Breast Cancer Survivor Makeover: Ms. Julia Ben

The Making of a Special Day!

Serving, giving, and making the change are three things that describe my passion.

When I got the opportunity to get Private Label Extensions involved more with the community I was ecstatic. Service is one of the Private Label Extensions core values, so with the tremendous growth of the company just this year alone, we can impact the lives of more women all over through hair and beauty.

Great Opportunity, Great people!

In November, Private Label Extensions had the opportunity to sponsor a full makeover experience to a breast cancer survivor affiliated with Painted Pink Inc.

Painted Pink, Inc. is an Atlanta based 501(c) 3 nonprofit dedicated to educating every millennial on breast health. Painted Pink supports millennials with access to mentors, resources, and medical professionals who understand the intersection of breast health and the realities of breast cancer for this generation.

They are proponents of knowing your genetic history and being proactive about fitness, nutrition, and beauty practices.

Helped Paint Atlanta Pink

Every year Painted Pink, Inc. does a breast cancer awareness fundraiser to celebrate and uplift survivors in the community. This year it was a pleasure to partner with the ladies for a giveaway during their 4th Annual Bruncheon.

The bruncheon was marvelous. As a millennial woman, it was great to get such a vast amount of information and education on breast health. Being able to hear from Lakeisha Thornton and Chris-Tia Donaldson as they told their stories as breast cancer survivors and their journies of becoming overcomers was amazing!

During the event, there were a high number of businesses that were giving away their products and services to honor many breast cancer survivors. It was great to see an extensive list of companies come together for a more significant cause.

Seven Year Survivor

The Winner of their makeover was Ms. Julia Ben. Ms. Julia resides in Atlanta, by way of Philadelphia. She is a seven-year survivor. Ms. Julia was diagnosed on February 4th, 2010 with stage 1 breast cancer. After going through her treatments, Ms. Julia was cleared of breast cancer. She's been living herself unapologetically ever since.

The first phone call I had with Ms. Julia to go over logistics I could hear the excitement in her voice. She expressed that she had never had something like this done before and she could use a makeover because when had been wearing the same curly style for a long time.

We set a date and got Ms. Julia everything she needed.

Gratefulness

When thinking of who would impact Ms. Julia in a significant way Dallas Christopher and Deezy Exclusive came to mind. Dallas Christopher was our hairstylist for the day, and Deezy was on makeup. Dallas is an International Paul Mitchell Educator, and this was close to his heart because he lost his mom to breast cancer several years ago. Deezy is a Makeup Artist, and her passion is doing makeup and making people feel beautiful. She was just grateful to be a part of an impactful project like this one.

We conducted the entire makeover at the Salon Lofts Buckhead Beauty Mall, which was gorgeous and very accommodating.

Ms. Julia’s full glam consisted of:

Wash/deep condition of her natural hair

Braid down

Wig creation with Spanish Wave Extensions

Wig installation

Color

Cut and Curl

Total glam makeover (including PLE 3D Mink Lashes)

Breast Cancer Photoshoot

The Construction

Dallas started off constructing a full lace closure wig using Brazilian Spanish Wave Hair Extensions. He created the wig so that Ms. Julia could wear it to the middle of a side part. Dallas used pre-lighting on one bundle and used foil with DPL 30 Volume.

He then added additional color highlighting with 9cb & 7n ombre’ toned with 9n & 9bv. Ms. Julia used to wear a tight coil wig, but Dallas decided to give her a triangular layered bob with some spiral curls for added texture.

Also, before installing the wig she had some demarcation and fading color on her natural hair, so he reconstructed her color, trimmed her ends, and gave her treatment so that her hair stayed healthy under her wig.

The lashes!

For Ms. Julia's full glam, Deezy went with a natural look but gave her some eyeshadow that fit her skin complexion. Of course, the fantastic lashes that she applied were PLE Thin Line Mink Lashes (Vegas).

Ms. Julia’s reaction was priceless!

After hair and makeup, Ms. Julia still hadn't seen what she looked like, so she went and changed into her all pink and breast cancer pendant to prepare for the photoshoot. As she walked down the hall to meet us at the long chandelier mirror, we anxiously couldn't wait to see her.

She became overwhelmed with joy and gratefulness for her experience all day. Therefore, she shed a few tears.

After the reveal, we had a photoshoot session scheduled so we could capture moments with Ms. Julia glammed up in her Breast Cancer Pink.

Her Reaction Was Priceless

Private Label Extensions was so grateful to be able to provide this experience for someone who deserved it.

“I could hear my voice, but I didn’t even know that was me,” was how Ms. Julia described her makeover.

This was the first, but not the last. Excited for what’s to come!