Kids Konnect — Wear With All

Making Fake Look Fabulous

By Patty Reinhardt

We never know what cards will get dealt to us in life. Nine years ago, I was the dealt the hand of alopecia universalis. As a result, I lost all my eyebrows and eyelashes. I had lost most of my hair two years before – at age 35, had complete re-growth, and then at age 39, lost everything. Losing my eyebrows and eyelashes has been the hardest part of this condition for me.

I was absolutely devastated. I didn't know who I was anymore. I didn't want to look in the mirror, and I didn't know how I was going to go on. I am a professional woman – a corporate training manager. Most of my job requires that I am speaking to and teaching employees at all levels in my organization. I didn’t even want them to see me, let alone get up in front of them in my new altered and, certainly not desired, state.

I can remember telling my doctor – before the onset of my alopecia areata – that "everything about me would be fake by the time I was 50." It was a joke. How little did I know how true this would become – and ten years earlier than I had planned!

With the love and support of my family and some incredibly wonderful friends, I did go on. I tried to cope with my situation by working very hard at doing the best make-up job I could to replace what I didn't have anymore. In essence, my new goal was to make fake look fabulous – for myself and for others who have been dealt the same challenging deck of cards in life.

I took a part-time job in a make-up studio to get more experience and more training on make-up. And I practiced, practiced, practiced.

I hope that what I share with you below will help you to make fake look fabulous and to cope with the devastating effects of losing eyebrows and eyelashes.

Eyelashes and eyebrows help to give your face depth, definition and expression. I always start with putting on my eyelashes. If you have not done this before, or if you have never worn make-up, prepare to experience some frustration – at first. However, if you practice, it will get better. I can now put on all of my eye make-up in 10 to 15 minutes.

Tools for Designing Eyelashes

• Tweezers
• Eyelash glue
• Eyelashes – upper (and lower, if desired)
• Small scissors
• Eye lining pencil
• Mascara
• Watch or clock
• Toothpicks
• Eyelash comb

Applying Top Eyelashes

1. Pull eyelashes off of the package.
2. Hold the eyelash up to your eye to see if you may need to cut off some of its length.
3. Cut the eyelash to fit the size of your eyelid – by either shortening the end of the eyelash if the eyelash is too wide for the size of your eye, or by trimming the overall length of the lashes if they are too long. Make short jagged cuts to help create the illusion of real.
4. New eyelashes have a bit of glue on them from package. Be sure to pull this glue off before applying the eyelash glue.
5. Line the edge of the eyelid with eyeliner. Start with the upper lid. Get as close as you can to the bottom edge of your upper eyelid as possible. Then line the lower lid.
6. Squeeze a thin line of eyelash glue onto your finger.
7. With a pair of tweezers, pick up the eyelash in the center.
8. Drag the eyelash through the glue on your finger to put a thin coat of glue on the edge of the eyelash.
9. Let the glue sit on the eyelash for one minute, before trying to apply it to your eyelid. The glue needs to get tacky first. If you try to apply it before the glue gets tacky, it will slide all around. If you wait too long, it will be too dry to stick.
10. Lift the eyelash to your eyelid. Place it as close to the bottom edge of your upper eyelid as possible. Work to stick it in the middle. Then, use the tweezers to place each end of the eyelash on the ends of your upper eyelid. You may need to adjust the entire eyelash a bit.
11. Reline the eyelid with the eye lining pencil, if necessary.
12. Use mascara, if desired, to make eyelashes look even more real.

Applying Lower Eyelashes

1. Cut lower lash into two or three smaller pieces.
2. Clip the edges so that they are shorter at the edges of the inside and the outside of your lower eyelid.
3. Pick up the first piece of the lower eyelash with tweezers. Drag the smaller piece of the lower eyelash in the glue on your finger to put a thin coat of glue on the edge of the eyelash. You won’t have to wait as long to apply the lash because the glue on your finger has been there for a few minutes and is already tacky.
4. Apply the first piece of the lower eyelash to the lower lid of your eye.
5. Continue with gluing and applying the other small lower eyelash pieces to your lower eyelid.

