It’s impossible to know what cancer reallyfeels like until you’re going through it yourself.

You might feel trapped in a body that’s changing on you. There might be dry skin where there wasn’t before, spots, marks or unfamiliar colours on your skin where there weren’t before, and just skin where once there was hair.

You might also feel alone, like none of your loved ones quite ‘get’ what it feels like when you don’t look likeyouanymore. I can’t imagine what that must feel like. But I know there are women out there who do know exactly how it feels because they’ve been there and sat in the uncomfortable chair you’re sitting in now.

I asked them for the practical, useful makeup, skincare and hair care tips and products that helped them to regain a small part of control back over their bodies during their cancer treatment, and to feel good about facing their treatment with self-confidence.

Here’s what worked for them. It might be helpful for you, or start you on the path to finding what is.

Barbe Dolan – beauty blogger and breast cancer thriver

A post shared by B A R B E (@fashionista_in_suburbia) on

Mar 7, 2018 at 2:37am PST

When Barbe Dolan was first diagnosed with breast cancer she thought chemotherapy and radiation therapy might not be so bad. It might helped her lose some weight, she laughed. When she learnt she’d lose her hair, and after her second diagnosis, her breasts through a double mastectomy, the mother-of-three was scared about feeling disconnected to her femininity and sense of self.

“I’d always been a ‘booby girl’, I’ve always been proud of my breasts and my hair,” she toldMamamia.

Barbe currently works with the National Breast Cancer Foundation to raise awareness and funds for the disease that claims the lives of eight Australian women everyday.

She also runs her own beauty and style blog called Fashionista in Suburbia and knows how feeling good about your appearance can aid your cancer treatment.

This is the advice she wants other women undergoing cancer treatment to know.

Face and body skincare

Barbe recommended looking for products that don’t contain active ingredients like alpha-hydroxy acids (glycolic, lactic, tartaric, and citric acids) or retonol/retinoids.

“All you need to be doing now is soft, gentle skincare to hydrate. At this stage there is no need to resurface the skin,” she toldMamamia.

To remove makeup, Barbe used a gentle cream or milky cleanser like Cetaphil’s Gentle Skin Cleanser, 1L for $19.99 and a clean, damp Chux cloth.

“I stayed away from using make up remover wipes because they usually contain alcohol (which can be drying on the skin).”

Barbe chose to avoid products like exfoliating scrubs (“your skin may feel hot and sensitive and there is no need to aggravate”), and any skincare products with fragrances.

“Sensitivity to fragrance could make you nauseous. I remember using a particular shower screen cleaner at the time I had chemo, up to this day the smell of it makes me feel sick!” she said.

Makeup tips while undergoing cancer treatment

As a beauty blogger, Barbe spends her days playing with newfancymakeup products. But during both her treatment periods, she focused on a few basic steps specifically designed to address the beauty concerns you might face while undergoing chemo or radiation.

How to even out your skin tone

“Firstly, a little foundation or powder can do wonders to brighten the face. Some medications may change your skin colour so make sure your old make up is still the right colour for you,” she said.

You might find your skin tone taking on either excessive redness, or a sallow, yellowy undertone during treatment.

To combat redness, use a green colour corrector – we like Urban Decay’s Naked Skin Colour Correcting Fluid ($46) or L’Oreal’s Nude Magique CC Anti-Redness (currently half price at $13.40) before applying your foundation or tinted moisturiser.

Violet colour correctors – Becca Backlight Targeted Colour Corrector in Violet ($50) and L’Oreal Nude Magique CC Anti-Dullness Violet (also half price at $13.40) are good options – can be used in the same way to lift dull, sallow skin.

If you’re after an all-in-one product, I T Cosmetic’s Your Skin But Better CC Cream ($61) was created specifically for sensitive, rosacea or redness-prone skin. It also contains SPF 50+ which is always important, but even more so while undergoing treatment.

Your colour correcting friends in order as mentioned above. Images: Chemist Warehouse/Sephora.

Doing your eyebrows after chemotherapy or radiation therapy

"You may lose your eyebrows during your treatment and once they are gone, it is really hard to figure out where they were in the first place!" Barbe said from experience.

"If you would like to pencil in your eyebrows [once they've fallen out] there is a way to roughly gauge where they should start, peak and end.

"The highest point of the arch should be approximately above the middle off the iris."

You can use the end of an eyebrow pencil or a comb to map out the structural points of your eyebrows like Barbe's done here. Image: Supplied.

Barbe suggested trying a brow stencil if you need a little more direction. Models Prefer Essential Brow Stencils (six pack for $9.99) and the e.l.f. Eyebrow Stencil Kit ($3) are both affordable options that can be used with your preferred brow pencil or shadow.

You can also try semi permanent eyebrow tattoo products like the Maybelline Tattoo Brow 3 Day Gel Tint ($25) or

You can watch Barbe trying out a semi permanent brow tattoo gel in the video below. Post continues after video.

Yes, they look a bit intense, but rest assured your eyebrows won't look like they've been drawn on with a black marker. The end result is quite subtle and only lasts for a couple of days.

Always do a patch test on a small area of skin before using products like these on your face, or check with your oncologist/GP before use.

Dodie Jury - hairstylist and Non- Hodgkin’s Lymphoma thriver

A post shared by Natalie Anne Hair (@dodiejayhair) on

Feb 27, 2017 at 2:09am PST

Before Christmas in 2016, Dodie Jury was the busy Head Stylist at Natalie Anne Hair. She chose to ignore the pain, fatigue, swelling and shortness of breath she felt on a daily basis. She was just working too hard, she thought.

Dodie persisted through a misdiagnosis and another specialist laughing in her face and eventually had a biopsy taken of a lymph node in her neck.

They found an enlarged B-cell tumour, a type of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma obstructing her heart. After six rounds of chemotherapy, Dodie has been in the clear for over a year.

These are the things that worked for Dodie, and that she hopes will bring you comfort during your treatment.

Looking after your scalp and hair during cancer treatment

Hair loss during chemotherapy happens because the treatment targets all of our rapidly generating cells—healthy cells as well as cancer cells, BreastCancer.org reports.

Hair follicles are some of the fastest-growing cells in our bodies - a regular healthy human body's hair follicles divide every 23 to 72 hours. Unfortunately these cells are also destroyed by chemo, which leads to the hair on your head, as well as eyebrows and eyelashes to fall out.

Losing her hair was particularly hard for Dodie, being a hairdresser. Her hair started falling out after her first round of treatment, at which point she made the decision to shave it off surrounded by family and friends.

"I always washed my scalp with an organic chemical free shampoo (she used GAIA Baby Shampoo, $12) and dabbed it dry with a towel. I preferred to keep my wig off unless I had an occasion as it allowed for my scalp to breathe," she toldMamamia.

GAIA Baby Shampoo. Image: Mamamia Shopping.

Once Dodie's hair started growing back, she used products from the