On a quiet cul-de-sac in northwest 蜜柚直播, a woman and her daughter run Glow Wigs, a business that sells wigs to clients who are experiencing hair loss or thinning.
鈥淧urchasing a wig is not a one-size-fits-all,鈥 owner Marcy Poreda said. 鈥淚鈥檝e worked with girls as young as 16 and women in their 90s and a wide, wide range in between.鈥
Around 50% of Poreda鈥檚 clients are cancer patients while the other half visit because of varied hair loss causes, such as trichotillomania, alopecia, or hair thinning caused by medications, aging, or weight loss during surgeries.
鈥淪ome women can rock a bald head, but many women feel differently, and I could understand that,鈥 Poreda said.
The services provided at Glow Wigs start with a free 60-minute consultation trying on wigs.
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Once a client鈥檚 wig is chosen Poreda can, for no extra charge, customize it using her 25-year background as a hair designer. Last, she and her daughter, Jamie, educate their clients on wig care for optimal longevity.
鈥淏y the end of the consultation most women are leaving that day with a new head of hair,鈥 Poreda said. 鈥淲hen they leave, they鈥檙e smiling, they鈥檙e feeling pretty, not afraid to look in the mirror. It makes my life meaningful.鈥
Dr. Susannah Cooper, a medical oncologist at 蜜柚直播 Oncology, believes that for many patients, putting on a wig offers a sense of control during an unstable period like going through chemotherapy.
Doctors are reporting surge in stress-related hair loss amid COVID-19, in those who had the virus and those who didn't.
鈥淭here is a very strong association with baldness and chemo,鈥 Cooper said. 鈥淵ou want to be able to choose who you tell that you have cancer and who you tell that you are receiving chemotherapy, and being bald from chemotherapy is taking away that decision. It鈥檚 like an opening for the world to ask: 鈥楬ow you are doing; what鈥檚 going on?鈥欌
Regardless of gender, the baldness of chemotherapy is an involuntary outward expression of a taxing inward struggle.
鈥淢any women are very motivated for treatment regardless of cost, and losing hair is not that significant to them,鈥 Cooper said. 鈥淏ut for a good portion, it鈥檚 a difficult decision to embark on chemotherapy because of the fear of losing their hair.鈥
Jamie Poreda
Poreda started Glow Wigs about six years ago and Jamie, 25, joined her mother three years later.
The business idea sprouted when Poreda鈥檚 hair salon clients started telling her they needed or were going to need a wig. A few customers eventually became dozens struggling with hair loss.
鈥淚 was sending women two hours away to give them service,鈥 Poreda said, who at the time wasn鈥檛 aware of such offerings in 蜜柚直播.
One client sat down in the salon chair and burst into tears. She had breast cancer and told Poreda that she would lose her hair during chemotherapy.
鈥淎t that point, I put down my comb and I put down my hairbrush and I said, 鈥業s there something I鈥檓 supposed to be doing? Because this keeps coming to me,鈥欌 Poreda said. 鈥淪o I took about a year of some private training and classes and I got all my ducks in a row.鈥
鈥淲hen they leave, they鈥檙e smiling, they鈥檙e feeling pretty, not afraid to look in the mirror. It makes my life meaningful,鈥 says Marcy Poreda, owner of Glow Wigs. The studio is open by appointment only.
What started as a 鈥渄ozen wigs on a few shelves鈥 in her hair salon turned into a selection of about 200 wigs. Most are made of synthetic hair, and some are made of human hair, but the latter are more work to maintain.
Wig prices vary depending on the quality and custom of the wig cap, according to Poreda. With daily use, a wig could last a year. Some insurance companies may help with the costs of the wigs, Poreda said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge market, and it鈥檚 extremely overwhelming, and most women have no idea how to go about this,鈥 Poreda said.
For Sarah Koenig, 22, buying a wig from Poreda at age 16 gave her one channel through which to gain a little more control during high school as she battled a type of pediatric kidney cancer.
鈥淢y hair meant a lot to me,鈥 said Koenig, who was attending Sahuaro High School at the time. 鈥淓ven though I had only seen (Marcy) that initial time, I felt like she already knew who I was.鈥
Koenig says she wore her wig everywhere, including as a presenter, speaking in front of crowds of thousands at cancer research events, like a national event led by the nonprofit PANDA (People Acting Now Discover Answers).
鈥淚 was still confident without hair but didn鈥檛 feel beautiful,鈥 Koenig said. 鈥淲hen (Marcy) found the (wig) I would like, she turned me around. When I saw myself, I was emotional. It made me feel how I felt before I was sick. I gained back what I was missing.鈥
Koenig, now in her final semester of nursing school through Pima Community College and NAU, keeps the wig in a special place in her closet, still in good condition six years later.
鈥淚 never wanted to get rid of it because it was something so special,鈥 Koenig said. 鈥淚t reminds me of good times.鈥
Marcy Poreda
For Poreda, helping her clients is more than just business; she considers it a privilege.
鈥淏efore COVID, I hugged everybody, they hugged me. I鈥檓 a big hugger. I believe in hugs,鈥 Poreda said. 鈥淎nd, you know, when they鈥檙e thanking me I鈥檓 like: 鈥極h no, no, no, thank you, because what it does for me is it鈥檚 taken what I do for women to a different level.鈥 It was so meant for me to do this. It was part of my destiny.鈥
Glow Wigs is open by appointment only. For more information about the studio or to schedule a consultation go to:
Sunday Joyahnnah Holland is a University of 蜜柚直播 journalism student apprenticing with the 蜜柚直播.