Eyelash Tips

You can find eyelashes in many drugstores, beauty supply stores, and some make-up studios. They usually run anywhere from $5.00 - $15.00.

A new pair of eyelashes lasts me about a month. I take them off almost every night. I pull the glue off of them and apply a fresh layer of glue in the morning. I don’t wash them in water. I use an eyelash comb to clean off clumps of mascara or glue. I always carry a tube of glue, a toothpick and a tweezers with me – wherever I go. If the lash becomes lose at one end of my eye, I put a little glue on a toothpick, apply it under the loose lash and use my tweezers to put the lash back in place.

Be careful not to get glue on the tweezers because the lashes will stick to the tweezers and not your eyelid when you go to apply them. The glue I use is white and dries clear – it comes packaged with the eyelashes. You can also purchase dark-colored glues.

I wear contact lenses and have not had problems with wearing eyelashes.

Tools for Designing Eyebrows

• Foundation
• Loose powder and sponge or powder puff
• Eyebrow pencils – two colors, one close to your hair color and another just a bit lighter
• Eyebrow shadow
• Eyebrow brush
• Eyebrow Pencil sharpener
• Q-tips
• Hair spray

Applying Eyebrows

1. Apply make-up foundation to face, including brow bone and eyelid.
2. Use a sponge or a powder puff to apply loose powder over make-up foundation on brow bone and eyelid. This helps to "set" the eye brow make-up.
3. Look at your brow bone – the goal is to outline the brow bone – to add depth, definition, harmony and balance to your face.
4. Refer to this picture (fig. 1) as a guide for drawing eyebrows. Use eyebrow pencils to make dots (points) to outline the shape of an eyebrow.
5. The outline of the eyebrow should begin at Point #1, directly over the inner corner of eye. Take a long pencil – align it with the edge of your nose and the inside corner of your eye. Use an eyebrow pencil to make the first dot at Point #1.
6. The highest point of the eyebrow (or arch) is at Point #2, directly over the outer edge of the iris, which is darkest part of eyeball. Align a long pencil with the outer edge of the iris. Use an eyebrow pencil to make the second dot at Point #2. The dot made at Point #2 should be higher than the dot made at Point #1.
7. The eyebrow outline ends at Point #3. Align a long pencil again with the outer edge of your nose and the outside of the eye. Use an eyebrow pencil to make a third dot at Point #3. The third dot should be parallel with the first dot.
8. Use eyebrow powder to connect dots #1, #2 and #3 to form the shape of an eyebrow. Make outward strokes.
9. Pick up a very sharp eyebrow pencil. Anchor your fist to the cheekbone on your face with the eyebrow pencil in hand. (This helps to give you more control as you begin to make short "hair-like" strokes along the outline of the eyebrow). Starting at Point #1, use the very sharp eyebrow pencil to make short upward strokes at and slightly above the eyebrow line drawn with the eyebrow powder. This helps to create the illusion of eyebrow hair. (See fig. 2)
10. Make the strokes from Point #1 to Point #2 straight up.
11. Angle the strokes from Point #2 down to Point #3.
12. Make a few "wild" strokes to help make the eyebrow look more real. (See fig. 3)
13. Spray a small amount of hair spray into the palm of your hand. Use your finger to dab a touch of the hair spray onto the eyebrow. This helps to hold the make-up in place.

Eyebrow Tips

You can find eyebrow pencils and eyebrow powder at most make-up counters, beauty supply stores and drug stores. In some make-up studios and beauty supply stores, you can find eyebrow stencils that will also help you to shape your eyebrows.

Remember to sharpen your eyebrow pencils often – at the very least with every use. The color of your eyebrow make-up should be close to the color of your hair – light brown if your hair is blonde. You can use two eyebrow pencil colors to add more depth to the illusion. Just like real hair, eyebrows are not usually all one color. The second color should be a just a bit lighter than your hair color.

If you have trouble keeping make-up on because of the climate in which you live or due to perspiration, consider getting your eyebrows tattooed. The cost of this procedure can range from about $300 to $1000.

For More Information

If you would like to purchase a video demonstration of these instructions, contact the NAAF office at 415.472.3780.

Good Luck!