Story of a survivor

Dr Shikha Baghi Bhandari presents a case study on acid attack permanent eyebrows. 

Aland of billion plus people and hundreds of languages, and yet human nature remains the single element that is constant among all. Acid attacks are rampant and sadly, quite common in India. The majority victims to these attacks have been women. Among these is a young girl, Reshma Qureshi, who faced this life altering event that literally changed who she used to be. A young, full of life, girl who was victimised and deformed in broad daylight by none other than her own brother-in-law. What’s more, she was not even the intended target and yet she received the full brunt of the attack.

I came across her in my journey to fulfil the promise to help the acid attack survivors. This is part of Timeless Promise, a non-profit initiated in 2019. When I met Reshma, I immediately felt a kinship with her and decided to help her through the skill I had perfected over the years.

After spending a large chunk of my life in the aesthetics world, I have realised that permanent makeup (PMU) turns out to be the only treatment that could be applied to individuals like Reshma and I am familiar with the damaged skin textures and challenges it creates to perform any fine work. Due to the extent of damage on the face, not everything could be revived. However, there are certain elements that are ideal to submit permanent makeup, in Reshma’s case, it was the eyebrows.

Permanent eyebrows are usually done on individuals who either have thin, scanty, scarred brows or if there is loss of hair due to chemotherapy or Alopecia. This treatment mimics the real brows, and hence projects a natural look. There are no artificial elements both in terms of application and the resulted look.

The procedure

The procedure began with skin assessment and due to the extent of the damage, which had cost Reshma an eye, the skin had become paper thin with multiple creases and scars on the open area. Out of many types of permanent brows, only one could be applied here. I opted for Ombré brows. For Reshma, some modifications had to be made, but I believed it to be the right choice.

Mapping and designing were done according to facial proportions and features adjacent to the eyes. Then came the hard part where the needle had to make contact with the skin and the biggest hurdle was to make smooth lines on an uneven skin surface. I had dealt with this scenario many times before, and I made sure this young woman, who had already lost so much, would not leave my chair without the best she could have.

Stroke by stroke

Usually, the procedure takes somewhere around two to two and a half hours. But in acid attack survivor cases, I slow my speed down just a bit. Reducing the speed is primarily due to the particular skin damage, as no two are the same plus I need to be gentler. It allowed her to be comfortable in her chair and not feel anxious. Talking to the clients during the procedure and playing the music they prefer is a common practice, but this time, it holds greater meaning. The brows took shape stroke by stroke as the pigment was placed carefully under the skin.

Post procedure revelation

Once the procedure was done and the residue of the spatter was cleaned off, Reshma saw her new face for the first time. It was a daunting and nervewracking moment for everyone in the room. What if she would not like it or wants it removed, either way, the artist does not have much of choice. Luckily for me, Reshma loved her brows. It was brows she had not seen in years. Her smile turned the tension in the room into pure joy.

PMU for acid attack survivors

Timeless Aesthetics has proved that PMU can help acid attack survivors in a way of getting a sense of their identity back.The steady hand and experience are what make me an ideal PMU artist to operate on damaged skin, or a severely scarred one.These treatments do not take much time and besides having to get touch-ups done once in a while, these are hassle-free.The brows, after healing properly, look even better and more than that, Reshma is one happy girl after seeing herself in the mirror.That means more to me than anything.

Timeless Promise also offers other treatments in this area such as permanent lip colour and scalp micropigmentation.This non-profit is not only limited women, and all age groups are welcome. Certain individuals may require a consent from a guardian, but the treatments are there. All of this work is pro bono and nothing is charged against it. Furthermore, I even offer to train these girls under me free of cost and those willing, even receive a job offer then and there.This pro bono work is neither limited geographically and people from all over India can opt for this.

These treatments camouflage the scars and give you a lost sense of self which is rather hard to come by after an ordeal like acid attack.The hope is definitely to raise awareness so that these attacks stop occurring. Nevertheless, it is commendable to see strong survivors like Reshma Qureshi, and we at Timeless Aesthetics, will be forever ready to help the survivors out.