MUM NEGLECTED HERSELF FOR 25 YEARS UNTIL HER DAUGHTER CALLED UP THE RACHAEL RAY SHOW FOR HELP
In a world where people do crazy stuff just to look “beautiful,” Cathy stood out of the crowd. We all are very well aware of society’s unrealistic definition of being beautiful. But how many of us know its true meaning? The stunning actress Audrey Hepburn once answered this question perfectly by stating: “For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.”
Many people have this habit of forgetting about themselves for others and who could be a better example of it than mothers? So, this is the story of one such woman who cared for nothing but her kids, and that’s what made her happy and peaceful. Her only issue? She couldn’t recognize herself whenever she looked in the mirror!!
Meet Cathy
Keeping ourselves up-to-date has become a priority for the majority of the population these days. Be it attractive hair color or a pretty new dress. It goes the same way for men too, after all, men or women, anyone would love to look presentable. Cathy’s case, however, is different from the majority and that’s the reason why we chose her story to be told today.
An Odd One Out
Yes, many people are least bothered about what others think of them, but they too love to dress up according to their preference and comfort. Well, Cathy’s style and her knowledge about these latest trends were zero. Yes, she lived on Earth all these years but her mind was completely focused on bringing up her children.
A Mother’s Responsibility
After many unsuccessful attempts, finally, during the year 1993, the most awaited moment arrived in Pennsylvania resident, Cathy’s life when she gave birth to her first child. The moment she held the just-born in her arms for the first time ever, it changed everything for her. As the motherly feelings took over her, she was least worried about herself and most worried about her baby. Guess that’s what being a mother is all about.
A Lost Lady
Babies are a much bigger responsibility than anyone can imagine. Usually, moms are found complaining about how magical yet incredibly difficult it is to be a mother. Very rarely will you meet a mother who’ll say that she got it all real nice. Well, Cathy is blessed to be one such mom who indeed had it all under control. Even though it changed her as a person entirely, she was happy about it.
Fulltime Mother
From the very day she became a mother, Cathy turned her complete focus on her kids. Although she had an option to continue working, she chose to be a full-time mother. From diapers to preparing their lunches, from early morning school bus chases to late night bedtime stories, Cathy put her heart and soul into bringing up her kids.
Thankful Kids
The best part about Cathy is that she never freaked out of motherhood rather she admired her role as a mother more than anything else. Years after years, her days started by waking up the kids and ended by checking on them if they are asleep or not. Somewhere she lost track of her own identity in bringing up her kids. Undoubtedly, her kids noticed their mother’s selfless nature.
Not Superficial
Cathy comes from a countryside background of a small town named Reading, Pennsylvania, a place where the majority of people aren’t much into fashion. Cathy, too never really bothered about her appearance as well as her dressing style. She never even tried to keep her natural appeal visible because she grew up in that environment.
Family First
Firstly, Cathy was never into fashion, secondly, with kids in her life, she forgot even the ‘f’ of fashion. When her son graduated, she was proud but still in her simple pair of leggings and a shirt. Well, no one can blame her for being a mother first.
Cozy And Comfortable
Cathy’s has always been used to wearing comfy clothes. Instead of wearing denim and dresses, she preferred leggings and tracksuits. Last time that she could imagine herself buying a very attractive dress was for her wedding reception ceremony.
Salons
Over these long decades as a housewife, Cathy didn’t change a lot. Even during high school, she remained the same way. The front bangs she got during her high school remained as it is. She never even thought of changing that hairstyle of hers.
College Photo
This is how Cathy used to look in her college years. Well, this hairstyle of hers surely must have suited a teen girl but on 40-year-old lady, this looks rough. Yet it went perfectly as long as nobody cared, moreover, it didn’t matter to Cathy either. However, when her kids were grown up, one of them started to point out this issue.
Unchanged Since The 80s
This look from the 80s became Cathy’s evergreen hairstyle. Her natural hair color is dark brown. The only treatment for her hair was the daily brush and that’s it. No hair spa, no hair treatments, nothing. She did just one experiment with her hair throughout her life.
DIY Hairstyle
Her only experiment was dying her dark brown hair with a light shade of blonde. Over the years, with continuous use of dye, the shade turned lighter. As it is the cheapest means and easy to do, Cathy never thought of any other option. The cheap dye made her hair look brassy.
