Ladies, lets talk beauty

General
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One of the unfortunate realities of living with TN is that no matter what you are feeling on the inside, it doesnt reflect what appears on the outside. You may need to leave the house, go to events, go to work, have business meetings, see family, see strangers who dont know whats going on with you and probably never will, and ive found that sometimes, if you can, it helps your morale just to spruce up a bit, a fake it till you make it kind of thing.
So ladies, (and gents) I thought we could share some tips! We all have different levels of pain, triggers and even types of TN, im type 2 or ATN, so what works for one person may not work for another.

This is what works for me: (Im not going to name products in case anyone thinks im sponsering but happy to share with anyone who asks)

I use a very gentle and soft cleanser to wash your face. It has to be something non acidic because that triggers the burning in my face and will make me miserable. I found one that is very gentle, has a pump so it comes out foamy, just gently apply and its easy to wash off, leaving your face refreshed as well.

For creams, I have a lightweight hydrating primer that doesnt burn or feel thick and heavy so look for something hydrating, gentle.

Some days you might not even feel up for washing your face, so I use a very gentle toner (make sure to find one that doesnt burn or tingle your face) and on a soft piece of cotton, you can wipe off the grimy feeling and feel more refreshed. There is also an on the go cleanser I have that works really well too.

If you can apply foundation, use a sponge to dab softly rather than a brush to swipe or your fingers to spread which may hurt or trigger. For blush, there are creamy ones that you can apply with a sponge as well on the apples of your cheeks. See what application method works best for you, fingers, brush, cotton, sponge etc. A dab of lip gloss and mascara and your ready to go! (even though all you want to do is get under the covers in the dark!)

Got any tips to share? :))

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I show my pain in my eyes and when my eyes look bad so do I. I have found if I apply a little eye shadow and mascara my eyes (which are my best feature) look brighter , prettier, therefore I feel brighter and prettier. It even makes my family and friends feel better to see looking better. Like you say fake til you make it .

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I agree with you both. If I press harder with cream spread on my hands I do not start an attack. It’s the little dashes that kill me. My eyes are my best feature but mascara and eyeliner irritate my nerve and my eye kills me. I wish I could find a brand that will not do this. I would like to wear a concealer over my BB base or foundation. I wish it was a sponge stick I could push down and stamp it on!

Earrings can also bother TN as does my shoulder length hair falling forward. What do you do about hair? I cannot wear a ponytail constantly!!

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Thank you for this great topic

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Judith, great idea with the eyeshadow! A pretty shimmery champagne type of color can really make your eyes look brighter. Also a a bit of color on the lips can also make your face brighter. so true about family feeling better when you at least look better!

Jean_Marie, what about wearing eyeliner and mascara hurts? I wonder if there would be a difference in using liquid eyeliner? you won’t have to press as hard? also maybe you can find a smaller tester type of tube of mascara, maybe a smaller wand would hurt less?

For hair, what about a head band to get it out of your face or tying half of it up and leaving the rest down?

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I think it helps so much , for me anyway, to fix my hair and and put on my makeup . I know beauty isn’t everything but this condition takes so much from us on a daily basis leaving us feeling pretty beat up too much of the time. So when I can I try to put my best face forward! Haveing worked in the beauty industry for years we know how important exfoliating and hydrating your skin is the best thing you can do! Lots of water and moisturizer are essential , exfoliation canbe tricky as it can easily set off pain. Chemical peels and microdermabrasion treatments are out, much to stimulating . I use a cooling papaya enzyme mask or a warm oatmeal enzyme mask that gently exfoliates dead skin cells away without triggering pain . Then lots of moisturizer :slight_smile:️ It’s a nice treat you can do for yourself .

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I finally found a solution for my hair is to loosely braid it. Either one or two braids or to do 5 or 6 small braids across the top in front. This reduces stress on scalp therefore less pain. Also for make up I use mineral powder with very soft brush. Does anyone have a remedy for acheing or hurting teeth and tongue, this is one of my biggest problems.

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Ladies thank you all so much! This pain is new for me and I appreciate these tips so much! And knowing I’m not overreacting to the psin I feel. If I can’t do anything else a little loose powder but I embrace my crazy curly hair. It makes me feel free

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Currently mine is back after 14 months remission. It came with Winter & also some stress made it worse ( my ex who lives in the same house, had throats cancer, been in hospital 3 times, I had to call ambulance twice. Then he ended back in hospital to have his Gall Bladder removed.
It came back bi- lateral strange as not been on my right side of face since about 2008.
I always dress, earrings & eye shadow, but makeup can be a problem. As it can set off an attack. Best I find is a soft brush with fine powder.for some colour.
Keeping the pain under control with 200mg Tegretol three times a day, also 1200mg B12 & Tumeric for inflammation.
Currently interstate with grandchildren. Problem is their Winter is -3 to -8 o/nite & 10 in the day. Good discussion …

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My Pain manager prescribed oral liquid Lidocaine which I apply to my burning lips and tongue 3-4 times a day. Works well to numb areas. You swish a small amount around your mouth for 15 seconds and spit the excess out.

For the hurting teeth, would you believe, years ago, I discovered a mouth retainer stopped the nerve pain. My teeth like to be covered. (The way I dis-covered this was I found that my nerve started to hurt every morning when I took out my dental mouth guard. So, I asked my dentist to mold a light weight retainer I put in and take out during the day.)

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I like to do buns and up-do’s with large clips rather than pony-tail bands. My favorites are to A) twist back the left and right front parts of my hair into a little bun then flip up and clip the long back hair so it goes over the little bun and then the ends flip down over it. Or B) just twist my hair up from a “low pony tail” and clip a cross the back/top of my head. These distribute the weight of my hair better than a high ponytail or messy bun and make my pain less. It’s hard to describe. Maybe there are some YouTube videos of quick easy up dos and you can find what works for you. I do a lot of simple braids too.

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