For women

The Look Good...Feel Better program is a community-based, free, national service. It teaches female cancer patients beauty tips to look better and feel good about how they look during chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

Group workshops

Volunteer beauty professionals lead small groups, usually about 6 to 10 women, through practical, hands-on experience. Women learn about makeup, skin care, nail care, and ways to deal with hair loss such as with wigs, turbans, and scarves. Each woman gets a free makeup kit to use during and after the workshop.

One-on-one salon consultations

For patients who are unable to go to a group workshop, a free, one-time, individual salon consultation with a volunteer cosmetologist may be available in their area. These trained beauty experts help each patient manage her skin, nail, and hair needs and also help her find ways to feel better about how she looks during treatment.

Self-help materials

Free self-help materials can be ordered through the Look Good...Feel Better toll-free number, 1-800-395-LOOK (1-800-395-5665).

The self-help materials include a 30-minute video entitled Just for You: A Step-by-Step Guide to Help You Look Good and Feel Better During Cancer Treatment, a step-by-step instructional booklet and an evaluation form. The videotape features cancer survivors and volunteers talking about the ways cancer treatment and side effects can affect the way you look. It also covers detailed skin care information, "how to" makeup tips, wig information, and pointers on head coverings. The booklet that goes with the video also covers nail care.

Materials are also offered in Spanish, and bilingual programs are available in some areas.

For men

Self-help materials

A free self-help brochure for men can be ordered through the Look Good…Feel Better toll-free number, 1-800-395-LOOK (1-800-395-5665) or through your local American Cancer Society office.

The self-help brochure is for men who are getting chemotherapy or radiation treatment. It gives them information on how to deal with the way treatment and side effects can change the way they look, as well as other information that is useful during this challenging time. The brochure also features a tear-out sheet of steps to help men with their daily skin and hair care routines. This brochure is available in English and Spanish.

For more information, call our toll-free number, 1-800-395-LOOK (1-800-395-5665) or visit the Look Good...Feel Better Web site for men at www.lookgoodfeelbetterformen.org.

The Look Good...Feel Better program

The Look Good...Feel Better program was founded and developed in 1989 by the Personal Care Products Council (at the time called the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association, or CTFA), a charitable organization supported by the cosmetic industry, in cooperation with your American Cancer Society (ACS) and the National Cosmetology Association (NCA), a national organization that represents hairstylists, wig experts, estheticians, makeup artists, and other professionals in the cosmetic industry.

All cosmetology volunteers who are part of the program attend a 4-hour certification class to become a Look Good...Feel Better volunteer.

Look Good...Feel Better is free, non-medical, and salon and product neutral. Volunteers and program participants do not promote any cosmetic product line or manufacturer. All cosmetics used in the group program have been donated.

Last Medical Review: 10/30/2008
Last Revised: 10/30/2008