It was during my night scrolling that I saw the video that inspired this article. After seeing some Real Housewives memes and red carpet photos, I was presented with a beautiful bald black woman without makeup. This video was called “Radiation Therapy for Black Skin”. What is the name of the content creator? Nellie Robert. When she held her breasts, I could see that she had residual hyperpigmentation in her breast creases, armpits, and neck. It sparked a kind of light bulb moment for me. Of course, I thought that if I had cancer treatment with black skin, I would experience skin changes like this, but why didn’t I notice this until now?Hyperpigmentation is literally caused by skin trauma caused by a large influx of melanin as the skin heals. Naturally, this is no exception when the body is undergoing cancer treatment. It was then that I realized that other than losing my hair, I had never realized the depth of the impact that cancer and treatment can have on the body externally. And I had never really seen or heard what a young black woman was like.
Cancer is complex and each experience is unique, but this is the first time I’ve seen that journey through the eyes of someone who looks like me and how treatment has affected my hair, skin, and nails. It was inspiring to understand how it affects people. Nelly’s content is from the perspective of a 20-something black woman with a deep connection to beauty.
Once she understands what her cancer journey will be like health-wise, what will that mean for her relationship with how she looks and feels? I created content that I had never seen before in any space I existed. Here she tells Cosmo about her journey…
nelly robert
nelly robert
When you find a lump…
After giving birth to my second child (I now have 3), I went to my discharge appointment and was about to ask about birth control. Before that, I said to my doctor, “By the way, I have a lump on the side and side of my chest.” So, she examined me and referred me to my hospital’s breast care unit for a biopsy as soon as possible.
She examined me and saw two lumps. She said: “Cancer or not, I wish it had come sooner.” At that moment, I started crying. But she lovingly scolded me about it, and I think it’s because she’s also a person of color (black women are more likely to die from breast cancer than white women, and black women are more likely to die from breast cancer than white women). women are more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer at a younger age).
After undergoing a biopsy, it was confirmed that it was cancer. Stage 1, Grade 3. Stage refers to the severity of the cancer. Therefore, stage 1 is the best-case scenario. Grade 3 was how quickly it spread, from the chest to the lymph nodes.
About physical side effects
December 27th (2023) was my first chemotherapy treatment. Since then, I have had eight rounds of chemotherapy. The first four rounds were a drug called an EC drug (epirubicin cyclophosphamide) and the last four rounds were a drug called paclitaxel (both drugs work by killing cancer cells and stopping them from growing and spreading. intended to treat cancer). They were very different from each other and had very different side effects.
In the case of EC, the biggest side effect is hair loss. So, that’s when the alopecia started, and no kidding, a few days after that, my hair fell out very quickly. So, at that time I decided to take control of the situation and break it off myself. I couldn’t bear witness to hair loss and felt like my body was letting me down. My nails then became discolored and completely black. And my eyebrows and eyelashes fell out.
Then radiation therapy took things to a whole other level. It’s not painful, but you can physically see the effect on your skin. That’s why I started a platform called Touchy Feely to talk about cancer and treatments in Black skin.
From the data I received from Macmillan and the media leaflets, I had no idea what radiotherapy was like for black skin. When I was given a flyer to go home, there were no young black women or pregnant women there. I was both. I remember feeling like, “Is this just happening to me?”
That was the driving force behind Touchy Feely. It was to help with storytelling and encourage talking about cancer within the Black community.
When creating content
My DMs and emails are filled with black women saying, “Oh my gosh, I just got diagnosed. I didn’t know what was going to happen, but now I know what to expect. Thank you. “Is it effective for people?” So I delved into skin care and body care.
I remember thinking, I wish they didn’t glamorize cancer. And that was something I had to make a conscious effort to do. But I thought, “No.” Because I was this person before I had cancer. Essentially, this is me and beauty has always been my first love. And I’m not glorifying cancer.
cancer and black beauty
Cancer is not just about hair loss. It’s the Hollywood version of cancer, where you lose your hair, lose weight, and then die. Literally, that’s what people think about cancer. And vice versa, you may gain weight. I gained a lot of weight and it was because of the steroids. They gave me steroids to make it easier to take the medicine. Otherwise, it can become very debilitating.
