How do blind/low vision women do their hair and makeup? With that question, I began a journey of learning to maintain my looks as I lost my sight.
The hair was easy until this past year. I had a hairdresser in the city who did everything... Color, cuts, Brazilian Blowouts, etc. The only thing I had to do was to comb my hair after shampooing. It looked incredible at every given moment.
After moving to a small town, it all changed. The first hairdresser left the color product in my hair, burning my scalp badly which took weeks to heal, and left my hair looking like a cartoon character. The second hairdresser fixed the mess caused by the first one. The problem was that the small town hairdressers cost almost as much as the city one, and no one in town does Brazilian Blowouts.
Now, I use a Clairol Balsam color every eight weeks. Apply all over, tell Siri to let me know when thirty minutes are up, and rinse at least ten minutes to be sure it's all rinsed out. I could get by without coloring, but I refuse to go gray.
No haircuts since last spring, so it's growing long. For my bangs, I put scotch tape on them at eyebrow length, and trim carefully underneath with manicure scissors, Keeping my hand between my hair and my face. I've cut my eyelids and brows several times, which means that I seldom do it. As far as styling goes, I use a flat iron, cautiously doing one tiny portion of hair at a time. I feel my hair frequently, hunting for wavy hair which needs needs straightening. Mostly, it turns out well.
Eyebrows are ignored. I cannot see stray hairs, even with 20x magnifying mirrors. Friends have assured me that no strays are visible, so I'm trusting their opinions.
Makeup is the Luminess Air System. You've seen that airbrush makeup system sold on the infomercials, they play all night on various tv channels. Well, I gave in one sleepless night after trying to use regular makeup earlier that day with the results looking clownish in photos. It broke my heart knowing I could no longer easily make up my face as I had for decades. I love that it works as well as the ads say. Pull my hair back with a headband, and it Takes under five minutes to apply. I can feel it going on easily. My skin is perfect and flawless using it. When I'm done, I use a crayon eyeliner next to my lashes, just on the outer thirds of my eyes, then smudge it gently with my fingertip. No mascara, or eyeshadow either anymore, I can't see clumps or smears. Blush is a powdered bronzer, applied with a giant makeup brush. Three strokes across each cheek, one gentle stroke along the jawline.
Nails are a huge pain. Taking off the Polish is easy. Trimming is done carefully, feeling the shape with my other fingertips. Painting is done with multiple magnifiers. I get a lot on my fingers around the nails. Once they're completely dry, I soak and moisturize my hands. Then I use my nails to carefully scrape off the excess from my fingers. Not perfect, but it works.
Stray lip hairs are a fact of life, so once a week I take an electric bikini razor across my upper lip. Don't know if I have any, but better safe than sorry.
I use retinA, sunscreen, and moisturize daily.
It's not a perfect system, but it works for me. Best, I can do it with or without any sight.
Enough for now.....
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