Businesses and organizations help cancer patients with wigs, scarves, styling and more

Many women experience hair loss when going through chemotherapy and breast cancer treatments, but local organizations and businesses work to help them regain control of their appearance by offering wigs, headscarves, styling and group workshops throughout the year.

Shelby Allee, owner of PLUSH Salon in Cape Girardeau, says she started offering services about four and a half years ago for cancer patients because she became certified through the Look Good Feel Better program of the American Cancer Society.

"I just felt like that was one of the most selfless things I could do, but also with my industry," Allee says.

Allee never charges the women who have been diagnosed with cancer and want to get rid of their hair or have it styled a certain way. In all cases, she looks to bring positivity to the forefront in her interactions with clients.

"Cancer is a very sad thing, but I think a lot of times people are very cautious and almost sad when they approach somebody with that, and if I can come at them with happiness, then I'm going to," she says.

Considering hair is a large part of many women's identity, Allee looks to help her clients regain confidence through her work, whether that means shaving off a woman's remaining hair or helping her style a wig.

"For women, hair is a big thing," she says. "It kind of defines us in a way, so it's kind of weird to see the guests who actually are going through the treatments to be like, 'I am ready to get this off.' I think it's kind of liberating for them."

From right to left, Benay Childress, her niece Shannon Hawkins, and her sister Darlene Childress pose for a photo with Shelby Allee inside Allee's salon, PLUSH, on Broadway in Cape Girardeau on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016.Laura Simon

Allee says the stylists at PLUSH also will cut and style wigs to suit a client's face shape, and they help women style headscarves and do-rags.

"Whatever they need, we accommodate," she says.

Reba Abbott, owner and manager of Cape Wiggery Fashions in Cape Girardeau, says she has a number of clients who have gone through chemotherapy and experienced hair loss.

"We just listen to what they like ... and then we have a large inventory, so we just have them take a stroll down and pick out a style they think would be becoming on them, and a color that they would like," Abbott says. "We try to make it fun, and we try to kick it up a notch so they feel good about [it and] get compliments."

Cape Wiggery offers wigs from six major brands, including Raquel Welch and Eva Gabor, and has a stylist available to help style and clean wigs for clients when needed.

Abbott says it's often easy to see when a client has found the right wig for her.

"You almost know when you get the right one because they just kind of light up, so that's a good thing and it makes you feel good," she says.

Another place for women to find a wig that suits them is the American Cancer Society, which provides a free wig from their available selection to any person going through any type of cancer treatment.

Shelby Allee, right, poses for a photo with her client, Benay Childress, inside PLUSH Salon on Broadway on Cape Girardeau on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016.Laura Simon

"Anybody who feels that they need a wig is able to get one from the American Cancer Society," says Jennifer Darrough, program manager, mission delivery for Missouri for the ACS.

The ACS also has headscarves and turbans available when in stock.

"We rely on donations from the community and from sewing groups to provide those," Darrough says.

The Look Good Feel Better program is a partnership between the ACS, the Personal Care Products Council Foundation and the Professional Beauty Association.

"That program provides women who are going through any kind of cancer and who are having appearance-related side effects from their treatments, they come to a workshop where a licensed and trained volunteer cosmetologist teaches them how to put on makeup," Darrough says.

Darrough says one typical component of the workshops is showing women how to draw on their eyebrows, because they haven't necessarily had to do that in the past.

About 50,000 women are served annually by the workshops, which include a 12-step skin care program and makeup lesson and nail care techniques.

The workshops are free and include a makeup kit with full-size makeup donated by various companies in the cosmetic industry for the women to take home.

Although wigs and headscarves are not given away during the workshops, a portion of the time is devoted to teaching women how to choose and care for a wig, how to tie headscarves, how to make turbans out of T-shirts and more.

Darrough says offering these services to women affected by cancer is important because battling the disease already provides an intense amount of stress -- how they look shouldn't be another cause for worry.

"One of the first things we notice about a person is their hair; that's just one of the first things we use to describe people," she says. "And when a woman loses her hair, it can be really devastating, so it's really important that we are able to provide that for them so it's one less thing they have to worry about, and they can think more about getting better and getting well."

Look Good Feel Better workshops are offered during the year at many locations throughout the nation.

Locally, Southeast Cancer Center will host Look Good Feel Better workshops from 2 to 4 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 17, and Monday, Dec. 12, at the center, 789 S. Mount Auburn Road in Cape Girardeau.

Saint Francis Medical Center will host a Look Good Feel Better workshop from 2 to 4 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14, at the Cancer Institute, 211 Saint Francis Drive, Cancer Institute Lot 6, in Cape Girardeau.

For more information about Look Good Feel Better or to find a workshop near you, visit http://lookgoodfeelbetter.org/programs/women/.

Shelby Allee, left, poses for a photo with her client, Benay Childress, inside PLUSH Salon on Broadway on Cape Girardeau on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016.Laura Simon