Cancer survivor creates eyelashes to help other cancer patients

Codilia Gapare was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was prepared to wear a wig and draw on her eyebrows. However, when she lost her eyebrows, she noticed that the traditional fake eyebrows did not work because they require hairs to be attached to.

"They dropped without lashes underneath them to hold them up and then, because my few remaining lashes were so fragile from treatment when I removed them, the glue pulled them out too", said Codilia.

She soon realized that for fake lashes to work on someone without hairs, they would need a bigger surface area to be able to stick to the lid. That is when she created a solution called C-Lashes. They are strip lashes with an invisible, self-adhesive band, which provides a bigger and more solid foundation for the lashes, making them more stable. It also has a longer peel-off strip which is easier for chemotherapy patients to hold, as treatment can cause numbness in the fingers.

Codilia then partnered with Eylure and brought her solution to Boots, a leading pharmacy-led health and beauty retailer. "My pitch was terrible because it was the first I'd ever done," she explained. "But it was when I spoke to the buyers afterwards and said: 'I'm wearing the lashes now,' that the deal was made. They didn't realise I didn't have lashes and was wearing false eyelashes. They were sold", Codilia said.

"This is just the first step of my business venture to help people living with cancer to feel more like themselves through beauty," she explained. "Survival rates are up but it really helped my mental health and recovery to still be able to get out there looking and feeling like myself instead of shutting myself away and feeling scared on my own."

C-Lashes are available at Boots and 3 models are offered: Naturals, Lengthening and Volume, for £5.25.

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