A cancer patient has received a stunning makeover from a hairstylist who put a bright smile on her face by dying her cropped locks bright pink while she undergoes chemotherapy.
Kat Collett, a hairstylist from Kansas City, took to Instagram in August to share before and after photos of Scintilla Capalla, 23, who has been fighting stage three bone cancer since December 2016.
Before undergoing her makeover, Scintilla was sporting short, dark hair, and while she looks absolutely stunning following her transformation, it is her ear to ear grin that gives her a radiant glow.
Transformation: Scintilla Capalla, 23, who has stage three bone cancer, was given an incredible makeover by hairstylist Kat Collett, from Kansas City
The beginning: A video of Scintilla’s amazing transformation shows her dark locks being slowly dyed bright pink, while her natural beauty is enhanced with fun make-up
‘This is why I do what I do,’ Kat captioned the before and after images, while urging people to read Scintilla’s inspiring story.
The hairdresser also captured Scintilla’s total joy at her transformation in a time-lapse video of the makeover, which documents the entire process, from bleaching the brunette’s short locks in preparation for the pink dye to finishing off her glamorous make-up look.
Upon looking in the mirror after undergoing the transformation, Scintilla is overjoyed with her appearance, grinning and jumping up and down with happiness as she checks out her new ‘do and make-up in the reflection.
Kat’s adorable video also captures the heart-warming moment that Scintilla showed off her new look to her boyfriend, revealing the ecstatic surprise on his face, as well as Scintilla’s elation at being able to show off her bright pink hair to her beau.
Scintilla explained in Kat’s post that she was first diagnosed with bone cancer in her right leg/femur in 2011 when she was in high school.
She spent almost her entire senior year having chemotherapy and having limb salvage surgery; Scintilla had to have her entire knee and part of her femur replaced with artificial internal prosthetics to avoid amputation.
However, despite the aggressive treatment plan, her cancer returned less than a year ago, and doctors have since found a total of three major tumors: one in her lungs, another in the middle of her spine, and the third in her right leg muscle.
‘I am on my sixth drug treatment to cure my disease and its changed my life drastically,’ she wrote.
There it goes! Kat shared a clip of the transformation, revealing how she bleached Scintilla’s hair before adding the pink hair dye
Now onto the face: As well as transforming Scintilla’s hair, Kat also gave her a fresh face of make-up, including a bold pink lip
Happy as can be: Scintilla was overjoyed with her new look after seeing it in the mirror for the very first time
Although she is down to one tumor, in her lungs, Scintilla said it takes up 40 per cent of her lung capacity, and she often struggles with breathing and getting proper circulation to her head.
The treatment has also left Scintilla feeling weak and prone to fainting, which has hindered her from being able to walk on her own even it if it was just to the kitchen or the bathroom, never mind being able pursue her hobbies or finish nursing school.
One of her biggest regrets, however, is how isolated her illness, and her treatment, has left her feeling, with Scintilla admitting that she has struggled with feeling cut off from her friends and family.
‘One of the biggest struggles for me was being isolated or staying connected with friends and family because of how often I was usually in pain, disorientation from my pain medication or side effects from just having cancer itself or extreme fatigue that it made it unsafe and terrifying to go anywhere without supervision,’ she explained in Kat’s post.
‘It made me feel very easily forgotten, useless and heartbreakingly isolated.’
But thanks to the kindness of people like Kat, Scintilla went on, ‘who didn’t make me feel like such an outsider or so self-conscious of all the things cancer just took away from me’, she has found hope throughout her treatment, and in doing so has given herself ‘all the strength and hope to hold on’.
So sassy! In the clip, Scintilla could be seen posing in front of the mirror, clearly relishing her bold new ‘do
Sharing the love: Scintilla’s boyfriend was also thrilled with her bold new locks
And Scintilla’s bravery is now inspiring plenty of other people, with dozens commenting on Kat’s Instagram post to praise her bravery, and to share their joy at her stunning transformation.
‘So beautiful and inspiring! Stay strong!’ one person commented on the before and after pictures shared on Kat’s account, while another who actually went to high school with Scintilla praised her for handling her illness so bravely.
‘Glad you could make Scintilla feel pretty!’ the person wrote on Kat’s post. ‘I went to high school with her and she’s always been an inspiration even before she was diagnosed with cancer.
‘She’s so ambitious and driven it’s ridiculous – like she excelled in everything she did and continues too! I know this must of meant a lot to her…’
Kat herself also paid tribute to her brave friend in the caption of her video, saying: ‘Her story is the reason I do hair.
‘I want to do so much more for this world… She is a fighter. She inspires me.
‘THANK YOU Scintilla for kicking this illness in the a** and showing it who’s boss. Keep fighting! I love you.’