Covering up that chemo scar
It's time to address one of the more irritating and nagging issue in my life. My chemo scar. Yes that scar, the one I posted a picture of in my blog post "Squad Part 2".
My 12" snaking chemo scar is significant in so many ways. During my travels to and from the hospital, support groups and basic outings, I never came across anyone else who had the "burn of life", not one single soul. My scar brings a certain level of attention, unwarranted, that begs many answers. "Is she on drugs?" "Did she have an accident and burn herself?" "Was she assaulted or did she try and maim herself?" Yeah, I've seen the looks, and have even observed as people try and figure out what the hell happened to me, without being nosy or prying. (I'll cover the exact details of how I obtained my scar in a later post in the my blog section.)
Well, as a pre-birthday gift to myself I decided to get a henna tattoo. Why henna? Well I was looking for a natural, non toxic option that was temporary, until I decided on something permanent. *sidebar - I'm open to suggestions on the permanent solution to covering up my chemo scar, please feel free to comment or email me!*
My search led me to the super talented Lisa Kenzi owner of Henna by Kenzi, in Brooklyn N.Y. Funny, our paths must have been destined to cross, as I had received her name in a list of henna artist who were working with the organization Henna Heals, in July of 2015 (I was looking for creative ways to work with my newly acquired baldy). Although I never contacted Lisa, (Instead I just kept rocking my trusty wig) the thought of a getting henna, to camouflage my scar, stayed embedded in my head.
Fast forward several months after the cessation of my cancer treatment, I began to revisit the idea of something fun, funky, and beautiful adorning my arm. Scrolling thru the reviews on the net I came across Henna by Kenzi and decided to give her a try. Making a appointment was easy enough (secured with a visa card) and I sent pictures of my scar to Lisa, prior to making the trek to her studio in Brooklyn.
Self taught, Lisa has been practicing her art for seventeen years! Formerly living abroad in Morocco, Lisa indicated that she sometimes gets inspired by checking out the competition and will selflessly recommend other henna artist in the area, if she is unavailable. Easy to talk to and passionate about her art, (although she did give me the side eye after my admission of receiving a henna tattoo on the streets of New Orleans), Lisa encouraged me to check out some pictures on her Instagram to get a feel for what I was looking for. Once we discussed what creative direction I was leaning towards, relaxation set in as Lisa expertly created the design I'd chosen. I was really impressed with how Lisa incorporated the pattern of the chemo burn, and used it as guide. Check out the cool results below:
For more information on Henna by Kenzi please check out the link below