Yvonne Stonesifer owns Hair & Makeup Couture in San Antonio, Texas. When she shared this story with MODERN SALON, it was so powerful we knew we had to share it with you.
“The picture quality isn't the greatest but, in the moment, that's not really what we were thinking about,” Stonesifer says. “I'll never forget when Liz asked me to do this in the hospital. She said, ‘I want blue mermaid hair.’ She wanted to be in control of her hair, her choice, not chemo and not cancer. Sometimes the choices we make in coloring our hair are so much deeper than trends. They can be full of emotion, and life changing.”
Liz's battle with cancer began at age 14, Osteosarcoma. She received surgery and chemo then but, almost 5 years later, it resurfaced in her lung. After a couple tumor removal surgeries in spring 2015 the tumors kept coming back. So, in November 2015, she started aggressive chemo once again.
"This was when we did the blue," Stonesifer says. "She was older now, and wanted her hair that she loved and adored so much to be her choice in what first happened to it before chemo took its turn on her once again. A month later my brother proposed to her, while she was very ill. True love for sure. :-) With the help of a few wedding industry friends, we put together a dream wedding! We called it the "Make A Wish Wedding" of San Antonio. In December 2016 she was 5 months or so cancer-free and able to marry my brother. This was by far the most joyous event I've ever been a part of.”
In April 2017, after 4 months of marriage more tumors resurfaced. They decided to have surgery removing the lining of her lung, replacing it with artificial lining, in hopes to finally rid of all remaining cancer cells in the lung.
“Today, June 2017 she is still scanning ‘cancer free,’” Stonesifer says. “She's a fighter, but God knows their life plan, so we stay focused in our faith.... that gives us strength.”
FORMULA: 3 parts Pravana Blue and 1 part Violet at the roots. 3 parts Blue and 1 part Clear at the midshaft. 3 parts Blue, 1 part Clear and 1 shot of Green on the ends.
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