the Yale  Oncodermatology Clinic. Director of clinical research trials investigating the prevention and treatment of cancer-therapy-related side effects. Specializes in treating patients with skin cancers. 
2. Madeline Krauss, M.D.: Board certified in dermatology. Practices general and surgical dermatology with an interest in aesthetic dermatology & laser medicine. Voted “Best Non-surgical Cosmetic Improvement” in the Boston area by the “Improper Bostonian Magazine.”
3. Donald Richey, M.D.: Board certified in dermatology and histopathology. Family practice physician for two years in the U.S. Public Health Service Department of Indian Health. Founded Brighter Days, a skin care program dedicated to patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments where he volunteers his time on a monthly basis.

And the Giveaways Continue…WIN CV Skinlabs Products!

For your chance to win a Body Repair Lotion from CV Skinlabs:

1. Please leave a comment below by midnight (EST) Tuesday, March 27^th, 2012 and your name will be included in the drawing.
2. If you’d like another chance to win, “like” our CV Skinlabs Facebook page and leave a comment below the post named “CV Skinlabs Skincare—Introducing Body Repair Lotion and Third Contest Giveaway!”

Introductory offer (lasts until March 31^st): 20% off when you purchase a minimum of $125

• Use code Launch20 at checkout (case sensitive) at www.cvskinlabs.com
• These prices won’t last—stock up now for yourself and those you love.

Stay Tuned for more FREE products next week!

We’ll have another giveaway  next week, when you can win our last premiere CV Skinlabs product for FREE. Good luck!

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter!

I’m so excited to tell all of you—starting today, you can shop for your new CV Skinlabs products online!

As a special “thank you” to all those in the Cinco Vidas community, and all those who have supported me on this journey, CV Skinlabs is offering a great launch promotion.

Purchase our products anytime between today and March 31^st and receive 20% off your entire order! (When you spend $125 or more.) Simply use the code: LAUNCH20 (case sensitive) at checkout at www.cvskinlabs.com

Take advantage of this special offer to try CV Skinlabs products for yourself, or to stock up on gifts for loved ones.

Enjoy a higher standard of safety—products that are 100% free of potentially toxic ingredients and designed to help nourish and heal all types of compromised skin.

Shop NOW!

CV SKINLABS FEATURED IN REAL SIMPLE MAGAZINE!

We are so excited to appear in the April 2012 issue (in newsstands today!) of Real Simple magazine, featuring the Rescue + Relief Spray!

Check out this amazing testimonial from one of our readers:

I did try the R + R Spray and I loved it! I have Psoriasis on my scalp and it extends down onto the back of my neck. I would spray it on and it would soften the tight, dry and itchy area of my neck and scalp. I felt relief soon after I sprayed it on….The R+R Spray was so light and non greasy that I could put my hair up after application and it wouldn’t make me self conscious at all, my hair would dry. Thank you so much for a great product Britta! 

— Helena Elias

This refreshing, milk-like emulsion drenches skin with moisture while calming and soothing flushed, sensitive and irritated skin.

MORE INFO

My new wesbite CVskinlabs.com Launches TODAY!

At CV Skinlabs, we’ve been working hard to bring you the best website resource for everything from product safety to ingredients to avoid, and of course, our solution to an unmet need: A new brand of safe skincare for compromised skin!

On our new CV Skinlabs website, each product page tells you more about the ingredients, the clinical results, and benefits to your skin. Our “Skin Clinic” gives you tips for dealing with conditions like rosacea, psoriasis, eczema, rashes, and more. Curious about our Tri-Rescue Complex™? We have more information on our Tri-Rescue page and much more.

The site is live today! Please go look it over, and let us know what you think. We’d be delighted to hear from you! Thanks for your support!

Visit us at www.cvskinlabs.com.

WIN CV Skinlabs Products in next weeks GIVEAWAY!

Win Your FREE product next week as we continue to unveil CV Skinlabs one product at a time! Next week we’ll feature our third product in the line and give readers a chance to win one for free. Look out for our newsletter in your inbox next week or check back on this blog for more.

Meanwhile, I’d love to hear what you think of the products!

In chapter 7 of my book, When Cancer Hits, I help you understand how these treatments affect different parts of your body, and what you can do to help soothe and comfort those areas.

Create Loving Energy

One thing most people are not used to doing is being slow and gentle with themselves. During cancer treatments, your body is crying out for your loving attention. I show you how to deal with fear and replace it with love instead.

Change Bathing and Showering Habits

If you continue to hurry through your morning shower, your skin and nails will suffer. Instead, I give you tips for creating a new bathing and showering routine that will be kinder to your skin, and may help you avoid itching and scratching all day long.

Dealing with Side Effects

Nausea, radiation burns, bruising, dermatitis, injection site wounds, metal taste, dry mouth, mouth sores, itchy eyes, night sweats, fatigue, joint pain, and more—this chapter covers them all. For example, did you know that your regular toothpaste could be making your mouth sores worse? Or that your eyes could benefit from hydrating goggles you can wear at night? Find more tips like these in this chapter. There’s always something you can do to help yourself feel better!

Redirecting Your Thoughts

Do you find yourself overwhelmed sometimes with uncomfortable side effects? Does it seem as if it all is never going to end? I share with you some ways to deal with the emotions that come up as your body struggles to heal itself. You may feel like treatments will never end, but they will, and in the meantime, it helps to set goals for yourself that refocus your mind and help you keep the faith.

Caring for your body while you’re going through cancer is one of the best things you can do for yourself. In chapter 7, I help you find ways to soothe the hurts at home, while giving you tools to help handle the emotional challenges as well. The more you can ease the pain and encourage yourself, the more you’re helping your body to get well.

