Beauty’s importance in terminal illness survival: Board-certified experts explain

MANILA, Philippines — “Kilay is life,” so the saying goes. 

But for the cancer survivor patients of Alternative Healing Manila, getting eyebrows (kilay), eyelashes and permanent makeup gives hope that is literally a matter of life and death.

Aesthetic procedures like permanent makeup are usually deemed as “kaartehan” (vanity), but according to Kristine Lucas, a Board-certified international master trainer in Aesthetic Skincare and Dermopigmentation, permanent makeup is used to also draw nipples on breast cancer survivors who lost a breast or two.

“At least through permanent makeup, we can make them feel like a woman again,” Lucas told Philstar.com at a recent exclusive interview.

“Sometimes, pinapa-reconstruct nila (breasts), but even if you reconstruct, there is still no nipple and areola. By completing the look of the breast through aesthetics, it becomes a part of the healing of the person. Parang nabalik na ‘yung confidence nila na, ‘Okay, babae pa rin ako’.”

Permanent makeup, said Lucas, is also helpful to those who have Vitiligo, a disease that results in loss of skin color in patches (such as what Michael Jackson had); and also those who have Alopecia Areata, a disease caused by the immune system attacking hair follicles, resulting in hair loss.

Permanent makeup is applied to hide the patches among Vitiligo patients, while eyebrow makeup is done to those who lost even their eyebrows to Alopecia, Lucas explained.

“Hindi mo naibalik ‘yung buhok n’ya, pero naibalik mo naman ang loob n’ya, so parang natulungan mo s’ya ma-regain ang confidence n’ya,” she enthused.

“Napansin ko, ‘pag meron kaming fini-facial, or meron akong kinikilayan, nakuwento na nila ‘yung buong buhay nila sa’min… we’re a form of therapists, because self-love is a form of self-therapy. If you do something for yourself, na-relax ka, gumanda ka na, therapeutic ‘yun for you. So, they are related,” she expounded on the link between Aesthetics and physical healing.

“How are they related? Because if you feel good about yourself, you feel better,” she said.

“We have a hierarchy of basic needs and one of them is aesthetics, according to Maslow. So if you’re able to meet your needs aesthetically,