Lizzie loves make up. It’s surprising to me as I was never a make up person. She started to wear make up in high school and then in college she upped her game and started to wear eyeliner. It always gave her a mysterious look. Since make-up is a great self esteem builder, high interest, and a way to embed therapy it is something we do most days.
When I found Lizzie’s make up bag after her stroke she had more eyeliners than I would have consumed in a life time. They all looked the same but as time has marched on I have my favorites! Lizzie has a lot of natural beauty too but the power of make-up and the art of looking better can not be over rated. So, on this particular day we did a before and after shot.
Applying make up requires a lot of fine motor movement so we break the process into steps Lizzie can do and steps I do. Applying make-up takes a lot of fine motor coordination. As such look for parts that the individual can do. Every day is different for Lizzie in terms of her fine motor movement so while I do most of the steps Lizzie participates more than she thinks!
Directions:
- Start by looking in the mirror and observing your natural beauty. Sucking in your checks, smiling broadly, raising your eyebrows, overall warm up your face. Hmm….isn’t this good speech therapy practice too.
- Lizzie can open the tubes of make up so she twists off the lids. I squeeze a small amount of foundation onto her finger and she dots her face and rubs in the make up.
- The next steps of eyeliner and mascara are difficult for Lizzie so I do those.
- Lizzie can apply the blush and the bronzer. Again, sucking in the cheeks to expose the cheek bones is practice as well as using the brushes to apply the blush and bronzer. I look for brushes with thick handles as it is easier for Lizzie to hold. Sometimes I do hand over hand with my hand over Lizzie’s to steady her hands when using brushes.
- I’ve found using lip liner helps the final product look better. Applying lipstick takes a lot of hand eye coordination and steady hands. So this is something Lizzie and I share doing.
- Look in the mirror and say “I’m so pretty”. Have someone video tape you making different faces or just looking good! Have fun with it and enjoy. You look awesome!
#selfesteem#girlfun#finemotormovement#smileandpucker#eyehandcoordination
Therafun 