Kaikohe beauty therapist Bo-Deene Stephens (left) provides subsidised cosmetic eyebrow tattoos for women like Alice Padlie-Hicks who have lost their hair during cancer treatment. Photo / Jenny Ling
Kaikohe beauty therapist Bo-Deene Stephens (left) provides subsidised cosmetic eyebrow tattoos for women like Alice Padlie-Hicks who have lost their hair during cancer treatment. Photo / Jenny Ling
A Far North beauty therapist is helping women face the world with confidence after losing their hair during life-saving cancer treatment.
Bo-Deene Stephens from Hush Beauty Lounge in Kaikohe has been providing subsidised cosmetic eyebrow tattoos for women this year after becoming a registered Te Whatu Ora provider.
The move to have her business funded by the Government came about after a client who worked for the Cancer Society visited Stephens to get her brows done.
“All of her clients who had cancer wanted brows like hers,” Stephens said.
“She got in touch with them [Te Whatu Ora] and found they could fund for the brows as well.
“My clients say it makes them feel amazing and beautiful … and they walk out so much more confident.”
Alice Padlie-Hicks’ cancer journey began in mid-2018 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer and by the end of that year, she had started losing her hair. Her eyebrows never grew back.
Padlie-Hicks, from Kaikohe, made an appointment with Stephens after hearing about the service through a friend.
She felt “fabulous” after getting her brows done in September.
“I’m in a customer-facing role, and used to pencil them in, but was afraid of making a mistake and leaving the house with half a brow,” Padlie-Hicks said.
“Now I’m really rapt, I’m over the moon.
“It makes me feel great and that’s important when you’ve been through cancer and chemotherapy and radiation like I have.”
Stephens, a qualified cosmetic technician, is also a hip-hop instructor who took classes at Palace Dance Studio in South Auckland.
As well as the beauty salon, she operates Hush Dance Studio in Kaikohe, which she started in 2008 out of a shed on Tawa St and which encourages growth, creativity and leadership in her young students.
Her eyebrow tattoos typically take two sessions plus a six-week touch-up costing around $400.
This can be covered by Te Whatu Ora, which offers a “wigs and hairpieces subsidy” for people suffering permanent or temporary hair loss due to a medical condition or certain cancer treatments.
Individuals can choose a supplier and then make a request for reimbursement.
Alice Padlie-Hicks (right) said she felt “fabulous” after getting her brows done by Bo-Deene Stephens in September.
For adults, the maximum funding for permanent hair loss is $2330 over a nine-year period.
For temporary hair loss, $408 is provided over one year, and for children $1226 is provided over three years.
Te Whatu Ora community health system improvement group manager Mark Powell said any business could apply to become a registered Te Whatu Ora provider and “we welcome their applications”.
While many offered subsidised wigs, hairpieces, hats and turbans, Lush Lounge in Kaikohe “is the only registered provider who solely does microblading/eyebrow tattoos”, he said.
“We know the impact that temporary or permanent hair loss can have on people and this contribution to their wellbeing can be invaluable for our patients and their whānau.”
Padlie-Hicks, who is now cancer-free, said she’s had great feedback from friends and work colleagues.
She appreciated the support from Te Whatu Ora and the Cancer Society, she said.
“These are amazing services that make a woman feel fantastic,” she said.
“You can wake up in the morning and feel whole again.”
Jenny Ling is a news reporter and features writer for the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering health, food, lifestyle, business and animal welfare issues.
