Restoring your Face, Hero Products, Cosmetics -

‘Brillo pad’ skin arrived on my face within days of starting Tamoxifen. This was nasty dry skin that made my face rough, sore, red and wrinkly. Just when I needed when I wanted to look good and show the world I had recovered!

Then one morning I woke up to find my body covered in painful, bleeding skin blisters, or lesions.

Rushing to the Cromwell Hospital, I managed to find ‘Elusive Oncology Nurse’.  Not much help.  She peeled strips of skin off my arms, saying “you do have a problem, but I don’t know what you can do”.

Bullies

So I went to see the Professor of Dermatology at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, and explained that this red, rough and peeling skin had started up one week after beginning Tamoxifen.

In front of his students he told me “it’s your age”. I pointed out that this couldn’t possibly have happened in under two weeks. Furious at being challenged, he swept out, accompanied by suppressed giggles from his students.

I HATE bullies.

Consulting real experts

I had an ace up my sleeve. As I frequently write about skincare, I was able to contact some of the best skincare companies in the world. They have huge Research and Development departments (R & D).   You can be sure that today a multi-national company’s shareholders wouldn’t allow them to sell products that hadn’t been thoroughly tested, and they employ some of the best medical minds researching skin problems.  So ask the ones I mention for help – if you talk to their top consultants you will find a wealth of helpful, practical advice.  Unless you are lucky enough to be treated in countries such as France, where they are far in advance of us when it comes to dealing with side effects.

So I phoned friends in skincare companies’  PR offices.

• Yes – they knew all about Tamoxifen and the problems it causes.
• No – they wouldn’t give me anything to help UNTIL I could supply a letter from my doctor to say my skin was clear.
• As soon as I did, the most wonderful parcels arrived by every post -it was like Christmas.

Clinique said they had a massive sector researching problems. They would take stands at British Medical Assn. and Dermatology conferences – only to find none of the doctors wanted to know. But they do have an excellent booklet giving details of products R & D has developed, together with all the ingredients. It is written in medical language, but useful to hand to doctors and nurses.

So, here are details of products that helped me.

WARNING

Before you try any product, follow at least one of these steps:

1. Ask your nurse or doctor
2. Ask the skincare consultant for a patch test
3. This is unlikely, but check that product ingredients won’t react with any drug

A patch test is when a Consultant spreads a little of the product on your skin – usually on the arm. Keep this there for 24 hours, and if there aren’t any bubbles or blisters – it’s probably OK for you to return and buy the product.

Hero Products  – companies in France and USA, in conjunction with Dermatologists and hospitals, have developed some fantastic products especially for ‘cancer skin’.  Many of these have gone through extensive clinical trials, and are now being sold on the British market.  These are mentioned here, along with companies that are currently working with cancer centres, or have doctors working on research and development to help our skin.

And France has probably the best post-cancer survival rate in the world – far better than ours.  I wonder if it is because their medical profession helps us stay on the drugs by treating side effects, rather than brushing them aside?
Evolife Evaux Laboratoires is a French company producing products for dry face and body skin (Evoskin), cracked and broken nails (Evonail); hand and foot syndrome, red breast (Evoskin); mouth ulcers (Evomucy), dry mouth (Evodry),  and body odour (Evodeo).

Over the past five years they have been supported by ANVAR (the National Agency for Development from Research) and part of Project Eureka in Europe. This  carries out research in continuous contact with specialists in oncology, dermatology, gynaecology, paediatrics and homeopathy.

Evaux Laboratoires has created a Research and Development department called EVOLIFE to improve the quality of life during chemotherapy by limiting specific side effects of some chemotherapy treatments, providing solutions to problems that previously had few answers.

Their EvoSkin is a fantastic product;  the only one I know that you can use on your face and your body.  I didn’t believe this at first, but it works.

