Skin care during cancer treatment
HAIR loss, nausea, difficulty sleeping, gum pain and dry, itchy skin — the side effects of cancer can be very hard to deal with. But nothing prepares you for the turmoil that a diagnosis can have on your emotions. ‘Your whole femininity can crumble, and you have to reinvent it again’, says Isabelle Guyomarch (pictured above), entrepreneur and breast cancer survivor. Isabelle, a mother-of-two, adds: ‘I needed to make sense of my battle, like many survivors do.’ She explains how she ‘rebuilt’ herself as a woman, deciding to help others going through the same thing by creating an innovative beauty brand. Her range of products seeks to make a difficult time easier for women experiencing the kind of symptoms she had, and the loss of confidence they can bring. With gentle formulas and no harmful ingredients, Isabelle’s 11 products are soothing, moisturising and luxurious to use. Explaining what’s special about her fluoride-free, toothpaste with ginger, for example, she says: ‘When you’re in chemotherapy, you have bad breath, you feel sick, you have a dry mouth — so we’ve put in real ginger extract, which is an amazing anti-nauseant. ‘Everything has a double function – a day cream that can double as a night cream, for instance. Even if you have the financial means during a cancer battle, you no longer have the strength to use a ton of products.’ The ground-breaking range, which is getting rave reviews online, also includes a perfume designed for skin weakened by chemo, with fragrances chosen to minimise headaches. And there is a lotion to care for the scalp, aimed at helping preserve hair for the future. Isabelle adds: ‘You’re a different person after cancer. But you can create something positive out of it. I want to help women to get back in front of the bathroom mirror, to find their inner confidence again, find out who they are now.’ The range is available on a website that’s an online community for people living with long-term conditions, offering everyday practical support for symptoms and side effects.