ALOPECIA EMPOWERMENT SEMINAR

On Sunday April 29th, my husband, Jim Peterik and I hosted an Alopecia Empowerment Seminar and we were delighted to welcome 40 people into our home on a lovely spring afternoon. The concept was actually created around a dinner table with six or so of my friends who happen to be vacuum hair clients. The idea that emerged was to have a group gathering that presumed acceptance of the disease and addressed the desire to learn empowering advanced techniques with hair and makeup. We wanted to get beyond the basics that we addressed within the first year of having had alopecia. We wanted an intense information gathering seminar with an open question and answer format led by industry leaders. And that's exactly what we got!

Here is a photo of myself with our three seminar presenters: Buke Botoya, Laura Whaley and Jeff Segal.

Thank you all for generously devoting your Sunday afternoon to those of us with alopecia!

With lemonade, note pad and pen in hand, the group welcomed the first of our three presenters, Jeffery Lyle Segal, a long-standing member of the Permanent Makeup Society living in Chicago/L.A. and a leader in his field. Jeffery has been doing my permanent makeup for over 10 years and I have referred many of my clients to him. In his expert hands, many of us have experienced the transformation of going from a featureless face (devoid of hair), to one of expression and beauty thanks to his realistic-looking eyebrows and eyeliner. A common sentiment is "My own eyebrows never looked this good!"



Jeff began by giving an interesting presentation of the history of eyebrow shapes over the last 6 decades. You can see his drawings on the dry-erase board of the many evolutions of the female brow shape. Fortunately, we've advanced beyond the pencil-thin high arch brow, heavy Brooke Shields brow and over-tweezed golf-club brow to a very soft, sensual and classic shape. This shape conforms to the geometry of the nose and eyes and when done correctly, will perfectly frame what is often one's most entrancing feature - the eyes.



After going over his resources for conventional and polymer makeup products (hint: theatrical suppliers), Jeff spoke about some alternative solutions like temporary tattoos, brow stamps and brow gel with bits of hairlike fibers for adding texture. But he saved the best for last - permanent cosmetics - and asked a few from the group to give a testimonial of their experience with him. Needless to say, everyone raved about his technique and their beautiful brows and eyeliner spoke for themselves! Jeff, thank you for your well prepared presentation that was as entertaining as it was informative.


Getting hungry? So where we! Time to break and sample some of the food from the beautiful cornucopia of delights on the buffet table - thanks to everyone who shared some of their favorite recipes with us!

Next up was Laura Whaley, an Aveda Salon Development Partner and good friend of Buke's. Laura explained the concept behind the 25 year-old company's plant-based products and covered everything from foundation to lip gloss. The area that seemed to interest us the most was applying artificial eyelashes. Laura had lots of great tips including rolling the lashes to shape them to the eye before applying and using an angled makeup brush to paint Prosade, an acrylic emulsion adhesive onto the eyelash strip. Start at the inner corner after glue becomes tacky.
Anyone with dark circles under the eyes? Get enough sleep, hydrate the body and skin well. Treat the undertones by applying concealer AFTER foundation and set with loose translucent powder. Frosted eye shadows will stay on longer and don't forget to clean your good brushes! Blush goes on the cheek apples.
Thank you, Laura, for helping us to bring out our natural beauty.


After one more break - who could resist sampling EVERY lovely item in the buffet? We wouldn't want to hurt anyone's feelings - I introduced Buke Botoya, owner of Buke's Salon & Spa in Clarendon Hills, IL.
Buke and a small group of hand-picked senior staff members have been responsible for the cuts and colors of most of my clients. Her salon perfectly wraps a fashion-conscious, up-to-date salon in the warmth and relaxed comfort of a quaint suburban town.
Buke had a lot to cover and wasted no time in talking about face shapes and the most complimentary hair styles to go with them. In general, an angular face requires soft framing locks while a round or oval face can play with some dramatic angles if desired. The long face can appear shorter with bangs of some sort while the short face is best left open.

In beginning the hair color discussion, Buke brought out a gold and a silver cape and asked for two volunteers. It was fairly obvious which cape color complimented the girls' skin tone and eyes. Discovering if one has cool or warm tones could be very helpful while trying to choose the best hair color for a vacuum hairpiece order!

Buke also talked about current hair styles and cutting and coloring techniques. She used Barbie's recent haircut as an example of the importance of "shattered ends". Although this may sound painful, we learned that this thinning techniques allows for much better movement in the hair - you know, the way natural hair springs back. Undercutting the hair around the face is another great technique to reveal more of the face. She stressed the concept of "wearing your hairstyle"; not letting "your hairstyle wear you"!

Before leaving, everyone was invited to take a "goodie bag" that Buke generously put together. They included samples of Buke's Heavenly shampoo and conditioner, a tube of Aveda's Damage Remedy, a wide-toothed comb to stuff in a purse and a free consultation at the salon. WOW! Thank you, Buke. Many of us will be taking you up on your generous offer.

Lastly, I can't forget to thank my incredible husband, Jim Peterik, who began our day with a high-octane performance of his hit song, "Eye of the Tiger"(performed originally by the rock group Survivor in 1982). That day, Jim went from international rock star/performer to my rock support as shopper, furniture mover, photographer, server and cleaning service. I would venture to think that Jim sets a great example to the other men whose wife's have alopecia. I love you very much!