I gave some Evomucy to a friend who had mouth ulcers from chemo, and he said it was superb. www.feelbetterduringchemo.com

How my side effects started

For me, Tamoxifen started the problem skin side effects, and these continued when I was put on Arimidex, then Aromasin, and haver to be kept rigorously under control.  But my face recovered thanks to Clinique and their fantastically helpful medical research team, sending me products from their marvellous  Superdefence range to try out. The difference in my skin was unbelievable, and it is now back to almost what it was before. I will mention them again and again, because they CARE, and are always producing products to help.

If you are advised to seek help from a Dermatologist – BEWARE! The ones I have come across, including Professors, should have gone out with dinosaurs. They had no idea what is happening to our skins, and don’t want to know. I know – there are some good ones out there and if you have found one who has studied effects of cancer drugs on our skin, please please e-mail me at verite@greenbee.net as I would love to talk to them. The only recourse we have when they humiliate us and say our problems “are age-related” is to ask them, in front of their students if possible, if their attitude might be the reason why Britain has lower survival cancer rates than the rest of Europe – who do worry about skin problems. That usually shuts them up, especially as students are often more forward-thinking.

Far better to ask good skincare companies for advice. I have been astonished at the amount of knowledge and help one can get from them. Some of my favourites are Clinique (of course), La Roche Posay, Sisley, Kanebo, Clarins, iS Clinical, etc.

Cost

Yes, it is going to cost money.  The best skincare does, but you should be able to save money on cosmetics if you take part in the fantastic Look Good, Feel Better programme.  If there isn’t one at your hospital, ask or go on their website.  It is free, it is fun, and you come away with a goodie box full of enough cosmetics to last you a year.

Then spend money on cleansers, moisturisers and night creams.  These are the products that are going to put your skin back on track.

French women would NOT put up with the appalling advice we are given (probably why their post-cancer survival rates are far better than ours). In France doctors and nurses listen,  and you are likely to be prescribed products produced by La Roche Posay (more details later).  You might even be sent to La Roche Posay’s medical spa where over 8,000 lucky French patients receive treatment there every year.  If you want to follow them, look under Holidays.  This is a totally different approach, where doctors work WITH the patient, rather than dismissing our concerns.

Sadly, when nurses compliment me on my skin, and I start to tell them why it is in such good condition, even though I am on hormonal drugs causing cancer skin side effects – you can see they aren’t paying a blind bit of notice. Their eyes glaze over at the mention of any commercial products – and they live by the NHS mantra “free at the point of delivery”. No matter if you are so desperate you will pay anything to get rid of painful, itching skin and desperately need something that will make your life easier and more comfortable they just pretend they can’t help.  This dog-in-the-manger attitude is pathetic.

If you want a Dermatologist’s opinion of La Roche Posay, Dr. Craig Kraffert has some sensible observations on  www.reddingdermatology.com/commonprob.htm.

And yes, the Redding Center where he works obviously makes money on patients ordering the products -but this is common practice in USA, and if the products weren’t any good they would be sued at the drop of a hat!

Sisley, the French company, are slightly more expensive, but excellent. As with many French companies, their clients are demanding, and want their creams to work rather than buying because they look pretty! Their products are sensibly packaged, are now in most John Lewis stores, and consultants are very helpful.

There is no question that we should wear an anti-sun product all year round. Apart from the fact that too much sun is bad for us, sun’s rays and pollution are ageing – probably the biggest contributor to ‘old age’ face. Many companies now include an SPF factor (it must be at least SPF15 to be any use) in moisturisers and foundations.

However, Sisley has an interesting point to make. I asked them which of their foundation products contained SPF, and their reply was

“We don’t put an SPF into our foundations or tinted moisturizers as if we put a normal SPF in it would, like the SPF in any sun cream product, wear off after approximately 2 hours. Therefore we recommend that our customers use All Day All Year which offers at least 8 hours protection and the normal foundation on top. As the SPF in All Day All Year is encapsulated it is very expensive to produce and therefore would make the foundation very expensive if it was put in to it. Also if you are using All Day All Year you don’t need an extra SPF in the foundation.

