Keeping Up Appearances

Photograph by Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association Foundation

About 15 years ago, Ed Kavanaugh, president of the Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association, heard about a young cancer patient who had started showing signs of depression, due in part to her loss of hair and other side effects associated with the treatment she was undergoing. He arranged for her to meet a makeup artist in the hopes it would help improve her spirits.

When Mr. Kavanaugh learned that the woman’s makeover had given her a much more positive outlook toward herself and her cancer treatment, he decided to do more.

The result: Look Good … Feel Better, a free program that teaches cancer patients how to cope with changes to their appearance. At workshops around the country, women who are undergoing radiation or chemotherapy receive instruction from trained cosmetologists, hairstylists, and other experts. The program also offers individual teaching and makeup sessions, and distributes instructional books and videos for women to learn beautifying techniques on their own.

The program is sponsored by the Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association Foundation, the trade group’s charitable arm, the National Cosmetology Association, an organization of beauticians, and the American Cancer Society. In addition, cosmetics companies give about $16-million worth of products each year.

Look Good … Feel Better annually serves as many as 40,000 patients nationwide, and has independent spinoffs in at least 10 other countries. In the United States, the program runs a special service catering to Spanish-speaking women, and has expanded to serve teenage girls and boys. Look Good … Feel Better for Teens helps young cancer patients cope not only with their appearance, but also with other challenges, such as dealing with their peers.

Here, a cosmetologist who volunteers with the program helps a cancer patient apply makeup.