(When Cancer Hits is available now—click here.)

Have you experienced difficult side effects because of cancer treatments? Please share your tips for recovery.

Contest Giveaway: look below for this week’s contest—you could win free CV Skinlabs products!

Rescue + Relief Spray

This refreshing, milk-like emulsion drenches skin with moisture while calming and soothing flushed, sensitive skin. It provides immediate rescue to super-inflamed areas that are too tender and delicate to touch while bringing instant comfort to itching, burning skin.

• Excellent to calm and soothe flushed, red skin or rosacea. Can be used over makeup to refresh and soothe skin or while traveling to keep skin hydrated.
• Perfect for anyone suffering from hot, inflamed or reactive skin from over exposure to sun, laser treatments, radiation or chemical burns—just spray on for instant relief.
• Formulated with the unique Tri-Rescue Complex^™, a combination of three natural ingredients (bisabolol, Reishi mushroom and turmeric) that provide anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antihistamine benefits.
• Helps support wound healing so skin recovers more quickly.
• A great on-the-go refresher for itchy, irritated scalp and facial flushing.
• Calms irritation from shaving and from wearing a wig.
• Contains 99.6% natural content and 84% organic ingredients.

Some of the great soothing ingredients in this formula include calming chamomile and cucumber, water lily, valerian, comfrey, and honeysuckle. It also contains a significant amount of aloe—the first ingredient!—to help soothe and heal burned skin.

Our Exclusive Blend: Tri-Rescue Complex^™

I’m particularly excited about the CV Skinlabs “Tri-Rescue Complex,” a combination of three natural ingredients that appears in all CV Skinlabs formulas. Each of these ingredients has been shown to be effective in scientific studies, and helped heal damaged skin in clinical tests.

Three natural ingredients come together to rescue damaged, inflamed, and sensitive skin.

• Bisabolol: main active ingredient from the medicinal plant chamomile; delivers powerful anti-irritant and anti-inflammatory properties.
• Reishi Mushroom: known as the “mushroom of immortality;” increases cellular turnover and hydration.
• Turmeric: an ancient spice; strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits.

Thoughtful Packaging

In creating CV Skinlabs, we wanted to produce not only safe, nourishing, formulas, but deliver them in bottles that would be safe, easy to use, and protective of the key ingredients.

• Keep the product safe from contamination: CV Skinlabs uses no jars, but only one-way evacuation pumps and tubes to reduce the risk of contamination, and to protect the ingredients from the effects of the air around us.
• Customized and ergonomic bottles with an easy-to-hold shape: CV Skinlabs created customized bottles which are easy to use by people with arthritis, neuropathy, or other movement challenges.
• Recyclable, safe & BPA-free packaging: Our bottles and tubes are picked up through most curbside recycling programs as well as not known to leach any chemicals linked to cancer or hormone disruption.
• No glass bottles: They can crack, break, and shatter, creating a safety hazard.
• Reduce our ecological footprint: In an attempt to contribute to earth-saving manufacturing processes, CV Skinlabs included our product brochure on the inside of the packaging where appropriate, and avoided the use of glue wherever possible.

WIN CV Skinlabs Products!

For your chance to win a Rescue + Relief from CV Skinlabs:

1. Please leave a comment below by midnight (EST) Monday, March 12^th, 2012 and your name will be included in the drawing.
2. If you’d like another chance to win, “like” our CV Skinlabs Facebook page and leave a comment below the post named “CV Skinlabs Skincare—Introducing Rescue + Relief Spray and Second Contest Giveaway!”

Stay Tuned!

Win your FREE product next week as we continue to unveil CV Skinlabs one product at a time! Each week until our launch on March 15, we’ll be holding a giveaway, with the winner taking home FREE CV Skinlabs products.

(Note: Products will not be available until the launch of the line and website on March 15, 2012.)

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter!

Contest give away: look below for this week’s contest—you could win free CV Skinlabs products!

Calming Moisture for Face, Neck, & Scalp

This super-rescue moisturizer helps instantly soothe and hydrate dry, flushed skin suffering from the post-procedural effects of chemotherapy, microdermabrasion, laser, and chemical peels, leaving skin soft and dewy, with an even tone and healthy radiance.

• Perfect for anyone who wants softer, smoother skin on their face, neck, and scalp, without potentially harmful chemicals.
• Works great for those who are bald, or who are experiencing hair loss, to soothe and moisturize tender skin on the scalp.
• Formulated with the unique Tri-Rescue Complex (turmeric, Reishi mushroom and bisabolol), a combination of three natural ingredients that provide anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antihistamine benefits.
• Helps promote collagen production, firming and smoothing skin and reducing the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines.
• Speeds wound healing and reduces redness and itch.
• Cools hot and burned skin, helping to reduce inflammation.
• Contains 99.6% natural content and 57% organic ingredients.

Some of the delicious natural and organic ingredients in this formula include aloe vera, oat extract, jojoba, chamomile, shea butter, vitamin E, and ginger. This lotion is all about calming and soothing dry skin and returning radiance to dull skin!

How is CV SKinlabs Different? A New Standard in Safety

The most important thing for me as I was thinking about this new line of skin care was to create something that people could use without having to worry about reactions, burns, redness, and more—those things that my father suffered from a high-end cream while he was going through cancer treatments. The truth is that a lot of the skin care products out there contain harsh chemicals that can cause reactions—and sometimes even damage—to sensitive skin.

