The One Thing You Need to Know About Hope & Olive Clients
At Hope & Olive, my mission is plain and simple — helping people. I’ve seen individuals carrying the burden of a medical or mental health condition transform before my very eyes after sitting in my chair to receive permanent makeup services. I want to explain to you the power of a new set of eyebrows, the impact of areola restoration, and the new beginning of branding tattoo removal.
But first, it’s important to understand that the people who come to see me for permanent makeup services often feel broken in some way.
I can tell you from my own life that a person who has lost their eyebrows often feels unattractive and unworthy. If they had a hand in the demise of their brows, as is the case for those living with trichotillomania, they also feel embarrassed and ashamed. They may even be experiencing self-loathing. Try to imagine what years of those sentiments might do to a person. Someone with alopecia is often wrestling with how to feel beautiful despite permanent hair loss. They may be angry at society’s ridiculous beauty standards and that their disease has thrust them into a sea of challenges. If they lost their brows due to cancer treatment, they may feel guilt for concerning themselves with their appearance after surviving an ugly disease. After all, they’re still alive.
Cancer treatment often takes more from women than their hair. With breast cancer, treatment can sometimes require a mastectomy, or the surgical removal of one or both breasts. This means she is also left without a nipple or areola. While vital to treatment, a mastectomy often diminishes a woman’s self-confidence and sense of femininity and sexuality. She may even be left with a feeling of mutilation. If treatment also took her hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes, this diminished sense of self is compounded.
I also have the privilege of working with survivors of human trafficking. One of the many horrors they have endured is being branded with a tattoo as a piece of property during their time of enslavement. Can you imagine what that constant physical reminder of the crimes committed against them might feel like?
Now that you’ve put yourself into the shoes, minds, and hearts of my clients when they first come to me, let me share with you the beautiful stories of their transformation.
I AM FREE.
“I have Trichotillomania. Being in the Cosmetology industry, I had heard of microblading a few years back and was incredibly intrigued, wondering if this was the right solution to my forever disappearing eyebrows. Jill made the whole service feel so comfortable and natural! We chatted, A LOT! I finally got to connect with someone else who knows what I’m going through with Trichotillomania. I NEVER have to think about if my brows are still there or if I have enough time to get them drawn on before leaving the house. I AM FREE. I feel like a beauty queen with no makeup on, and living with this disorder I don’t ever remember feeling that way. I am forever thankful to have had the opportunity for Jill to come into my life and help me heal my soul.”
— Haley, Green Bay
BEST DECISION
“I have suffered with essential tremors for 18 years which make it very difficult for me to apply makeup with my shaky hands. With my awesome eyebrows I can now just throw mascara on, skip the brown makeup and I am set to go! One of the best decisions I have ever made!”
— Jodi, Green Bay
These clients, these transformations, these restorations of self are exactly why I started Hope & Olive. With your support, we can utilize the power of permanent makeup services to transform the lives of so many more individuals who have suffered long enough.
Jill Ullmer is the president of Hope & Olive, Inc. and the professional permanent makeup artist providing restorative services to Hope & Olive applicants in Wisconsin.