THE TRICH TRICK TTT (Triple T)

THE TRICH TRICK TTT (Triple T) After suffering with Trichotillomania for over 17 years, I understand the feeling of being dewomanised. I felt as if everyone noticed and that no one would understand. A sense of complete hopelessness overwhelmed me. What do you say to a child who asks you, Why are your eyelashes broken? What happened to them? If you are like me, you don t even want to go out with your friends because you think they will ask you about your eyes or brows. What is there to say? Most people don t know anything about the condition so it just seems weird to them. They don t mean to hurt our feelings, they are just clueless and say the first thing that comes into their heads. But you can t just stay at home and hide. We all have to go to work, college or school, so there is no avoiding people long-term. So what is the solution and how can you minimize or totally avoid the questions? Well, here s the answer, because this is what I did and absolutely no-one will notice that your eyelashes are missing or thin. If you are an eyebrow puller, your friends will just think you are doing a new make-up style, and that is fine, too. I have a really trendy aunt who plucked her brows constantly way back when that was fashionable and they thinned out so much, she always has to use make-up on them. So, what is my sensational trick that I am SO proud of, because I know it will help you as much as it did me? I created an amazing technique I call The Trich Trick (TTT). I had bald lashes on the top and very few lashes on the bottom and I found that my make up looked so great that people would comment (and ask how I did it) and not even notice I had NO lashes across most of my eyes! In the beginning, I started adding in false eyelashes to cover the gaps, but they can be expensive if you are using them every day so I used them for evening wear. I thought I would save money by getting eyelash extensions done, but they ended up being expensive as well. Then, what really frightened me was when the eyelash technician warned me that she was concerned that with the constant treatment, my eyelashes might not grow back. I started experimenting a lot more with my make-up and the results boosted my selfconfidence such that I was happy to go out in public. Did it stop my Trich? No, but at least when I looked in the mirror, I didn t get the immediate urge to pull out more hair, which is often the case for us. Looking at ourselves and seeing what we have done often makes us feel so much worse. So, are you ready to play around with some make-up, have fun, get great results and feel a lot better about yourself? Absolutely! Here goes TTT - The Trich Trick Kathryn Alexander and Emma Winters - 2011 Page 1 of 5

This is my TTT 7 secret steps that boosted my self-confidence and it will help YOU, too. I know it! The Trich Trick! Every recipe has ingredients! This is what you will need at the start Eye shadows: Eyeliner: Nude/neutral color which will blend easily with your skin tone. Dark eye shadow eg brown or charcoal Light colored eye shadow for highlight and contrast Small make-up brushes for applicators Black or charcoal For each of the steps, do the eyes in turn, don t do one complete eye and then start on the next one. Step 1: Use the nude/neutral eye shadow and cover the entire lid up to eyebrow. Step 2a: Using black or charcoal eyeliner, start at the lower inner rim of the eye and draw a line from the inner corner of the eye near the nose to the outer corner. (This was a style of make-up used very effectively by Princess Diana, but you will need to check that you don t have any reaction to the make-up.) Depending on the shape of your eye, this may wear off over time. Step 2b: Do the same process on the top rim of the eye, drawing from the inside corner to the outside. (This is actually a most unusual technique and people with eyelashes would think it is totally unnecessary or strange, because when you look at a normal eye, the top eyelashes at their base provide a thin, dark line, framing the top lid. So this technique on a normal eye would be a waste of time, but it very effective when you are missing top eyelashes.) Depending on the shape of your eye, this may wear off over time. TTT - The Trich Trick Kathryn Alexander and Emma Winters - 2011 Page 2 of 5

Step 3: Using black or charcoal eyeliner start at the bottom of the eye and draw a line from the inner side of eye to the outer side. Step 4: Use the same eyeliner for the top of the eye, but start with a thin line on the inside, getting wider as you go towards the outside. Step 5: Get a dark eye shadow and using a brush, brush it onto the eyeliner (on the outside of the eye, not the inner rim) to set the eyeliner, slightly smudging it as you go. Do this top and bottom. This technique makes the lines not quite so harsh. Step 6: On the outer side of the eye use the smudging brush and a light application of dark eye shadow on the outer corner to create a C shape on your left eye and a back-to-front C on the right eye. The top of the C goes into the crease of the eyelid and is easily understood from the diagram. Smudge it lightly as well so it is not too defined. Step 7: Get a light eye shadow and highlight just underneath the brow from the middle to the outer part of the brow. This technique lifts your eyebrows, whether they are real or made up! TTT - The Trich Trick Kathryn Alexander and Emma Winters - 2011 Page 3 of 5