With that in mind, CV Skinlabs has succeeded in developing something unprecedented in the world of skin care—a new standard of safety. Setting the bar extremely high on the safety of the ingredients, the functioning of the packaging, and the thoroughness of the testing has produced products that may be used with full confidence by the general public, and specifically by those with chemical sensitivities, compromised skin, and conditions like eczema and chronic dryness.

• Board certified dermatologist-tested, clinically tested, and hypoallergenic
• Toxicologist-screened for carcinogens, xenoestrogens, and other potentially harmful ingredients
• Extensive micro-challenge, stability, safety, and clinical testing in an independent lab
• Research team of natural formulations chemists and doctors reviewed a multitude of medical journals and used scientific results to exclude ingredients with even remote links to health issues
• Consumer tested on women and men with compromised skin
• Tubes and pumps keep the formulas free of contamination (one way evacuation)
• Proprietary, functional, easy-to-use packaging for anyone suffering from arthritis or neuropathy
• No glass bottles—they can crack, break, and shatter, creating a safety hazard

Who can use these products? Men, women, children, and people who:

• Want to reduce their toxic exposure
• Want skin care free of potentially harmful ingredients like parabens and petroleum products
• Want to nourish their skin with soothing and calming organic and natural ingredients
• Have compromised skin, sensitive skin, or chemical sensitivities
• Have conditions like rosacea, eczema, psoriasis, or dermatitis
• Have skin battered by medical treatments like chemotherapy, radiation, and medications
• Have fragile, thin, or reactive skin that needs serious, tender care
• Have skin that often reacts to other skin care products
• Have skin allergies
• Need something to calm skin after laser treatments, waxing, chemical peels, microdermabrasion and shaving

GIVEAWAY: WIN CV Skinlabs Products!

For your chance to win a Calming Moisture from CV Skinlabs:

1. Please leave a comment below by midnight (EST) Monday, March 5, 2012 and your name will be included in the drawing.
2. If you’d like another chance to win, “like” our CV Skinlabs Facebook page and leave a comment below the post named “CV Skinlabs Skincare—Introducing Calming Moisture and Contest Giveaway!”
3. Winner will be chosen on Tuesday, March 6!

Stay Tuned!

Win your FREE product next week as we continue to unveil CV Skinlabs one product at a time!

Each week until our launch on March 15, we’ll be holding a giveaway, with the winner taking home FREE CV Skinlabs products.

(Note: Products will not be available until the launch of the line and website on March 15, 2012.)

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter!

I had been working in the beauty industry for over 8 years and hadn’t ever thought to read product labels. No one had ever taught me to do so. This one incident changed everything—I read the label of the product I bought for my dad to find out just what he could have reacted to, and I was shocked to find many potentially harmful chemicals—some even classified as carcinogenic.

Upset and disheartened, I decided right then and there that someday, I was going to create line of skin care products that would be safe for anyone to use, especially people like my father who were going through health challenges that created difficult reactions on their skin, or anyone with compromised skin.

Working on a Dream

After my father passed away, I started work on that dream. I knew I couldn’t do it alone, so I gathered some top experts around me. These included a toxicologist, a chemist specializing in natural formulations, doctors experienced with the ins and outs of skin care, an experienced product developer, and more. For over a year we engaged in extensive research, and for the next two years we worked on putting together just the right natural and organic ingredients into safe, nourishing formulas that are bio-compatible with skin, yet non-irritating and toxin-free. Today, I’m super excited to be revealing the result of all our efforts.

Introducing: CV Skinlabs
A New Sanctuary of Safety

Who’s It For?

Who can use these products? People who:

• want to reduce their toxic exposure
• want to nourish their skin with ingredients from nature, without the risk of potentially harmful chemicals
• have compromised skin, sensitive skin, or chemical sensitivities
• have conditions like rosacea, eczema, psoriasis, or dermatitis
• have skin battered by medical treatments like chemotherapy, radiation, and medications
• have fragile, thin, or reactive skin that needs serious tender care
• have skin that often reacts to other skin care products

100% Free of:

The most important thing to me in creating these products was to avoid all the potentially harmful ingredients that are often present in most brands today. CV Skinlabs products are all 100% free of synthetic dyes, parabens, formaldehyde, 1,4-dioxane, phthalates, mineral oil/petrolatum, silicones, propylene glycol, SLS/SLES, PEG/PPG, triclosan, hydroquinone, disodium EDTA, talc and MEA-DEA-TEA—all suspect ingredients when considering the health of the skin and body. (Check out my Ingredients to Avoid list.) Synthetic fragrances are also not allowed, as most are made with a combination of hundreds of chemicals.

Finally, only non-hormone-altering plant extracts provide a light scent to each CV Skinlabs product. And since even organic essential oils can irritate sensitive and fragile skin—while some may have a slight potential to mimic the action of estrogen—they were removed from consideration as well.

Natural and Organic Ingredients

On the other hand, what did we decide to put in these formulations? We wanted to find natural ingredients that had the power to really improve the skin’s condition, so again we spent a lot of time going over the current scientific research out there, and I’m very excited with what we came up with. (Stay tuned to this blog as we reveal more about the ingredients over the next few weeks!)

Ergonomic Bottles and One-Way Evacuation Packaging

In addition to taking extra care with the formulations themselves, we only used one-way evacuation packaging (no jars) to minimize contamination and oxidation of our active ingredients. We also designed and created our own bottles with a firm grip and easy-to-hold shape so that people with neuropathy, arthritis, and other challenges can easily open and work with CV Skinlabs products.

Stay Tuned!

Watch this blog over the next 3 weeks, as we’ll be revealing more about each of the products, plus announcing opportunities for you to win some of them for free! Our shopping website officially launches on March 15, 2012. That’s only a few weeks away! Meanwhile, I’ll be revealing more about the line in the coming weeks—the products themselves, the testing behind them, the ingredients, and what our early clinical testers had to say.

