Hair and beauty students in the north-east have had a crash course in giving chemotherapy patients a makeover.

The Middlesbrough College learners explored how to style wigs, redraw eyebrows and work with uneven skin tones, as well as learning about the danger makeup brushes can pose to the patients who have a lowered immune system as a result of treatment.

The session was delivered by Look Good Feel Better, an international cancer-support charity, which runs free skincare and makeup classes and workshops for women undergoing cancer treatment.

“The experience has been invaluable for learners across our department, from our trainee hairdressers picking up tips for styling wigs, to those on makeup courses understanding how to make the most of re-growing eyelashes,” said Heather Ferguson, hair and media makeup course leader at the college.

“Cancer affects people in so many different ways and it was really inspiring to see how something as simple as makeup can help them feel like themselves again,” added Rebecca Dick, a level two hair and media makeup student.