I miss my eyebrows a lot. Even more than I miss the hair on my head! They managed to hold on throughout my first lot of chemo, but disappeared pretty quickly with the weekly infusions of Taxol I’m having at the moment. From what I can gather talking to other cancer patients, eyebrows take a while to come back after treatment finishes too, so I guess they’ll be MIA for a long while yet. My eyelashes are abandoning ship too, which has left my eyes feeling pretty dry and looking rather raw! It’s certainly a challenge to look at my reflection in the mirror now and feel comfortable in my skin; a true test of my humility, I guess!
So, here’s a little selfie session for you all. I will continue to try and embrace this version of myself boldly and bravely…and perhaps make you all feel a bit better about yourselves! Don’t you dare declare a ‘bad hair day’ or curse your unruly locks within my earshot though! I may come after you with a bloodshot death stare…
AN ODE TO EYEBROWS
Oh, eyebrows!
You divinely clustered tresses,
Come back!
Forgive my past transgressions
With pointed tweezers and molten wax;
For every time I uprooted you so harshly.
Please,
Look beyond all my churlish cursing!
You were never too sparse, never too unruly.
You were beautiful!
Oh, eyebrows!
You sleek, sweeping curves,
Come back!
Forget about the times I queried your essentiality!
It is clear to see,
Of facial hairs, you reign supreme!
No beard, moustache or eyelash can compete
With your power to frame, to flatter
An otherwise pallid face.
I feel so bare,
I look so oddly undressed,
So alien.
Oh, eyebrows!
You graceful arches of expression,
Come back!
Without your delicate form,
I cannot truly convey
My feelings to the world!
You are the adjunct to my speech:
A slow lift for bewilderment,
A deep furrow for rage,
A soft angle for scepticism,
Subtle expressions of my unsaid thoughts.
Oh, eyebrows!
You delicate contours of thought,
Come back!
I would give anything to have you
Festoon the bony ridge
Atop my eyes once more.
You’ve left me alone,
Exposed to gawps and stares.
There is no way to belie my illness,
Or feign my way to health
Now that you have jumped ship!
Oh, eyebrows!
My bushy beauties!
Please,
Come back!
Here are a few wacky looking shots of celebs without eyebrows to make you giggle:
Cancer Cans 
Love your Ode Kate! I blogged about my eyebrows this weekend too! I rudely didn’t notice them wander away, suddenly they were just thinned and sparse … wish I’d written them a little poem! Hugs to you from one whose eyebrows are growing back in the wrong place – under the browline – and who is again experiencing the joy of chin whiskers! Ahhhh! Did you know eyelashes have an eight week growing cycle I read that this weekend when trying to contemplate how long before they’ll bushing reappear!
😘
Sus
xo
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PS my underarm hair didn’t leave? What the … ?! Made me laugh x
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Reblogged this on Purplesus' Blog and commented:
I loved this Ode to Eyebrows! Amazingly lucky to read about Kate’s journey … wish I’d noticed my poor old eyebrows wandering away … I’m lucky that enough stayed for me not to look so naked … I get that it is the hardest thing – when I finally noticed I begged the rest to stay, they did but that’s more likely chemo finishing not wishes of them staying. Like all of us I only have one wishe! Go away cancer and never come back!
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What an extraordinary poem – you have such a talent! Thanks for reminding me to count those small blessings such as eyebrows. Much love
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Pleasure, Annie. As soon as I get mine back, I’ll be paying them lots of compliments!
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hair and eyebrows or no hair and eyebrows, you are still beautiful- your eyes and smile stand out in the picture! I like how you approach such a “harsh” subject with humor and poke fun at it, but all the while being completely honest.
My mother constantly “jokes” about her stomach being bigger than her “breasts” now that she had them removed.
The things we take for granted about our bodies- and don’t truly miss until they are gone.
Thank you for sharing a piece of yourself with the world
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I actually lost my eye lashes and eyebrows about a month after chemo, so rude. But they did actually come back in a few weeks so it may not take the 8 weeks. I used eyeliner to fake eye lashes and it actually worked really well. Get one with a smudger on the end and then lightly apply and smudge and it will do the trick (something like this http://www.sephora.com/quickliner-for-eyes-intense-P305114?skuId=1394527) I use the urban decay powder with wax for eye brows (I have super light/scarce eye brows normally and this stuff is my jam). I think it looks a lot more natural than eye brow pencil and while it didn’t look quite as good as the eye liner smudge trick, it gave me something to work with.
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Oh that’s great to hear. I have no idea what will happen with mine. Just as long as they’re not gone for good!
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You still look great! Definitely try Fibre Brow, it’s exceptional http://m.boots.com/h5/cat_hub?unCountry=uk&path=/en/Silk-Fibre-Brow-Enhancer_1624942/ xxxx
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Thank you for the link. I need all the help I can get in the brow dept!
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