Check back—starting next week, we’ll hold a weekly contest, and the winner will receive FREE products!

Don’t forget to like our CV Skinlabs pages on Facebook and Twitter!

In chapter 6 of my book, When Cancer Hits, I cover everything you need to know about makeup and concealing the facial effects of chemotherapy and radiation.

First of All: Avoid Health Dangers

The most important thing is to avoid any products that may put you at risk for reactions, burning, or other health concerns. In this chapter, I answer questions like:

• Is mineral makeup really better for you?
• What’s the safest type of mascara?
• How do I find out if my lipstick has lead in it?
• Which sunscreens are safest?

Best Makeup During Treatment

Should you still use the same makeup products you’ve always used while you’re going through treatment? Maybe, maybe not. Depends on what you were using before. While going through treatment, your skin is likely to be much dryer, so you may need to change the types of foundations, concealers, eyeshadows, and blushes you use. I help you determine what products you may need to replace.

Avoiding Infection

Cancer treatments can lower your white blood cell count, putting you at a higher risk of infection. That’s why it’s very important to take steps to avoid contamination around your face, lips, and eyes. In this chapter, I’ll show you:

• The best makeup brushes to use during treatment.
• When to toss old makeup products.
• How to create your own safe makeup tool set.
• The key items you need in your new tender-care makeup bag.

Troubleshooting and Application Tips

Once you have all the general things down, it’s time to talk about targeting particular problems that pop up during cancer treatments. I’ll help you to conceal and transform:

• Facial swelling
• Scars and pimples
• Under-eye circles
• Loss of lashes
• Loss of eyebrows
• Dry lips
• Pale, ashy skin
• Dull appearance

I’ll also give you some tips for how to prepare for those emotional days that come more frequently during treatments, so you don’t have mascara running down your cheeks.

There’s no shame in wanting to look good even while you’re battling cancer. If you can help yourself to feel more confident, you’re more likely to spend time with friends, continue your work, and get out for a needed complementary massage or facial—all critical for your healing process!

(When Cancer Hits is available now—click here.)

Have you struggled with makeup challenges during your cancer treatments? Please share any tips you may have.

On top of that, you’ve been exposed to chemicals your entire life, probably at a much higher rate than your parents or grandparents were, simply because of the increase in chemicals present in today’s environment. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have conducted numerous studies on the issue, and have found that Americans have PBDEs (chemicals used to make materials fire resistant), BPA (chemicals used to manufacture plastics), PFCs (used to make heat-resistant products), and more in their blood and urine.

Learning to Reduce Your Toxic Exposure

You may not want to think about all this while going through cancer treaments, but I bring it up in chapter 3 of my book (When Cancer Hits) because it’s during cancer treatments that you’re at your most fragile, which means you need to start being more conscious about the chemicals that could be affecting your health. In addition, you may find yourself more sensitive than ever before to products with chemicals. For example, have you walked down the laundry aisle lately? Find yourself covering your nose?

After my father and I both had cancer, we had a few “aha” moments where we realized some of the stresses we had unwittingly put on our bodies. You may be sensing the same thing, particularly because we tend to be more attuned to the environments around us when we’re not feeling well. Your body needs your help to regain strength and vitality. One thing you can do immediately is start cutting down on the number of toxins it has to process.

In this chapter, you’ll learn how to:

1. Read labels on personal care products. I’ll tell you what to watch out for and how to tell the truth about the products you’re using on your body.
2. Avoid certain ingredients. There are several common ones out there that a lot of manufacturers are using that have shown in studies to be potentially carcinogenic, potentially harmful to your health, or toxic to your skin and hair.
3. Buy organic produce. You may not think it’s worth the bother—I’ll explain why it is!
4. Safeguard your home. I’ll list several potentially harmful products that are probably in your home right now, and what you need to do to ensure your safety.
5. Clean carefully. Some of the products that are most toxic to us we use to clean our homes. I’ll tell you which ones are particularly bad for fragile bodies and how you can find better replacements.

It doesn’t take much to make a few changes in your life and your home to safeguard your health. While battling cancer, you’re more susceptible to infections, rashes, allergic reactions, and toxic buildup than ever before. You need all your strength to get well. Chapter 3 will show you how to keep everything in your personal space as safe and nourishing as possible.

(To buy a copy of When Cancer Hits, click here!)

Do you find yourself more sensitive to chemicals since you started cancer treatments? Have you tried some of the tips in my book? Let me know what you think!

The good news is that how you change is completely up to you.

This is such a fundamental part of the cancer experience that I devoted the first chapter of my book, When Cancer Hits, to this topic. I got some great thoughts from other cancer survivors out there, including Donald Wilhelm, who said, “You’re never going to be the same person you were before. But you can choose who you are, today. And you can choose who you will become, tomorrow.”

Who is This “New” Person in the Mirror?

One of the things cancer does is change your appearance. You may lose your hair, end up with extremely dry skin, gain or lose weight, experience cracked and broken nails, and get dark circles under your eyes. You may look in the mirror and not even recognize that person.

In Chapter 1, I explain that all this is very natural and normal. We all go through it. In fact, in today’s visual society, cancer’s effects on our appearance can be extremely traumatic. I give you an “Appearance Meter Quiz” to help you figure out what your appearance really means to you, and then give you ways to cope with the changes.

What Cancer Treatments Do to the Body

Though I go into more detail in later chapters, here I give you a general introduction about what cancer treatments like chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery can do to your body, so you can better understand all the changes you may go through. Then I show you how you can help maintain control of your appearance—even though right now you may feel completely out of control!