This makes sense to me – we MUST protect our faces at all times, even when we go out in the winter; skin cancer is on the rise, and effects of hormonal drugs give us ‘brillo pad’ skin – so follow their advice, put on their All Day All Year cream under foundation whenever you go out – and realise Frenchwomen expect their doctors to help their skin stay looking good. Lucky people.

Weleda – These are hero products, free of any synthetic fragrances, colours and preservatives. They make a range of products (I mention them on other pages) and I always find these very gentle and helpful.  If you ever think that soap and water is enough to clean your face, just wash it  – then spread some Weleda Cleansing Lotion on your face, wipe off and look at the cleansing wipe.  I can guarantee that you will see traces of dirt, looking like dirty grey film across the wipe’s surface.  Proving that soap and water is not enough.

Also, soap and water is very drying;  the last thing you want when taking drugs.  Using gentle but effective products such as I have mentioned will help restore your face.  At least twice a week massage the cream into your face at night – gently move/slide  your fingers up across your cheeks and out, for as many minutes as you can bear.  This stimulates the blood flow, and within a few days you should see an improvement in your skin.

SERUMS

Estée Lauder calls serums “one of the greatest skincare innovations of all time” and for once I don’t think this is media-hype. Serums look like nothing, you can’t feel them on your face, but use them – and your friends tell you how well you look. If I have strong drugs to take, I will use them twice a day, but otherwise once is enough, at night underneath your night cream.

Estée Lauder’s Advanced Night Repair has been out for over 25 years, but still going strong, and really does what the label says. I used it twice a day after a major op when I was on about 20 different drugs, and friends thought I had been in hospital for a face lift. Didn’t know if I should laugh or scream! Newby Hands, of Harpers Bazaar, is the beauty editor other beauty journalists read, and she says “those who use it look younger than those who don’t”. At £32 a bottle it is cheaper than most.

If you are flying anywhere, the airports, particularly those belonging to BAA or where the shops are serviced by Nuance, have managed to get fantastic deals from manufacturers to absorb VAT, so it is worthwhile stocking up when you fly. If you are going anywhere outside the EU then you get much more off! BAA shopping line 0800 844 844 Press 3.

Dr. Bragi’s Age Management Marine Enzyme doesn’t feel like a serum, and has a ‘stickier’ feel on the skin, but it acts in the same way – instant First Aid for drug-stressed skin.  I love the clear bottles filled with little air bubbles;  these are genuine, and the pump-action dispensers come with instructions on how clear them if they block up the delivery – but they are part of the ingredients developed by this doctor from Iceland.

This is extremely effective, but do remember that this is sensitive to lipids, so wait about 15 minutes before you apply any creams or foundations on top.

But for sheer feel-good looks, this product is ace, and contains marine enzymes which protect our skin from free radicals.  www.dr.bragi.com

For younger skins, Avon is very supportive of Breast Cancer Crusade, and has just sent me their Lip Palate: a fun, funky but useful little gadget. Tiny silver case, which opens up to show a mirror, two creamy lipsticks and a brush. You can attach it to a key ring and it doesn’t dry your lips.

Clarins is not as expensive as some products, but their face products (for men and women) are excellent; so are their cosmetics, and they don’t dry out your skin as some can. Their research chemists are an interesting lot, and their boss, Jacques Courtin-Clarins, is fascinating on the subject of skincare.

Daily Care

Every day, twice a day at least

• Cleanse
• Tone
• Moisturise

All of these steps are important, but for our skins is it vital that you moisturise frequently.  Whilst I had ‘brillo pad’ skin I would put on a good cream four times a day, and now I use a product in the morning, a night cream at night, and just before I go out I will put on a moisturiser with SPF of minimum 15.

COSMETICS AND SKINCARE

It may seem a pedantic point, but there is a difference between cosmetic and skincare products, although many companies make both.

Skincare products look after and care for your skin; particularly important if you have cancer side effects such as dryness.