Your skin is literally your largest organ. In my beauty routine, I was really sad because many of my favorite cosmetics stopped working or the chemicals were too strong on my skin and caused me to get a rash. But in a way, I was grateful. Because it forced me to explore beyond my staples and now I’m digging deeper into the science behind skin care. It opened up a whole new world for me. That’s where I matured in my skincare journey. I actually care about what’s in this now, and I don’t just care about the fact that I have, I don’t know… I have dewy skin .
During treatment, the skin is pathologically dry, that is, very dry. When I used a cream that was a little too thick, I got very irritated. My skin is so sensitive that it felt like I couldn’t breathe.
As for hair, I’ve never had a big relationship with it. You can wake up in the morning and decide whether you want a big haircut tomorrow or bleach your hair and go blonde the next day. My hair has never been a huge part of my identity in that way. I believe it can be your crowning jewel, but it doesn’t have to define you as a person either. We can be proud, but know that you are not less without it. That’s why I didn’t wear a wig and stayed bald the entire trip. I have two daughters and I know there will come a time in my life when I will have to explain all of this to them. I wanted them to see that I was bald, but I didn’t want them to be defined by hair at all, so I felt very confident and comfortable with it. .
When your hair falls out, it feels like someone is pulling it out of your scalp, and it feels like your scalp is reacting to the hair falling out. Honestly, it feels like my scalp is on fire. At the time I had a bob and I remember sometimes forgetting to put on the satin bonnet and just sleeping. But once I did that, I woke up with a migraine. When I got up and turned around to grab my phone, I noticed a bunch of hair on my pillow. I screamed to my husband, “Baby, wake up! Look at my hair, it’s falling out.” I had put on a satin bonnet, thinking it would help preserve it, but when I took it off in the morning, there was a lot of hair. I was there. It was the same when I brushed it through, so I had to cut it.
Looking at my own scalp, I started using oil and serum to moisturize my scalp until my hair grew back, and it took about 3 months. My disclaimer is that genetics plays a big role and it varies from person to person.
When it comes to hair type, many people say that the texture changes, but I haven’t had anything like that, but I’ve always had loose curls. Maybe it loosened up a little bit, but not dramatically, and it was amazing to see the hair growing out of my scalp. I can see my hard work. I felt like a farmer!
cancer and beauty products
The scent was my signature, but it didn’t suit my skin and I was heartbroken. I think it’s probably because of the alcohol. One of the side effects of paclitaxel is that it is extremely itchy and can last for hours, like a needle prick. Retinol also had to be avoided. I had to let my body recover before using retinol. I also kept my body routine simple using brands like Dove and Palmer’s.
What I want to say about beauty and cancer is, don’t be afraid to live life on your terms, especially when it comes to beauty. Even though you have cancer, you may put on makeup to make yourself more attractive, but your head may go bald, or you may find yourself worried about what people say. I wonder if people think, “Oh, if she’s still with us and can still come to events and do things like that and look like this, then she must be okay by now.” But I think it’s important to live in the truth of your beauty.
When you are a beautiful girl, you are a beautiful girl and not even cancer can take that away from you. And I want people to fully embrace that.
L’Occitane Cleansing & Softening Shower Oil Credit: Marks & Spencer L’Occitane Overnight Reset Serum 30ml Credit: L’Occitane Eylure C-Lash Naturals Credit: Eylure Estée Lauder Futurist Hydra Rescue Moisturizing Foundation SPF 45 35ml Credit: Estée Lauder Dove Deeply Nourishing Body Wash 55ml Credit: DoveLa PosayCaplast Lip Barrier Repairing Balm 7.5ml Credit: La Roche PosayMolain 4D Hair-Like Eyebrow Tattoo Sticker
To learn more about Black Beauty Hub, a gatekeeping-free zone, click here
