Laura Lin Gosbee has never been the kind of woman who likes to wear makeup.

If she needed to, the 38-year-old Ann Arbor resident would just fuss with her hair to spruce up her appearance. But that's no longer an option after four treatments of chemotherapy for breast cancer, said Gosbee, who decided to shave her head before her hair fell out weeks ago.

“Now I feel like I need to put something on. It makes you feel more feminine,” said Gosbee, a petite woman with a pink scarf tied neatly at the base of her neck.

On Wednesday afternoon, Gosbee and a couple other local women with cancer were at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital to learn some of the ways they can change their routines to help look and feel more like themselves.

About once a month, the American Cancer Society hosts the cosmetic training events as part of the national “Look Good, Feel Better” program at local hospitals for female cancer patients.

Sitting in front of individual cosmetic mirrors, each woman began riffling through a small red bag holding a pile of products. Estee Lauder. Clinique. Aveda. Chanel. They were all in there with everything from facial moisturizer to lip liner to eyebrow powder. 

Each bag, Bauer told them, contained more than $300 of products donated by the manufacturers through the Personal Care Products Council Foundation.

The sessions are a small thing, but can be fun and offer some camaraderie. When a woman loses her hair, it hits a particularly strong emotional chord for her, said volunteer expert Christa Bauer from the Inn Style Salon in Ann Arbor.

“It’s almost like the cancer is no big deal and then they lose their hair and look so different. It makes it real,” Bauer said at Wednesday's event.

The event can also address issues women likely haven’t thought about - for instance, their immune systems are compromised by treatment, so they’ll need to be extra careful to keep their makeup brushes bacteria-free, Bauer said. She reminded the women several times to use disposable applicators instead.

Laughing throughout the session, the women chatted about their usual routines and some of the changes they’ve tried. Treatment caused their skin to change and hair to fall out - eyelashes, eyebrows and the hair on their head. It’s meant using moisturizers and foundations for sensitive skin and figuring out eyeliner to account for the loss of eyelashes.

Janet Nicol of Canton, who cracked jokes while applying makeup, said she’s been dealing with changes big and small. She brought her best friend, Pam McClure of Romulus, as her support. 

“This has been the week from hell,” Nicol said. 

On Monday, she had her first chemo treatment. By Tuesday, she was already seeing pieces of her long blond hair fall out. 

“Do you see this? I was just crying about it," Nicol said. "And then I thought, ‘This isn’t fair. How come my hair is falling out but I still have to shave my legs?” 

The room erupted in laughter.

But in seriousness, the experience hits a person’s sense of identity as they begin to change physically and are treated differently by well-meaning loved ones, Nicol said.

“It’s important to know what to expect, and so many people tell you, ‘Oh, everyone has that experience.’ I know that, but this is me,” Nicol said. “I’m losing who I am right now.”

Events like this are meant to help restore that sense of normalcy, said Tamara Rummel, the area executive director of Huron Valley Area Service Center. But while participants often praise the event, she said the ACS has had trouble filling the spots.

Many women don’t realize there are free programs like this out there.

Gosbee heard about the program through a friend and she said it gave her a start on a makeup collection she’d never accumulated. She knew when she got home, her 9-year-old daughter would be clamoring to try some on, too.

“You go through chemo and just feel like your dragging. It gave me something to look forward to,” Gosbee said. “This is kind of invigorating.”

Photos by Lon Horwedel, AnnArbor.com.

Photo 1 (at top): Laura Lin Gosbee of Ann Arbor applys eye shadow during Wednesday afternoon's event.

Photo 2 (at right): Volunteer Christa Bauer puts a scarf on cancer patient Mary Ann Skiba.

Tina Reed covers health and the environment for Ann Arbor.com. You can reach her at tinareed@annarbor.com or find her on Twitter @TreedinAA.