The burns were caused by a fire accident that occurred 14 years ago. I was preparing a deep-fried dish and was burning oil on the stove in a pot. I looked away for a moment and suddenly there was a fire and the kitchen was on fire. In case of a major disaster, I moved the pan and ended up with oil splattered all over. As a result, I was immediately hospitalized, in a coma and in critical condition. After being in a coma for about 3 weeks, I woke up in an intensive care unit bed. After regaining consciousness, it took a while to see my badly burned face, but the moment I saw myself, a feeling came over me that I can’t describe in words. I think the closest thing I felt was despair. Considering that I had lost skin all over my body due to burns.
Things were very difficult for me at that time, and I sometimes wondered if I had just died in an accident. The skin tissue that hardens after a burn is called scar tissue, and the areas where the scar tissue thickens are called proliferative scars. These hyperplastic scars can harden and solidify, making it difficult to move my body. These scars are partly responsible for symptoms such as the inability to expand my chest or bend my fingers. It hurts and itches. In addition to these physical discomforts, there is the emotional pain of experiencing flashbacks of the accident.
I suffered 90% burns over my entire body
in a fire accident.
I was introduced to Shiseido Life Quality Makeup through the hospital. After I was discharged from the hospital, I also returned regularly and during my consultation, the attending doctor told me that Shiseido had cosmetics that could help reduce the appearance of scars and asked if I would be interested in trying them. So it all started when I met with the Shiseido staff at the hospital.
The reason I decided to try makeup was because there was a time when I suffered from social phobia. I wasn’t the person I used to be, I had deformed scars on my face and body, and I was afraid to face people. This person with all these wounds was not the person I used to be. I believe that humans are afraid of something new and different, of what other people think. By wearing makeup, I feel that maybe this will help me become more positive or it will affect me in some positive way.
I suffered 90% burns over my entire body
in a fire accident.
When I first tried makeup, I felt confused. Although the scars would disappear, it felt awkward to see my face with makeup on. Needless to say, I had mixed emotions. While part of me questioned whether it would actually help alleviate the discomfort people felt when they looked at me, I also held out hope that it would actually improve my appearance. Even though my mom complimented me on how I looked in photos with my makeup on, I wasn’t ready to take what my family said to me for granted, so I thought, “Really?!”
I’ve gotten more used to wearing makeup now. I think it’s mostly because the staff has explained to me how to do my makeup in a way that I can understand. When I do my makeup, I draw my eyebrows first and then apply foundation to my face. Next, because I have a scarred patch of skin on the left side of my mouth that doesn’t grow a beard, I add a little color similar to my beard. When it’s too thick, it gets sticky, so I just apply a clear layer to get a natural look. I don’t wear makeup when I leave home, but when I go to work or to a relative’s wedding. I wear makeup when I want to look pretty and smart.
I suffered 90% burns over my entire body
in a fire accident.
I’m a bit eccentric and would rather see others happy than achieve happiness myself. I fix computers for work, and I’m really happy when I manage to fix a particularly complicated job. I’m especially happy when I’m able to recover photos from data files. I often get requests from customers who say, “I lost all the photo data on my smartphone, but can you get it back? There are some photos of my kids in there.” In the process of recovering the data, I would imagine the joy that success would bring them, and it was the most enjoyable moment of my life.
The reason why I decided to cooperate with the Shiseido Life Quality Makeup campaign, such as participating in this interview, is that I hope it will be helpful to you. When I was in the hospital, I witnessed the hardships of many people, so I thought it would be great if I could help other patients who have burn scars or other wounds like me. I used to be a volleyball player as a student and whether I lost or defeated, I always felt regret if I didn’t do my best to pick the ball up and get back on my feet. I think maybe that experience has helped me. For my part, there is no doubt that I think dying in a fire would have been easier for me, considering I had to start over with no skin on my body. However, I won’t go into detail about what might have happened. Now that I’ve come to appreciate the various things in my life, I think I’m very grateful for everything.