Who Am I Now?

All these changes can cause a true identity crisis in many people. After all, if you look different in the mirror, you feel different in your body, and your whole life is different than it used to be, than who are you now? I guide you through some interactive exercises that help you bring yourself back…to yourself.

What is Your Personal Chemical Exposure?

Realizing that everything is changing, I ask you to check your current routine and personal care products to evaluate your daily chemical exposure. Later in the book I help you make some changes that will be better for your fragile skin and body, but in this first chapter I help you take stock of what your current routine may be doing to your health.

I hope, after reading Chapter 1, that you feel a new sense of empowerment. Cancer can make you feel like a fish out of water—like you just don’t have any control anymore over your life. Chapter 1 acknowledges that yes, things have changed, but you still have control over how you are going to handle it!

(When Cancer Hits is available now—click here.)

Were you overwhelmed by the changes cancer brought to your life? Please share your story.

If you’ve recently been diagnosed with cancer, or if you are caring for a loved one who has, you’ll want to get your hands on this book. I’ve loaded it with all the information my father and I needed when we went through cancer. Truly, this is the book we wish we could have had back then!

All the things the doctors don’t tell you about are in these pages, along with remedies and techniques that will help you cope. Inside, you’ll discover how to:

• Implement proven solutions for mouth sores, nausea, radiation burns, fatigue, dry skin, neuropathy, and more.
• Create your own personal hair-loss plan, and find the solution that fits your style.
• Manage stress, anxiety, worry, and despair.
• Complement your treatment with the proven benefits of acupuncture, reflexology, massage and meditation.
• Protect yourself from personal care and housecleaning products that contain potentially carcinogenic ingredients—and learn what products are safe to use.
• Treat and conceal redness, rashes, swelling, scars, and skin discoloration.

If you’ve been looking for someone who to help you through this journey, I hope you’ll consider letting me be that person. I can help you navigate the changes you’ll experience between the doctor’s office and everyday living, and show you how to sustain positive energy during treatment and beyond. Plus you’ll read real-life stories from other survivors, and glean advice from doctors and experienced health experts.

Here’s what some other nice people are saying about the book:

“Battling cancer is a Herculean task that requires courage, fortitude and many, many decisions. There are lots of experts in the field, but advice from one who went through it herself is invaluable. I wish this book had existed during my own battle.”

—Fran Drescher, Actress, Cancer Survivor, President of Cancer Schmancer

“This is the book I wish I had for every patient diagnosed with cancer. It fills the void between the diagnosis and the journey onward. A great blueprint for how to cope with the journey from choosing safe personal care products to addressing all the changes that your skin and body will go through to managing side effects.”

—Dr. Madeline Krauss, M.D.

You can pre-order now on Amazon—just click here. Then feel free to comment on this post with what you think!

Thank you all for your ongoing support![youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svJOPelE1C8[/youtube]

1. Cancer treatments affect your whole body. Most of us worry about losing our hair, or feeling sick to our stomachs, but trust me, cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiation can affect your whole body. Your appetite, your skin, your energy levels, and even your emotions can all be thrown off kilter. Get help early—even with the grocery shopping—and learning to be gentle with yourself.

2. Put yourself first. Many of us have work, family, and community commitments. When you’re diagnosed with cancer, you absolutely must put yourself first. Your medical care, home care, and emotional care must become your priorities, so you can get well.

3. Skin care is extremely important. Use lukewarm, not hot, water, and wash gently, patting dry. Moisturize moisturize moisturize every chance you get, and protect from the sun with hats, gloves, and long sleeves. Especially if you have scars, like I did, extra care is important!

4. Most personal care products are too harsh! Don’t be surprised if your regular soap, body wash, shave gel, makeup, and other products suddenly start to irritate and burn your skin. Many contain harsh chemicals and even potentially carcinogenic ingredients. When caring for my father during his battle with cancer, I bought him an expensive face cream that burned his skin. I wish I would have known! Now I read labels and buy only safe products.

5. Chemo rashes are not the same as acne. Many chemotherapy drugs can cause an acne-like rash, but this is not the same as regular acne. If you use harsh acne medications, you could make the situation worse, possibly even permanently scarring your skin. Try more natural remedies like soothing chamomile and water, an oatmeal paste on your face for 10 minutes, or an organic clay facial. Above all, be gentle!

6. Shop for a wig before you lose your hair. This is the best way to match your natural hair to your wig. If you wait until after your hair is gone, it will be harder to make it look the same.

7. You can relieve side effects. My father experienced hand and foot syndrome, and I found him one day just sitting in bed with his hands up, suffering. Please don’t ever do that! There are always things that can help. Ask your doctor and check online. (I have some great tips on my blog and in my book!) Pain only delays your recovery.

8. Choose the right kind of massage therapist. Massage can be a huge blessing during treatment. It eases stress and can help reduce side effects. If you go to someone who doesn’t know what he or she is doing, however, you could increase your risk of developing lymphedema. There are new oncology estheticians out there who are specifically trained to work with cancer patients. Ask for credentials, then lay back and enjoy.

9. Cold helps reduce hair loss and nail damage. Recent research has shown that applying cold to your fingers and head can help reduce hair loss and nail damage. The cold slows the blood flow to these areas, which means less of the chemotherapy drug can affect them. Studies show it really works! Try the “Elasto-Gel” flexible glove (available on Amazon), and the “DigniCap” made by Dignitana of Lund in Sweden.

10. Acupuncture improves post-chemotherapy fatigue. If you’ve gone through chemo, you know how draining it is. Studies have shown that acupuncture can help reduce that bone-deep fatigue by 30 percent! I really could have used that extra help!

