Fishers firefighter and wife support Hoosier Burn Camp
Writer / Kara Kavensky
Sharing a passion for giving back, Kate and Jared Shaughnessy support The Hoosier Burn Camp.
During the month of March, proceeds from brow and lash services at Lash & Brow Design Co. had benefitted The Hoosier Burn Camp. Not only did Lash & Brow Design Co. owner Kate Shaughnessy donate during that month, she donates her services year-round to burn victims.
Kate, and her husband Jared, have a personal connection to the cause. Jared lost skin as the result of an accident and received treatment at Wishard’s burn unit. During his recovery, Jared met firefighters who were volunteering with the Hoosier Burn Camp and was inspired to get involved. Jared, an Army veteran, is now a firefighter and EMT with the Fishers Fire Department.
While there are other lash and brow salons in Indianapolis, Kate is the first Certified Xtreme Lash stylist in the Midwest. Kate has been an artistic aesthetician for 13 years. She has been doing lash extensions for more than 10 years and Microblading for more than a year.
After becoming certified in Microblading, Kate was quickly recognized for her talent and was recruited as a national trainer for the leading Microblading academy in the US, teaching artists from around the country. Women from all over the U.S. travel to Indiana for her services and often come to her for corrective services after having a negative experience at another salon.
Kate feels it is her mission to educate the consumer.
“You get what you pay for,” says Kate, who takes her approach to her craft with the utmost professionalism and quality of care.
Given her artistic talent, Kate uses a hand tool, utilizing 9 to 21 fine needles for the Microblading procedure. She only utilizes the base layer of the skin. Her tools glide across the skin, scraping the pigment into the skin which creates a lifelike hair shape. Kate’s approach is exceptionally detailed. She watches the muscles of her clients’ faces, so that every brow is unique to the face.
When asked how long the Microblading procedure lasts, Kate says, “Depends on the person and their skin. Drier skin vs. oily and how their skin takes the pigment determines if the procedure will last eight months or up to 3 years.
“Brows should never be the same, it is tailored to the face,” Kate says.
One burn victim, Paige, a recent Ball State graduate, reached out to Kate after an unsuccessful procedure with a plastic surgeon for a hair transplant procedure to create a new eyebrow where she had none. Paige felt the transplant procedure was a failure and made her appearance worse. After researching Microblading, Paige knew she wanted to work with Kate.
“I asked Paige to give me six months,” Kate says. “Burned skin, given all the graphs and recovery process, is vastly different and I needed to do my own research to find out what would be effective. The closest person I found who did this sort of work was in Australia.”
Kate worked with Paige’s physician and even ordered special latex on which to practice upon before she ever scheduled with Paige. The efforts Kate put into working on burn victim skin is greatly appreciate by Paige and others, and they are overwhelmed for such a wonderful procedure.
“Having nice eyebrows is such a boost to my clients, especially those who have struggled with so many procedures and skin graphs,” Kate says. “If they (burn victims) can get to Indiana, the brows are free.”
The Hoosier Burn Camp is a nonprofit organization committed to providing life-changing experiences for young people who have suffered the physical and emotional trauma associated with a severe burn injury. The camp creates experiences for burn survivors where they can just be one of the kids in a safe and supportive environment.
