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.
Ohhhh, it’s such a tricky disease. Sending lots of love to you both ❤️
These ideas are very kind of you, and clearly coming from a place of great care. I’d suggest, though, that it’s worth taking a step back first, and asking whether these procedures would make any difference in her habits. If “I need to do my makeup routine” is so strongly fixed in her, it may well stay that way regardless of any procedures or treatments.
I.e. (depending on her specific progression) she may or may not be or remain capable of any or all of: a) remembering that she’s had the treatments; b) remembering that because she’s had the treatments she doesn’t need to do her lashes/brows any more; c) noticing in the mirror that her brows/lashes look different; d) putting two and two together to figure out that the difference she sees in her appearance means that she doesn’t need to do lashes/brows.
So you may find even with treatments, she’ll still do (or want to do) her makeup routines regardless, and the current issues may not be resolved. So perhaps a harm-reduction modification like the tubing mascara or clear/nude products others have suggested is a better way to go.
Wishing you both luck, whatever you go with ❤️