Colorado woman creates lash company to help cancer patients regain confidence

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DENVERFor many women going through chemotherapy and radiation to treat cancer, hair loss is inevitable. Some even lose their eyelashes, but Denver-based Lashes of Love doesn’t want them to lose their confidence, too.

“I created this lash line watching my mother and friends battle through breast cancer,” said Angel Ballou, the founder of Lashes of Love. “Their spirits were very low, their confidence was completely gone.”

Ballou’s mother, Karen Lee Silva, was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer in 2014 and underwent four chemotherapy and 33 radiation treatments. During that time, Lee Silva lost her hair, including her eyelashes.

“As a woman, your biggest thing is your face. And my mother was just completely devastated; she had no eyebrows, no eyelashes,” Ballou said.

Dedicated to her mother, Ballou created Lashes of Love for women going through chemotherapy and radiation, fighting cancer. While many companies make wigs and hats targeted for cancer patients, Ballou didn’t believe the hairloss market targeted eyelashes, but “applying of her lashes with their hats or their wigs or their beanies will help their self confidence grow,” she said.

Each of the five lash sets-which include two reusable, fake lashes--are named after cancer survivors in Ballou’s life. According to Ballou, each set can last up to 30 uses with proper care.

“Angel named a lash from her product line, Lashes of Love, after me. It's really an honor for me especially as a breast cancer survivor,” Breigha Pachak said, who was diagnosed and treated for stage one triple-negative breast cancer in 2016. 

While all of the lashes represent a different cancer survivor, each set spans a different length and volume. The Fifi lash, for example, is the longest and fullest set and is dedicated to Ballou’s previous boss, Fifi Landry, who supported Ballou when she first began her career in beauty. Landry completed chemotherapy for breast cancer in 2019.

“Every single lash I created is named after someone very special to me,” Ballou said. “every lash is created after one of my friends, my mother, a boss of minethey've all went through this.”

In addition to supporting women going through cancer treatment, Lashes of Love donates proceeds from its lash sales towards National Breast Cancer Foundation


Julio Sandoval is a multimedia journalist at Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach him at juliosandoval@rmpbs.org.

Victoria Carodine is a digital content producer for Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach her at victoriacarodine@rmpbs.org.