My mother is 80 and has dementia, and it’s unfortunately time to take away her makeup, which is (not surprisingly) one daily routine that she remembers to do on her own. But she can’t apply mascara, eyeliner, or use brow pencils well on her own, and I’m not with her daily to do it for her (and I rarely wear anything, so I barely know what I’m doing). The mascara especially is applied too thick, it’s just a drugstore brand, and she’s constantly picking at and rubbing her eyes.
She’s lost some eyelashes, and she plucked her eyebrows to very fine lines when she was young, so she also doesn’t have much to work with there either. I’m wondering if we could do something semi-permanent like lash or brow tinting to help her feel like she’s got some modicum of makeup on, but I’m not sure if it’s a safe procedure for a much older woman? I’m not even sure she could get through the procedure without someone (me) there to keep her comfortable and to help her understand what they are doing. She’s fine when getting her hair done, or getting massages, but the lash tinting looks a little scary to me, in terms of bandages and tape, etc.
Whenever I search for makeup advice for seniors, it’s for people who are still… fully functional. Any advice or resources? Is there a ultra-lightweight mascara that she could wear that won’t build up and clump in her eyes?
It’s very hard to navigate preserving her health vs preserving her sense of self and femininity. Thanks in advance.
Hmm ok. Thanks for the info!!
I don’t know if she “loves” doing her makeup, there’s a lot of cursing and muttering involved these days, but since it’s still part of her routine, I agree that she should still do whatever feels right to her.
I wonder if getting her an empty mascara bottle would help her maintain her routine without damaging her eyes? Amazon has many very cheap options!
She’s cognizant enough to know if the tube is empty, it’s more that she has a really heavy/unsteady hand in applying it. She can’t tell when to stop.
Have you had her vision checked? It could part of the problem.
Hi not sure how much help this would be. But there’s this make up brand called Guide Beauty that makes makeup up for people with disabilities. They design the products for those with shaky hands. They have a mascara there tool. Not sure if it would be worth it for your mother to try.
Great suggestion!
That might be, thank you for the suggestion.
I will be the same way at that age 😀. Love my beauty rituals. My mom had to have her eyebrows and lipstick on. I’m the same way now. It’s a sign that they are pretty healthy (other than dementia, of course).