Cosmetics are the products that you put on your skin, particularly your face, to improve and highlight your features.

Another bully: Writing about skincare, I can challenge arrogant medics when they don’t know what they are talking about.  Recently one totally refused to recommend my website “because you mention products”. So I asked if drugs were products. He got the message as he swished off.

I am certain that possibly one reason why we have such bad post cancer statistics is because of this type of attitude. German, French, US etc. oncologists and nurses have no hesitation in recommending commercial products.  In fact you can buy recommended skincare at many US hospitals.

At the Cromwell Hospital they even stock and sell a commercial Aloe Vera Gel which they recommend using during radiotherapy. I used it four times a day, and didn’t get one blister – even though two years later my surgeon said the heat was still there in my skin. But it is naive to believe because a product contains Aloe Vera, it is not commercial. It is.

Radiotherapy

If you are reading this before you have radiotherapy treatment, you might like to know that Aloe Vera gel is often used to prevent radiotherapy burns.  You are told to put this on twice a day- I did it four times, and only got a small red patch.  Perhaps I was lucky – but two years afterwards Mr. Gui said the patch was still warm – so hurrah for Aloe Vera.

One of the best Aloe Vera gels is Equilibra – brand leader in Italy, which is now coming onto the market in UK.  It is 98% aloe vera (many cheaper brands contain much less) – but it is the extract from this plant that costs – but makes it effective. Cost £6.49 (although one private hospital sells the 150 ml tubes for £12!).

Incidentally I always have it on hand in the kitchen. I did keep a tube there which I was given when I went over a factory in Florida, and suddenly realised it was 10 years old – and still working! It is marvellous on burns, although I use it for so much else, especially on scrapes and grazes.  www.equilibra.com0115-841 9795.

Making up your Face

We all want to look good, and even though I don’t normally write about cosmetics, I couldn’t resist an invitation from Sainsbury’s.

The supermarket chain has launched a make-up range that is specially kind to our type of skins.  An invitation to a ‘Girl’s Afternoon In’ had us all crowding in to a suite in London’s swish Mayfair Hotel, for
information about their Health and Beauty range, now available in 790 supermarkets, as well as online.

If anyone wondered what had happened to Pout, the make-up range that was stocked in Harvey Nichols, sadly the company went down.  But Sainsbury’s stepped in – and bought Cargo, which, as they say, “offers modern tools for self-expression”.   It’s funky, priced very affordably, and has sensible ideas – like foundation in floppy tubes that can be squeezed to the last drop.

We had manicures, massages and some fascinating and practical advice from Louise Page on make-up.  Louise is interested in helping us use the best make-up suitable for our dry, dry skins, and has given lectures at Cherry Lodge Cancer Care in Hertfordshire.

She and her assistant Claudia got hold of me (in the nicest possible way) and turned my ideas upside down.

First, to give me a glow – Claudia suggested for this time no foundation. Instead she told me to try a trick: she blended cream blusher with foundation on the back of her hand, then, using a brush, swept it across my cheekbones.  Already I could see this was giving me a glow, and as my skin is currently in a bad state from pain killers, this meant that foundation didn’t settle in the open pores.

Then Louise me some handy tips:

• when choosing eyeshadow, you can’t tell if the product is going to last, or it is made with cheap ‘fillers’ – unless you press down a finger-tip on the colour pad, transfer this to your skin under your wrist, then compare the patch with the colour on the pad.  If that on your wrist is very much a pale copy, it means it has lots of cheap ‘filler’.  Instead, look for one that almost matches that in the box.
• If chemo leaves you with a red nose or face, cover this with concealer or foundation that has a slightly yellow base;  this will counter-act the redness.
• Another very handy tip;  don’t try lipsticks on the back of your wrist.  Instead, put the colour on the underneath of a finger tip.  You can then hold this up between your lips and see what the colour will really look like.

In the range is a tiny stubby eye-shadow brush;  if you have problems using a long brush, this is just made for shaky hands – a brilliant idea.