An Everyday Struggle
Cathy neglected her hair so much that it became dry and rough. The fluffy hair look was all gone now. And when her kids used to look at the old family albums they just couldn’t believe how much their mom has changed just for them.
Giving Her A Hard Time
As a result of all this carelessness, her hair was now weaker and more brittle. Combing and brushing them became a challenge. Big enough bunches of her knotted hair used to break every time she brushed them.
Walmart, Costco, And Sears
Cathy never went out of her home especially for buying clothes, occasionally she used to take a quick break while buying groceries and pick some clothes for herself. In fact, once in a while, she used to pick up clothes from outlets such as Walmart, Costco, and Sears.
Daughter’s Concern
Styling was nowhere on Cathy’s list. Never did her daughter remember that Cathy spent money on any beauty product or accessories. For her, shopping meant buying the most relaxed clothes and that’s all. While her daughters used to spend hours deciding their outfits, Cathy always had it simple.
Liking Who She Was
Cathy’s daughter, Kayla was a little concerned about her mother’s careless behavior towards herself. She suggested her mother several times about getting a makeover done but Cathy denied. Despite Kayla’s efforts, Cathy remained too stubborn to change anything for anyone. But one big day was coming close and Kayla knew it was high time.
Son’s Wedding Date
Cathy not only took care of her three kids but was looking after her grandchildren those days on weekends. Around last year, Cathy’s son’s marriage date was fast approaching and Kayla knew it was out of her hands to convince Cathy for a makeover.
Time For An Update
So, it was the news of her son’s wedding that forced Kayla to assign this matter to the right group of people. The ones who’ll be capable enough to convince her. All it took was a little bit of googling to reach till the right people and see if they’ll be interested in helping Kayla.
Rachael Ray Show
The American talk show, “Rachael Ray” was being aired on TV when Kayla got the idea of giving her stubborn mom’s name as a participant. Obviously, she did it without letting Cathy get the slightest of an idea about her plan. Anyway, there was no surety that these people were ever going to revert to Kayla’s story.
Reaching Out To Rachel
So Kayla took the biggest step she could at that time. She secretly wrote this email to the “Rachael Ray” show. For over two weeks there was no response and Kayla started to think that they might have not even read her email.
Bring Her In
Two weeks later, luckily, Kayla received the call that the show’s team was willing to give her mom a complete makeover. Now the only challenge was to get Cathy to the show. The mother of three was surprised to see her daughters’ efforts and how badly she wanted to give her a different look. So, did she agree?
Gave In
Cathy eventually gave in the argument with her daughter and agreed to make an appearance on the show. After all, she was doing this too for her kid’s happiness. Never did she imagine that it can matter so much to her children to see their mom in a new avatar.
A Daughter’s Responsibility
Kayla understood that only she could discuss this with her mother. Sounds like the perfect type of mother-daughter talks, right? Unlike all the times before, Cathy didn’t decline her daughter’s request this time.
Fix The Date
Cathy had herself watched the show several times, and when they called her up to fix the date of shooting, she said okay. Yes, a makeover must not be a big thing for many people who like challenges but for Cathy, it was a matter of comfort.
Scared Of Change
The reason why Cathy was so hesitant to get a change was that she didn’t like changes. She admitted that she has made her peace with her looks and extra comfy outfits. She didn’t want to change at all and give others a chance to judge her.
Grandkid’s Recognition
She admitted that one of her biggest fear was that once she’ll be done with this makeover, her own granddaughter might not recognize her. She was her granddaughter’s favorite and vice-versa.
Anxious
So, as the date of her makeover was getting closer, Cathy was growing nervous with every day. For over 20 years, she had been caring least about her looks and that’s where all these issues originated from. She never was anxious about her looks.
Having Second Thoughts
Finally, the show day was here and Cathy’s nervousness was clearly visible. Cathy was having a second thought about this whole idea of a makeover. She was still advising her daughter Kayla to return to home. She didn’t know what they’ll be doing with her hair. From there onwards, the show team took the matter into their hands.
Taking Her Away
So, Cathy was taken to the backstage and Kayla was sent on the front stage to talk with Rachael Ray and rest of her show mates. Kayla had a conversation with the team about what they are planning to do with her mother’s look, they gave her a brief outline idea about what they’ll be doing.
