Feb 20, 2017 By Luke Campbell 4 min read

After being hired to assist with medical skin treatments for a plastic surgeon to help those with surgical scars or a cleft lip, Rachel Schinosi often would show patients how to properly put on makeup, only for them not to be able to duplicate it.

Schinosi, now 39 and living in South Fayette Township, wanted to be the one who ended – or at least shortened – the rigmarole of eye shadow, eye liner, lip stick, lip gloss, concealer and foundation.

To help trim the daily task of completing the methodology behind makeup, she began learning about permanent makeup, cutting that “get-ready” time to a matter of a few minutes.

Opening Cosmetic Solutions in Robinson in 2001 and later moving to Southpointe Square on Morganza Road in Cecil Township, Schinosi has tattooed more than 10,000 eyebrows and eyelashes, and eclipsed the 5,000 mark of lip colorings for her various clients.

From assisting women who want to avoid the day-to-day hassle to aiding women with multiple sclerosis or macular degeneration, one group of patients Schinosi serves hits close to home. About 20 percent of those patients are coming to her to help with places hair will soon be gone or has already departed in order to finish their fight with cancer.

“My grandmother and grandfather both died from cancer,” Schinosi said. “It definitely stays with me.”

After numbing the skin, Schinosi takes digital equipment of disposable pigment and needles to work on the three most important parts on the face – the eyes, eyebrows and lips – for approximately 15 to 30 minutes for each section. The cosmetic tattoos, which can be filled in while doing lip color or through needle-tipped strands almost identically resembling hair, are underneath the skin rather than placed on top like regular makeup. That one session where the tattooing is applied typically lasts between one or two years before being touched up again.

As Kathy Blass of Wheeling, W.Va., walked in for her appointment – a breast cancer survivor after being diagnosed in 2003 – it is just another reminder to both of them the impact it has on those battling the illness.

“It would have made a significant difference had I known about something like Cosmetic Solutions before losing my hair,” said Blass, who founded and is president of Ohio Valley Breast Awareness Inc.

“It would allow you, through one of your toughest times, to keep your dignity as a woman. It’s a great option for women to have and know about. It’s not for everyone, but it’s a great opportunity.”

After a mastectomy, Blass underwent six months of chemotherapy to rid her body of any cancerous cells to now be able to help those going through the same struggles she faced 14 years ago.

“It’s humbling,” Blass said about fundraising efforts for robes and camisoles that are distributed to those fighting breast cancer. “It’s about not adding what they have to wear to the list of their worries.”

For Schinosi, it’s just about getting the message out about those opportunities before patients lose their hair to chemo and radiation treatments.

“I don’t think a lot of women who are going to go through chemotherapy know that it’s even an option for them,” Schinosi said. “A lot of the time I get them after that experience when their eyebrows and eyelashes don’t come back. If these tattoos can be put on before they lose their hair, they can still feel pretty. The biggest thing we hear is people don’t think it would be as easy as it was. When you leave here it’s going to look a lot more dramatic but it’s more subtle when it heals and fades out after about seven days. The nice thing is if you are going for that natural look it is a total replacement but there is no harm in throwing other stuff over top of it.”

According to Schinosi, her business is the lone one in the area to put nearly all of its efforts into permanent makeup. Being in the permanent makeup business for 17 years also has her as one of the longest tenured people doing the work in the entire country.

“I just want everybody to feel good about themselves,” she said. “That’s something each person should have no matter what they are going through.”