How Do Beauty Products Help Cancer Patients?

When a person receives a cancer diagnosis, it’s profoundly unsettling and depressing. Oncologists, palliative care specialists and other medical advisors will point out that a chemotherapy regimen will impact a patient in multiple ways; we’re all familiar with the hair loss that accompanies chemo, but there are other side effects where beauty and personal care products can help the patient through this very taxing regimen.

Chemotherapy also affects the skin, which can begin to turn greyish, dull, dry and sensitive. That’s because chemo drugs are designed to attack fast-growing cells, like cancer – but skin cells are among the most actively reproducing cells in the body, too, as they replenish themselves constantly.

As dermatologist and breast cancer survivor Cynthia Bailey, M.D., told SELF, “When you are on chemo, your skin cells don’t replace themselves like they normally would and your skin becomes fragile and dry.” The result? A greyish or yellow pallor to the skin. “Cuticles become brittle and crack, nails don’t grow, and hair often falls out,” she added.

That’s in addition to other physical changes that may occur, including weight loss and other effects. Yet our appearance, and the sense of identity and continuity our appearance reinforces is important to the psychological welfare of the patient. Maintaining a sense of optimism, of feeling good, is essential to a positive state of mind, and that positivism is crucial to the battle against the disease.

That’s why many cancer treatment centers, hospitals, and support organizations devote considerable resources to helping patients keep up their physical appearance. One example? Look Good Feel Better, a 30-year-old program that’s a collaboration of the Look Good Feel Better Foundation, the American Cancer Society, and the Professional Beauty Association.

So far, the program has been supported by 150 companies, served over 50,000 women across the U.S., held 15,000 beauty workshops, and benefitted from over 150,000 hours’ worth of time contributed by volunteers that include thousands of beauty professionals.

What kind of beauty and skincare products are best for somebody undergoing chemo?  According to Dr. Bailey, a patient or caregiver should look for products that are gentle, hydrating, and hypoallergenic. They should avoid common allergens – such as fragrances, alcohol, preservatives, and botanical essential oils – as these can be irritating or, worse, cause an allergic reaction that may break the skin barrier, creating infection risks.

And while sun protection is always desirable, it’s critical for a cancer patient. Chemo drugs and other medicines can cause sun allergy, so Dr. Bailey recommends “the hypoallergenic zinc oxide physical sunscreens.”