The TTT for Eyebrows TOO! You don t have to be a Trich sufferer to have this problem because many women have uneven or what we call gappy brows. For gaps, use an eye shadow that is closest to your natural hair color, and fill in gaps using a small, soft, make-up brush. Use very small, soft, upward strokes, hopefully following the line of the brow hair, or where it would or should have been. You may find that lightly brushing across the tops of the hair you have will have a significant impact. You can also use this technique to improve the shape of your brows by brushing the additional color past the hairs that you have and slightly onto the skin. Go easy with this at the start and if you end up with too much color, just get a cotton tip and gently wipe off the extra color. Remember to tell yourself any time that you make a mistake It s not brain surgery I ll just fix it easily! Now, if you have a bunch of eyebrow hairs missing or the lot of them like my aunt, you may find it best to use a liner. Choose one that is closest to your natural hair color and draw on the brow. The key is to have a nice, natural color, so that people don t see your eyebrows walking down the street! You want the overall look to be very attractive, and not to draw attention to one particular feature. On the other hand, you might want to do exactly that draw funky eyebrows for the fun of it. As long as you are happy with the result, that is all that matters. You will get maximum wear if you set your eyeliner by lightly going over it with eye shadow. It will also soften the look so it won t look so drawn on. The Evening Trich Trick! Follow the TTT 7 secret steps with these alterations: Step 1: Adhere your false eyelashes* first. *For bald lashes, you may find it best to use full lash strips and ensure you use a good quality, water resistant glue (they take a bit of practice and time to put on but are worth it). For gaps, you can use individual lashes but I find that full lash strips look amazing even if you have gaps there. Just blend your lashes and the false ones using mascara. The look is amazing and you feel like a woman again! Step 6: Use an eye shadow you like and accentuate the C by adding more color. Pick from fun and sparkly or more charcoal and dramatic, whatever is you. Remember, you can play around with this just be yourself! TTT - The Trich Trick Kathryn Alexander and Emma Winters - 2011 Page 4 of 5

AND FINALLY, MORE TRICKS! And here is a brilliant concept that my Mum got from a fashion design teacher way back when she was in high school, would you believe Each of us has some features that we would rather not have or we think could do with a lot of improvement! Perhaps you even have a feature that you think is a hopeless case. What do you do about it? Well, it s simple. You just find other features that are fantastic, (or not as bad in your opinion) and you maximize them. How do you do that? You might have lips that are not half bad, or you might have cute ears or a fabulous neckline, or lovely eyes, so you do whatever it takes to draw more attention to them. You would make sure you use lip liner and striking lipstick, beautiful or funky earrings, a long necklace that draws attention to cleavage, or dramatic eye make-up as illustrated above. You can also do things to minimize your less attractive features, and remember this is all your own opinion you will have your own ideas of what you don t like about yourself. So, for example, if you have a face that you think is too long, don t wear long, dangling earrings try small or chunky ones without the accentuating length. If you think your neck is short, then choose necklines that are not high around your neck and perhaps add a long necklace or chain to give the appearance of length. You might also do V necklines or lower, scooped necklines. There is no problem with having a collared shirt, but make sure you leave the top buttons undone, again to give the illusion of length. Anything you can do to create a vertical aspect would be helpful. A word of caution, if you want to wear a scarf, make sure you tie it so that it creates a vertical aspect eg have a long, slim scarf, or if you have a thick, woolly one, make sure it has long tails to drape down your body. The same applies if you think you are a little heavy in certain areas of the body. Choose clothes that don t have features or hems at that spot. So if you are a little heavy on the backside, find clothes that will fall or go over that area and have features either higher or lower. Another clue is to use stripes or panels, always in a vertical direction, never horizontal. You can get a similar effect by having jackets, jumpers or cardigans that fall nicely and are not buttoned up. And a super clever trick for pants and jeans (if you can find them or make them) is to have an additional seam running right down the middle of the front of each leg. This tip takes pounds off your weight! It draws the eye to the vertical seam and away from the sides of the body where the extra pounds are sitting. Be adventurous! The worst that can happen is you have to get out the make-up remover and start again. Or, change your clothes and put on a different scarf! Remember it is not brain surgery who cares? Just practice your make-up a few times and you will start to feel like an expert. Now look at yourself in the mirror, smile, believe it and say I am a beautiful woman! TTT - The Trich Trick Kathryn Alexander and Emma Winters - 2011 Page 5 of 5