11. Just because treatments are over doesn’t mean it’s “over.” One of the most difficult transitions in my life was going from cancer patient to cancer survivor.  Everyone around me thought I should be fine, but I wasn’t! I wish I had known that those feelings are completely normal. It takes time to process it all—get help, and be patient with yourself.

12. Helping others helps you. As you work to recover after your cancer treatments are over, try to find a way to help others. Share your story, talk to the newly diagnosed, or volunteer somehow in your community. Giving back helps you redefine your purpose, and get back to living.

Have you learned things from your cancer journey you’d like to share? Please tell us!

Photo courtesy the Nelly Guaman via Flickr.com.

For many people—women especially—hair loss as a result of chemotherapy can be particularly traumatic. Women have fewer bald role models than men, and can suffer difficult feelings of self-consciousness low self-esteem in response to losing their hair. Susan Beausang, an expert on the issue and founder of 4women.com, puts it well when she writes, “For a woman, a bald head is an announcement to the world—’I'm different,’ or ‘I’m sick.’” No one wants to feel that way. I remember the experience well—above all, I wanted to feel normal, and losing my hair made me feel anything but.

The good news is that there are people out there trying to make this part of treatment just a little bit better. Wake Forest Baptist University Medical Center and the University of California at San Francisco have received approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate a device called the “DigniCap” made by a company called Dignitana of Lund in Sweden. It’s a silicone cap that you wear on your head, with an outer neoprene cap that insulates the inner one. The cap is connected to a cooling unit that delivers consistent cooling to all areas of the scalp. The idea is the cool temperatures make the hair roots and follicles contract, reducing the amount of toxins that affect them—which slows or completely halts hair loss.

There are some side effects to using it. It’s cold, after all, and some patients experience headaches, but so far, it looks like these are the only side effects reported—well worth it for most people who want to keep their hair on their heads. The company has taken precautions to make sure temperatures are carefully controlled—the unit is connected to a computer with a touch-screen and simple symbols. If something goes wrong, an alarm goes off.

What’s promising is that clinics in Canada, Europe, and Japan are already using this cap, and the Dignitana website says that more than 80 percent of patients have kept their hair during chemotherapy. Can you imagine? In addition, Susan Melin, M.D. and lead investigator for the study, says that data from several international studies show that the device is safe to use and does prevent hair loss.¹

As far as I know, there’s no way to get ahold of a DigniCap here in the U.S. at this time (although I’m not positive on that—you could contact the company directly from their site). There are other similar devices, but it seems they’re all made out of country. One is called a “Paxman Cooler,” looks very similar to the DigniCap, and is used throughout the U.K. There’s another one made in Israel called the SCS II—Scalp Cooling System. So I think it’s safe to say that this idea is catching on.

Ask the cancer centers near you if they have anything like this. If not, you may consider other ways to keep your head cool, such as frozen veggies or cold cloths dipped in ice water. They aren’t likely to work as well as the temperature won’t be consistent across the scalp, but it may be worth a try.

Have you tried any cooling methods to deter hair loss? Please share your story.

Source

1. “Scalp Cooling Study Starts in U.S.” Breast Cancer World News March 9, 2011. http://breastcancerworldnews.com/?p=188.

Photo courtesy Dignitana via dignitana.com.

When you’re going through cancer treatments, cleaning the house is the last thing you want to do. Not only do you lack the energy, but the fumes from common household cleansers may make you nauseated, say nothing of the potential harm from some of the toxic ingredients. One study showed that women who used typical cleaning products were up to 110 more likely to develop breast cancer than those who rarely used them!

On the other hand, having a clean house while you’re going through treatments is critical. After all, your immune system is down and you’ve probably never been more at risk from germs.

Friends and family may be willing to help, but most likely they’ll want to clean their way, which may mean using products you’re not comfortable with. What’s the solution?

Well, you could ask them to use non-toxic cleansers and they might oblige, but if you live in New Jersey, you may have a better option—an organization called CanswerLink that provides free monthly non-toxic house cleaning to all cancer patients.

Doesn’t matter if you’re a man, woman, or child, or if you are going through chemotherapy, radiation, recovering from surgery, or coming home for hospice due to cancer, CanswerLink will come in and take care of the cleaning. “When a patient is diagnosed with cancer and the priorities shift,” says their website, “housecleaning can often be the last thing on the mind. We believe that a clean home has an emotional affect that lifts the patient’s spirits and renews the patient’s mental health, crucial steps in total mind and body recovery.”

Founded by Vici Prodromitis and Donna Sandvig—both of whom have had people close to them hit by cancer—CanswerLink currently operates in several counties in New Jersey, including Warren, Hunterdon, Somerset, Mercer, Union, Morris, Middlesex, Monmouth, Essex, Sussex, and Bergen. The vision is for the organization to continue to expand until its services are available in every state in the nation, and the invitation is out for other cleaning organizations and even individuals to start CanswerLink chapters in their hometowns.

I was so excited to hear about this organization. It’s such a great idea, and can be of such help to so many individuals and their families. What’s extra fantastic is that they believe in using non-toxic cleaning products, to avoid introducing any additional damaging chemicals into the home environments of people who are especially susceptible to them.

“CanswerLink believes that only non-toxic cleaning products should be used in everyone’s homes,” says their website. “By using only non-toxic products we can help to protect other family members from being exposed to toxins that may contribute to the development of certain cancers.”

If you believe like I do that an organization like this deserves your support, please take a moment right now to make a donation to their cause. If you want to go further and start a chapter in your area, you’ll find instructions at the same link. And if you know someone in the Jersey area that could use their help, don’t hesitate to contact them!

