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.
I think the eyebrow tint is doable, but I doubt the eyelash tint will be a good idea.
I’m a woman in my 40s, and very into beauty stuff… I do get a lash lift and tint a few times a year…
IMHO, it’s too much for a lot of people my age. Having to sit still with your eyes shut for 45 mins, while someone pokes you on the eyelid, AND you cant open your eyes to look at them is a no for most average people.
You kinda have to be hardcore to tollerate it.
You might do okay doing it at home, one eye at a time, just the tint, no lift…
They sell eyelash safe dye kits on Amazon. Start with the eyebrows, and see how that goes, then try eyelashes on another day.
I didn’t realize the tinting took so long. Thanks for this info. I’m convinced now that it’s not as ideal of a solution (but the brows could be) as I thought it might be. Thanks for the tips.
It’s the lash lift that takes so long - you’re basically having your eyelashes permed so that they’ve got a semi-permanent curl.
Tinting on its own only takes six minutes (I use Refectocil products to do mine).
Wow, I got my brows tinted recently and was going to go back to get my lashes done but I think I’ll give it a miss, I don’t think I would like that at all. Useful information!
No problem.
It doesn’t hurt or anything, it’s just really tough from a sensory or control perspective.
Like imagine how weird a dental visit would be if you were blindfolded the whole time, and every-time you tensed up, it made it harder for the tech.