Penny Skofield, left, and Laura Imperial help teach "Look Good ... Feel Better" participant Janet Croce how to fashion a headwrap from a T-shirt. Participants in the program are taught many valuable beauty techniques to use while undergoing chemotherapy. Participants in "Look Good ... Feel Better" receive a kit complete with all the beauty supplies needed to help counteract undesirable changes in their appearance brought on by cancer treatments. All of the items in the kit are donated by large cosmetics companies such as Estee Lauder and M.A.C.

"There's going to come a time when you wake up and feel sallow, all the color will be gone from your face. That's the morning you wake up and say, 'I'm going to put this make-up on'," Laura Imperial said to two ladies seated at a table in front of her. "Because whether or not you feel better, it's going to make your husband, loved ones and children feel better about your treatment."

The ladies, both currently undergoing chemotherapy treatment, were participants in a national program called "Look Good ... Feel Better" - a workshop designed to teach women how to lessen the undesirable changes in their appearances that can result from cancer treatments.

"A lot of people are reluctant (to participate in the workshop) until you say that it isn't just about you, it's about your loved ones," Imperial had said earlier in the evening prior to the participants' arrival. "Looking better while going through treatment helps the family deal with it."

Imperial, a breast cancer survivor herself, is a licensed cosmetologist, salon owner and an instructor for the two-hour workshops that take place the first Monday night of each month at the Upcountry Community Center in Pine Grove.

"I wanted to give back to the community because everyone was so good to me during my treatment a couple years ago," she said. "I didn't even know that this program existed at the time, and even though I'm in the beauty industry, there are so many pointers that a person going through treatment can use."

Those pointers include make-up application techniques for adding color to your face, camouflaging dark circles and rashes that can appear during treatment, skin care advice, nail care techniques and discussions on dealing with hair loss including how to purchase, style and care for wigs and how to make and utilize headwraps.

"Part of the whole presentation is geared toward the theory that if you look better, you feel better," Imperial said.

One of the night's participants, Debbie Arnold of Pine Grove, said she had attended the workshop before undergoing treatment, but had returned for a refresher course.

"I took it once when I was first diagnosed," she said. "At the time I was totally convinced that I wouldn't have to do chemo. I had talked to Ginger (Rolf, program coordinator) and thought, 'well that could be interesting, just in case I go through chemo, I'll do it'."

The national program was brought to Amador County nearly two years ago when two teenage girls were undergoing cancer treatment. At that time the closest workshop location was in Sacramento, and the young girls had a hard time getting there. When Rolf, director of Amador Support Transportation and Resource Services, heard of this, she made an effort to bring the program to Amador County and recruited licensed beauty specialists in the area to lead the workshops.

"The class has no paid staff, they're all volunteers," Rolf said when introducing the participants to the class. "Only licensed cosmetologists and estheticians lead the workshops and do hands-on work. We're here to have a good time and help you have a better time going through treatment."

In addition to the hands-on demonstrations, participants receive a make up kit that contains gentle facewash, astringent, sunblock, moisturizer, concealer, powder, blush, an eyebrow pencil, eye shadow, eye liner, mascara, lipstick, nail polish and other items. The kits come in light, medium, dark and extra dark to accommodate all participants. Products are donated by the nearly 40 national "Look Good ... Feel Better" sponsors including Chanel, Estee Lauder, M.A.C., Clinique, Neutrogena, L'Oreal, Mary Kay and Revlon, to name a few.

"Some of these may not be the perfect color for your skin, but they're a tool to experiment with, work with and play with," Imperial told the ladies. "This will all take practice. On days when there's nothing to do and you just feel like putzing, pull out your kit and play. And when you have somewhere to go, put that make-up on and feel absolutely stunning."

Though the class has had as many as four to five participants at one time, instructors feel that the number of people that show up is a double-edged sword; while they enjoy being able to help participants, "You don't really want to see a lot of people show up because it means there's a lot of people going through treatment," Imperial said.

The program is sponsored by the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association, the American Cancer Society and the National Cosmetology Association. It was formed in 1989 after a physician had asked the CTFA president how to get a make-over for a woman who was undergoing treatment and was so unhappy with her appearance that she wouldn't leave her hospital room.

"Miraculously, the make-over transformed not just the woman's look, but her outlook as well," according to the "Look Good ... Feel Better" Web site. "She immediately felt happier and less burdened ... The doctor credited the make-over with improving her attitude and emotional approach toward her treatment."

The program is free and open to any woman undergoing cancer treatment. Participants are welcomed to attend the workshop more than once, but are asked to bring their make-up kit back with them. If you are interested in attending the workshop, call Amador STARS at 223-1246. For information on the program, visit www.lookgoodfeelbetter.org.