If you follow ‘Desperate Housewives’,Cargo was the make-up brand the stylists used. But the range is affordable, costing from £7 to £15.  Louise is based in Cambridge, and is happy to come and talk to cancer support groups, and if you want a one-to-one consultation she gives cancer patients a special discount.  beau.louise@btinternet.com.

The Health and Beauty range also includes an Age Defence and Age Reverse range, which I am now trying.  This contains different creams for day and night wear, plus a Collagen Boost Beauty Serum and Collagen Boost Eye Serum – just right for those lines with drugs bring out on our faces.  When these appear, I will use these products three times a day, to zap the dry lines before they get embedded.  At an affordable £5.68 and £4.88 these won’t exactly break the bank. The Sensitive range is specially suitable as it is hypoallergenic and fragrance free, and includes glycerin, beta-glucan, vitamins A, E and C, and aloe vera.

At the moment I am trying out their SkinTherapy range of bath and body lotions, and will report on these in the body section.  So far I loved using the products this morning!

Look Good Feel Better

Anyone who takes part in Look Good Feel Better will tell you that the programme’s motto is “Let us put a smile on your face” – and that’s just what it does. Hospitals and cancer centres across Britain from Northern Ireland to the Channel Islands, and up to the top of Scotland, run these marvellous sessions.

When you arrive you are handed a large box of cosmetics, containing foundation, eye cosmetics, blusher and powder, lipsticks and goodies such as scent or another surprise. They are colour co-ordinated to your skin tone, and yours to keep when you leave. This is extremely generous, as I found most lasted almost a year.

Companies taking part are the Estée Lauder group (fittingly, as they started this marvellous programme), Chanel, Dior, Avon, and just about every reputable company that sells cosmetics in Britain gives their products – and everyone gets a complete selection from about a dozen different companies.

Different companies will send consultants from their local outlets; one will demonstrate what to do, then others will help you to copy – or produce your own variation. It is a fun session, and everyone is soon laughing away and commenting on each other’s efforts. But at the end, everyone comes out looking miles better; so do go – and have fun!

www.lookgoodfeelbetter.co.uk

Cosmetic Companies

On this site you won‘t find much about the ‘painting’ side of faces, because I don’t often write about them. However, good cosmetics make you feel better (one of my favourite therapies is to buy a new lipstick), and skilfully applied make you look better.

However, if I come across a cosmetics company who makes an effort to produce products that don’t dry the skin, I am interested. I was invited to the launch of Bellapierre cosmetics, and their staff were so kind and helpful that I can only say, if you feel like a lift, try them.

Their reasons for approaching those with cancer is that the range is 100% pure minerals, and they gave me the scientific background – which will interest those of you who paid attention during chemistry lessons.

“Formulated from 100% pure crushed mica and iron oxides combining coverage with positive skin care benefits for a naturally translucent, barely there finish. Next to oxygen, mica is the chief elementary constituent of the Earth’s crust and is found abundantly in nature in the form of silica sand.

The mica is split into microscopically thin sheets before being oxidised at various levels to provide a broad range of colours:foundation, blushers and bronzers. What I liked were the shimmer powders for the eyes (over 100 of them!), cheeks, lips and nails. You can have fun by putting them on dry, then mixing them with water, and getting a completely different look. Why won’t medics understand that playing around like this is FUN? You can also mix them with lip balm to make your own colour lipstick, or clear nail varnish. These products have an SPF 15 – so you have some protection, although do keep on applying.

So if you want to see what it is all about go to www.bellapierre.com

And HAVE FUN!

Tagged as: Aloe Vera Gel, ANVAR, Avon, Bellapierre, cancer side effects, Cargo, Champneys, Channel, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, cosmetics, Cromwell Hospital, Dior, Equilibra, Evaux Laboratoires, Evodeo, Evolife, Evomucy, Evoskin, Look Good Feel Better, Louise Page, mica, minerals, Sainsbury's, silica, Sisley, skin lesions, skincare, Weleda