How Woman With Cerebral Palsy Learned to Apply Makeup in Whole New Way

A woman with cerebral palsy has stunned social media viewers after showing how she's learned to do her makeup despite the challenges of her condition.

Paola Garcia, 31, was diagnosed with the disability when she was just 6 months old, but she refuses to see it as a restriction. Instead, she has spent her life adapting to her abilities, and that includes doing her own glam.

Garcia, who lives in California, finds it difficult to pick up items with her hands because of a lack of muscle tone and slow movements caused by cerebral palsy. But she told Newsweek that over time she's made her "own accommodations" to do a full face of makeup without even using her hands. Instead, she props up brushes and leans into them, using her mouth to pick things up.

"I have always loved makeup, even before I could do my own. Doing my makeup relaxes me and it's my therapy," she said.

"Before discovering that I could use the couch to do it, I didn't really do any makeup because I couldn't do it myself. If I wanted to wear makeup, I had to ask someone to apply it for me."

Those days of asking friends and family to help her are long gone, as Garcia has developed a routine that works perfectly and she's not looking back.

If anything, she says the hardest part isn't applying the makeup but getting some of the items open.

Doing her makeup can take anywhere between 15 minutes and two hours, depending on the glam. But the amount of time it takes is irrelevant to Garcia because simply being creative and doing it for herself helps take her away from any of life's other stresses.

What Is Cerebral Palsy?

Cerebral palsy is a neurological condition caused by damage to the parts of the brain that control muscle movement or when these parts don't develop sufficiently. The three main types of cerebral palsy are spastic, dyskinetic and mixed.

The Cleveland Clinic says that symptoms usually arise during early childhood. The signs can vary depending on the individual, but they include a very large or very small head size, lack of interaction, delayed development, uncoordinated movements, spasms and stiffness.

Cerebral palsy is a relatively uncommon disability. The Cleveland Clinic estimates that each year between 5,500 and 13,100 children are born with it in the U.S.

The Social Media Reaction

Garcia began sharing her makeup routines on TikTok (@misspaolastyles) to show that her disability doesn't hold her back and that she's just like everyone else. She's built up quite a social media following in that time, with one video receiving over 1.9 million views and more than 45,000 likes.

She told Newsweek: "I love that my videos can help other people like me see that it's possible to live a normal life, despite what others think. I enjoy creating content while also raising awareness and educating people about disabilities."

She went on: "I get lovely supportive reactions most of the time, but I also get hate for posting videos sometimes. I love reading messages from people saying that I inspire them or that my videos help them get through hard times."

Before she became a viral TikTok sensation, Garcia never would have imagined that this could happen, but she couldn't be more grateful. Combining makeup tutorials and social media has allowed her to combine her two favorite outlets and create a loving online community.

Garcia has earned praise for sharing the realities of living with cerebral palsy and refusing to let her condition stop her. Among the 350 comments on one of her TikTok videos, one person responded: "Man, you do makeup better than me."

Another person wrote: "You're a boss in every aspect!"

Another comment reads: "You are so creative."

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