Have you had an experience with CanswerLink? Please share your story.

Photo courtesy CanswerLink.org.

A clinical trial examined the effects on nails from “docetaxel,” a particular type of chemotherapy drug that is known to cause nails to become brittle or discolored in about 40 percent of patients, and to become infected in about 3 percent. Researchers gave over 40 cancer patients an “Elasto-Gel” flexible glove (made by Southwest Technologies, Inc.) to wear while they were getting treated, to see if it would have any effect on their nails. The glove contained glycerin to retain the cold, like a hand-shaped ice pack. Patients wore the glove on one hand for 90 minutes, before, during, and after intravenous infusion of docetaxel. Halfway through, the gloves were swapped for new ones to be sure they stayed cold enough. The other hand was left unprotected.

Here’s the exciting news: two-thirds of the gloved hands were free of skin problems! I’m not talking just nails here, but other common side effects too, like hand/foot syndrome and dry, oozing skin. Yet minor problems occurred in over 40 percent of the unprotected hands. Ann O’Mara of the National Cancer Institute’s Community Clinical Oncology Program said the results were “striking,” and over 80 percent of the patients said they were satisfied with the treatment.

I know your next question—can I get ahold of one of these gloves? The answer is yes. You can get one as easily as ordering it from Amazon. The bad news? It will cost you about $100. You can try the ice and frozen veggies instead, and they may work just as well—we just don’t know because there are no studies behind those methods. My guess is that what really matters is keeping your hands cold enough during the entire infusion. Ice melts, and veggies thaw. The researchers even swapped out gloves to keep the study participants’ hands cold enough.

If you want to protect your skin during treatment—and why wouldn’t you?—try this method, however you decide to do it. Have someone go with you and help you to keep replacing your ice, veggies, or gloves, so you keep them cool enough. It’s a small price to pay to escape the suffering caused by dark and infected nails, dry skin, and open sores on your hands.

Have you tried something like this to escape side effects on your hands? Please share your story.

Sources

1. Florian Scotté, et al. “Multicenter Study of a Frozen Glove to Prevent Docetaxel-Induced Onycholysis and Cutaneous Toxicity of the Hand.” Journal of Clinical Oncology 23 (19): 4424-4429 (July 1, 2005).

Photo courtesy eldercarelinkCare via Flickr.com.

Isn’t it great to see the sun shining more often? Summer is definitely on it’s way, which reminds me to warn everybody to protect themselves from skin cancer. Wear your safe sunscreens rain or shine (zinc oxide is best), and protect yourself from direct sunlight with hats, sleeves, and gloves. This year I also want to deliver an additional warning: If you’ve ever had a suppressed immune system in your life—from cancer, cancer treatments or other illnesses—you must be doubly careful, as your risk of skin cancer is even higher than the rest of the general population.

Here’s why this is such a concern:

• A study of over 700 renal-transplant recipients found that the overall incidence of squamous-cell carcinoma was 250 times that in the general population.¹
• Skin cancer that occurs in transplant recipients seems to be uncommonly aggressive, recurrent, and sometimes fatal.²
• HIV/AIDS patients are at seven times higher risk than the population at large for skin cancer.
• Patients who had undergone stem cell transplants showed a higher risk of skin cancer within 2-26 months following treatment.³
• All cases of cancer greatly increase risk, because the cancer itself depresses the immune system, as do the chemotherapy treatments. Lymphocytic leukemia has a particularly devastating effect on the immune system.
• People who have had radiation treatment have a higher risk of getting skin cancer in the area that was treated.
• Rheumatoid arthritis, lupus erythematosis, and other autoimmune diseases also increase risk of skin cancer.

Why does this happen? Science isn’t really sure yet, but there are a couple theories. One is that the period of time when the immune system was suppressed reduces the body’s vigilance against cancer cells and thus makes it more prone to cancer development. Another is that the medications used in treatments that suppress the immune system could sensitize DNA to ultraviolet radiation, making it more susceptible to cancerous changes. A third is that all treatments that involve immunosuppression can damage the skin’s own immune system, leaving it less able to fight off cancerous changes when exposed to UV light.

Regardless of what causes the change, the important thing is to realize that you are at increased risk, and to take the appropriate precautions. Don’t stop with just applying sunscreen. Get used to wearing a broad-brimmed hat and sunglasses. Avoid the sun during peak hours, and wear protective clothing on your arms and legs. Don’t forget to move your visor when you’re driving, as many us get most of our sun exposure on one side of the face. All of us like to enjoy a little sun on our skin, but it’s just not worth having to go through a difficult disease like skin cancer—especially when it seems to be even more dangerous to people who are at higher risk.

Are you at a higher risk of skin cancer? Have any tips for our readers?

Sources

1. Hartevelt MM, Bavinck JN, Kootte AM, Vermeer BJ, Vandenbroucke JP. Incidence of skin cancer after renal transplantation in The Netherlands. Transplantation 1990;49:506-509.
2. Gerlini G, Romagnoli P, Pimpinelli N. Skin cancer and immunosuppression. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol Oct; 56 (1): 127-35 (2005).
3. M Cavalier, et al., Skin cancer after nonmyeloablative hematopoietic cell transplantation. Bone Marrow Transplantation 37: 1103-1108 (2006).

Photo courtesy Evan Romine via Flickr.com.

Estheticians at Tranquility Spa, from left to right: Christy Nop, Edwina Rathbone-Little, Nikki Stefanick and owner Beverly Miller. Lucy Croft is not pictured.

Research has shown that massage, facials, reflexology, and other spa treatments can all help reduce stress, nurture the skin, slow the appearance of aging, and even reduce side effects from cancer therapies and medications.