Focussing On Her Hair
The styling team described to Kayla that their main focus will be Cathy’s hair. The stylist said that her hair was in very poor condition but it can shine as the best part of her appearance if the results will be the same as their planning.
The Stylist
Cathy was assured that she’ll be in good hands. The show had been famous for using a specific style team for all the makeovers done for the show. By the time they took Cathy’s case, they’d become pros in the work they did.
Stylist Kyan Douglas
Stylist Kyan Douglas too became a celebrity thanks to this show and his continuous perfect results on each of the makeovers. The man knows his way very well. And the audience admires his work and passion for the industry.
Diverse Stylist
Kyan Douglas had worked with all types of people in the entertainment industry. Starting from film stars to popular players, to common people like Cathy, he had worked with all of them. On top of everything, he spent years in perfecting his arts.
Avoiding The Brass
Kyan noticed the most irritating part of Cathy’s hair. It was the brassy tones and the dryness. It was the result of decades of bad coloring and it was quite clear that the hair never got any sort of nourishment. To make it worse was the locks in her hair.
Stylist’s Tip
Brassy tones happen when the natural color of hair is dyed with a lighter shade again and again. The original color starts to show after some time of continuous use. When someone uses cheap hair dyes, it requires much intensive hair treatment.
Natural Tones
Instead of trying to bring her original color back, Kyan decided to focus on improving the tone of blondes. Trying to get the brunette color back must have hurt her hair and could have had adverse effects.
Keeping It Blonde
They didn’t want to give Cathy a drastic change which she might not like. The team did an intensive color treatment to fix her blonde. Everyone made sure that Cathy didn’t get to see herself in the mirror at all. Or else it might spoil the whole surprise.
A Worried Daughter
Kayla was discussing her mom’s story with Rachael and the audience. She told how this change in her mom’s nature occurred over time without any sudden incident that must have affected her, she just lost herself somewhere in the middle of all the household chores. Meanwhile thinking of her mother backstage was making her anxious.
Almost Time
While Rachael kept Kayla busy in talking, time quickly passed away. All Kayla wanted her mom was to like her new avatar and not to blame her for anything if she doesn’t like it. The best part about these makeovers is that they change a person’s appearance completely and not just the hair.
The Build Up
So, the big revealing moment was finally here and just like any other TV show, here also that suspense moment was created where everyone was waiting for Cathy to walk out of the backstage on the front stage. Everyone’s reaction? Well, shocked.
Stunned Audience
All the middle-aged ladies sitting in the front seat were speechless to see Cathy’s brand new avatar. She looked like a different person and her daughter never looked at her this way before. Her reaction after seeing her mom was so emotional.
The Reveal
A woman in the red dress walked out on the stage and it was her, Cathy. Kayla was overwhelmed to see her mom so perfectly dressed that she couldn’t hold back her tears anymore. Was she not looking good?
OMG Look At That!
Who knew that this mother will lose 20 years of her life and look like she is still in her twenties. She was wearing a pretty cocktail dress of red color. Cathy looked like she’ll go straight to the wedding. This was a better version of hers and now you know that Kayla’s tears were actually happy tears.
A Totally Different Woman
Kayla could not remember the last time she saw her mother wearing a proper party dress like this one. She couldn’t be anymore thankful to the styling team of the “Rachael Ray” Show. She looked much younger and not even close to being anyone’s grandma.
That Bright Smile
It seemed like her bright smile was fading away in the middle of those long wavy hair. Now it shined brightly again. Cathy who was uncertain about the idea of the makeover loved this unique side of hers.
Happy With The Results
The audience applauded the stylists who worked hard to bring this side of Cathy out. The stylists admitted that the red color dress was a bit dramatic but knowing how long Cathy has kept herself restlessly, it was all worth it.
The Before And After
Surely, outer appearance isn’t important. Everyone is beautiful and no one needs to go according to the society’s wish if they don’t feel comfortable about it. However, being afraid of change like Cathy is wrong.
The Video
Cathy thanked the entire cast and backstage team of the show and admitted that she never felt this confident before. And she definitely went in her son’s wedding and grabbed most attention after the bride and the groom of course. No mother would like to steal the thunder on her kid’s big day anyway!
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