Mum who lost hair twice after chemotherapy and marriage breakdown says ‘life’s for living’ as she embraces 3D eyebrows

A mother who lost all her hair twice – once from chemotherapy and after the breakdown of her marriage – and used to cry when looking at her reflection in the mirror has since realised “life’s for living with or without hair” as she embraces her new hyper-realistic 3D eyebrows.

Lesley Watts, 59, an office manager who lives in Binfield Heath, Oxfordshire, was diagnosed with “aggressive” HER2-positive breast cancer in August 2020 following a mammogram and biopsy.

She commenced chemotherapy in October 2020 after having the cancerous tissue surgically removed, and within one week of starting treatment, her hair was “falling out by the clumps”.

At the time, Lesley, who previously had brown, shoulder-length locks, was told her hair would eventually grow back and she felt being bald was “a small price to pay to stay healthy”.

However, after she and her now ex-husband – who she does not wish to name, made the mutual decision to separate in 2022, Lesley lost all her hair again.

At this point, the mother-of-four said she “couldn’t see a way out of it”.

“I didn’t like looking in the mirror, and when I did, I was miserable with myself,” Lesley told PA Real Life.

“I had geared myself up for six months, thinking my hair will grow back, and when that glimmer of hope was taken away, it all fell apart.”

Lesley initially felt insecure and decided to try on various wigs, but she said they “didn’t look right without eyelashes or eyebrows” – and this led her to Tracie Giles London.

While Lesley was wary of undergoing tattooing, particularly on her face, she said the £1,200 Hyper-Realism Brows treatment has left her with eyebrows which are “a work of art”.

With her newfound confidence, she has since trekked around New Zealand, gone sailing on a yoga retreat around Croatia, and now feels that “life’s for living with or without hair”.

“I was gobsmacked when I saw my eyebrows,” she said.

“They just complete my face and it makes being bald much easier because before, without eyebrows, it all just blended into one – there was no definition.

“Eyebrows literally make your face, in my opinion, and it’s a real confidence boost when you’re bald because you’ve got something that’s standing out apart from your baldness.”

Lesley was due to have her routine mammogram appointment – a breast screening – in March 2020, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, this was cancelled and rescheduled to July.

After doctors discovered Lesley had calcium in her milk ducts, she underwent a biopsy and this led to the discovery she had HER2-positive breast cancer in August 2020.

Looking back now, Lesley believes this delay enabled doctors to identify the “aggressive” Stage 1 cancer, as it measured 3mm and “might not have shown up” earlier.

“I just see it as a blessing, that it was meant to be that way and they found it,” Lesley said.

After her diagnosis in August 2020, Lesley underwent a procedure to remove the cancerous tissue in her right breast and was advised to undergo chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

She was told that “6% of people who didn’t have chemotherapy didn’t make it to their 70s”.

While she was technically cancer-free at this stage, she wanted to give herself the best chances of survival and just thought: “Let’s go and get it done”.

“I wanted to live past my 70s, and being 57 at the time, it was a little too close for comfort,” Lesley said.

“Plus I’ve got the mindset of, if I gave it my best shot and anything does happen down the line, at least I know I did all I could at the time, rather than just ignore it.”

Lesley commenced her first of six sessions of chemotherapy in October 2020, which made her feel fatigued, but she did her utmost to keep fit and she rested when needed.

Within one week of starting treatment, however, Lesley’s hair started falling out and she therefore decided to shave her head with the help of her family.

Lesley said this decision was not difficult at this stage, as her main priority was her health.

“I was made to feel good, looking bald, I haven’t had anything negative about being bald,” she said.

“It was just part of the process, and it’s a small price to pay to stay healthy at the end of the day”.

After completing chemotherapy, she then underwent radiotherapy, followed by tri-weekly injections of Herceptin – a targeted cancer drug – for one year, which finished in February 2022.

Lesley’s hair had started to grow back in patches by June that year, along with her eyelashes and eyebrows, but she only had “bristles” on her head at this stage.

However, after she and her ex-husband of 22 years made the mutual decision to separate in the autumn, Lesley said her hair started falling out again.

While “no one was to blame”, she said this stressful event in her life “was probably the straw that broke the camel’s back”.

“The second time was harder, that’s when I felt I was out of control of it then,” she explained.

“Before I thought, ‘Okay, in six months it grows back and everything will be hunky dory again, albeit short’.

“[When it didn’t], that’s when I struggled more with myself, with looking in the mirror.

“That’s when I felt the most insecure and vulnerable, and I’d cry to myself and say: ‘What if it never grows back?'”

Lesley explained that “putting (herself) out there” was the hardest part initially, as many people would stare at her and she did not wear a hat during the warmer months.

However, she soon learned to embrace her new look and to “smile” at other people.

“I just focused on not looking at people at first, but with practice and going out, you get used to it and you can eventually just look people in the eye and smile at them,” she said.

“Once you’ve done something once, it’s easier to do it a second time, and it was a case of coming to terms with it and thinking, ‘This is me’.”

After visiting Miri, a Brow Director at Tracie Giles, in November last year, Lesley has gone from being “completely hairless” to having amazing eyebrows which “complete her face”.

She plans to get them “touched up” again for her daughter’s wedding next year, and she hopes that, with time, her hair will eventually grow back.

While she has tried various wigs, she said they are not practical and she will therefore continue to embrace her baldness.

Lesley explained that the support from her friends and family has been invaluable, and reading books on positivity, mindfulness, and mindset has helped her reframe any negative thoughts.

Exercising has been extremely beneficial for her mental health as well, along with prioritising self-care, being “kind” to herself, and focusing on the present.

Lesley still has to have a mammogram every year for five years as part of her breast cancer check-ups, but she is now trying to “make everything as positive as (she) can”.

“The best thing I’ve learned over the last couple of years is that that I can be in control of my life and it’s all down to your mindset,” she explained.

“Your mind is very good at taking control, making you feel miserable, and you have to take yourself to one side and put a different spin on it, a positive spin.

“You get so much more out of life by just seeing things differently, and I’m not perfect, I’m a work in progress, but I’ve accepted [my new look].

“I’d rather be like this than be ill. It’s a small price to pay to look like this and life’s for living with or without hair, so live it.”

To find out more, visit: traciegiles.co.uk/permanent-makeup-london/hyper-realism-brows.