Because so many people are now turning to spa treatments for health reasons, today’s therapists need to know a lot more than just how to make you feel good. I was fortunate enough to meet one spa owner and esthetician who is taking her responsibilities very seriously. Beverly Miller owns and operates Tranquility Spa & Wellness in St. Charles, Illinois. We attended a training course together on oncology esthetics (given by Morag Currin, pioneer of the Clinical Oncology Esthetics (COE) certification for licensed estheticians), and I was so impressed that she paid for most of her staff to take the course with her. They’re all committed to making a difference in the lives of cancer patients and wanted to gain certification before promoting themselves as a spa that works with fighters and survivors.

“We have five estheticians working at the spa,” Beverly said, “and I wanted all of us to have this knowledge. We’re very involved in a center in Geneva called the Living Well Cancer Resource Center, and we would like to be able to donate our services there.”

Beverly says that her personal experience with cancer made her want to do more: “Over the last several years, I’ve had many of my clients come in and say, ‘I’ve just been diagnosed with breast cancer,’ or ‘I just found out I have ovarian cancer.’ I’ve seen friends and clients go through chemotherapy and radiation and I’ve seen what it does to their skin. The treatments, medications, and surgeries create unique situations that you have to know how to deal with so you don’t cause any injuries.”

When talking with Beverly about the need for additional education, she pointed out that there have been a lot of changes in the industry that require it. “Back when I started, spa treatments were mainly a ‘fluff and puff’ sort of thing you did to pamper yourself on a special occasion,” she says. “Since then, science has learned a lot more about the skin and body, and we now have more beneficial ingredients in our skin care products like antioxidants and peptides. More likely than not, one of us will detect a suspicious mole or dark spot on the skin before anyone else does, making us the first line of defense against skin cancer. And our spas aren’t just about looking pretty anymore—we’re catering to people’s health and well being with things like acupuncture, reflexology, and yoga classes, in addition to the standard massage and facial treatments. So we have to be a lot more educated to fulfill that role.”

After the course was finished, Beverly said the most important thing she learned was to be extra careful with people who’ve had lymph nodes removed. “It’s very important to know how not to massage, because you could cause lymphedema [long-term swelling],” she said. “I want to create a safe haven for my clients. No matter what they’re going through, I want them to feel comfortable in my spa, and know that they’re putting their bodies in the hands of someone who knows what they’re doing.”

When asked what advice she would give people living with cancer when looking for the right esthetician, Beverly said, “Call the spa or wellness center. Check their certifications. They should have their basic training, plus additional training from the International Dermal Institute (for estheticians), or from a course like this one. When you go in, observe how they react. Do they have you fill out an extensive questionnaire? They need to know if your blood count is low, for example, so that they’re extra cautious about risk of infection. Finally, if I were going through cancer, I would call and say, ‘Do your estheticians know how to treat someone going through cancer?’ And I would make sure to tell them everything about my condition.”

Today, armed with her new knowledge, Beverly is excited about expanding her services. “A spa treatment is soothing, relaxing, and truly healing. It can definitely help you deal with the side effects so you feel more confident and refreshed.”

Have you found the perfect esthetician or massage therapist to help you during your treatment? Please share your story.

“These dark circles make me look so tired,” writes one fighter. “Can you please tell me some remedy for this problem?”

I’ve had several people ask me about this. You may think that it’s all because of lack of sleep or stress, but actually dark circles are more closely related to bruising—and that’s why they tend to happen during chemotherapy.

According to darkcircles.net, dark circles under the eyes are caused by leaky capillaries. Blood leaks out into the surrounding skin, and as your body works to mop it up, you see the dark, purplish or blue-black discoloration. It’s much like when you injure yourself and see a bruise a few hours later. This process may happen elsewhere in the body and you wouldn’t even notice, but the skin under the eyes is so thin and delicate and the capillaries so close to the surface that the change in color becomes very visible.

Chemotherapy can cause excess bruising and bleeding, as I mentioned in a former post, so it’s no wonder some of that excess bruising can show up under your eyes.

There are some products out there that claim to help diminish dark circles, but unfortunately many of them contain parabens, ureas, and ingredients that are potentially toxic and best to avoid during treatment. Below I’ve given you five at-home tips to help battle dark undereye circles. Give them a try, and let me know if they help!

1. Tea bags. It’s one of those old tried-and-true remedies and it really does help. The caffeine in the tea diminishes water in the tissues to reduce puffiness, and the tea itself contains beneficial antioxidants. Squeeze out a cooled, used teabag and leave one on (or under) each eye for about 10 minutes. Since chamomile is a natural anti-inflammatory, chamomile tea bags may be extra helpful.

2. Cucumber slices. They feel cool and soothing on your eyes, and are known to help liven up the skin around the eyes.

3. Try some homemade mixtures. An old natural remedy recommends mixing a teaspoon of tomato juice, a half teaspoon lemon juice, a pinch of turmeric powder and a pinch of flour into a paste, applying under the eyes, and leaving for 10 minutes. At night, try mixing half almond oil and half honey and applying under the eyes before bed.

4. Puree a potato. Place an uncooked potato into a blender or liquidizer and puree, then place a little under each eye, lay down, and wait for up to 30 minutes.

5. Apply a cream with vitamin K. Vitamin K has shown in some studies to help diminish bruising. Try to find a non-toxic undereye cream with vitamin K. One possibility: CSI Recovery Eye Cream with Vitamin K & Arnica.

Have you tried any of these remedies? Do you have other suggestions?

Photo courtesy juliejigsaw via Flickr.com.