“When you feel so rotten and on top of that you have to look at your bald head, the gift of hair makes you feel like you get a bit of yourself back”. “The quality of the their wigs is nothing I could have afforded at the time of my diagnosis. The compassion and understanding that I received from Carolyn and everyone at AngelHair helped me so much through this process”
A woman’s hair is an incredible form of self-expression, so hair loss can strike an especially crippling blow to those fighting cancer. A recent study revealed that nearly 60 percent of women consider hair loss the most dreaded side effect they face when undergoing chemotherapy.
Real-hair wigs can cost thousands of dollars and are often only partially covered by health insurance, but there are ways to get wigs for FREE:
- American Cancer Society: To support cancer patients undergoing chemo, the American Cancer Society offers brand new FREE wigs at wig banks and cancer centers around the country. Click Here and go to the “About Us” tab for resources in your area. Or call 800-227-2345.
- Cuts Against Cancer: This nonprofit organization and foundation is dedicated to creating and donating free Medical Wigs for women and children who cannot afford to purchase a Real Human Hair Medical Prosthesis. For a FREE wig for anybody facing hair loss from any type of cancer living anywhere in the world, Click Here.
- Friends are by Your Side: Celebrity hairstylist Martino Cartier founded this charity to help cancer patients get FREE wigs through a network of hundreds of salons across the US, Canada, Mexico, England and Australia. Click Here to see whether there is a salon in your area.
- Lolly’s Locks works with wig providers across the country to connect cancer patients in need with high-quality wigs. Created in honor of Lolly Toll, who lost her life to cancer in 2012. Lolly understood the relationship between looking good and feeling good, and it was her wish to help those who could not otherwise afford a stylized wig. Click Here
- EBeauty Community Inc.: Provides FREE wigs for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy treatments. They also have a national wig exchange program through which you can donate wigs you no longer need to others who do. To request a wig or donate one, Click Here
- HairToStay: This nonprofit offers need-based grants to offset the expense of scalp cooling systems for breast cancer patients in the US to minimize hair loss during chemotherapy. To learn more, Click Here
Good to Know
- It takes at least six ponytails to make one wig. If your friends and family have hair to spare and want to help the cause, tell them about the Pantene Beautiful Lengths campaign that collects healthy hair to make FREE wigs available to cancer patients at the American Cancer Society’s wig banks. Donated hair must be a minimum of 8 inches long (measured from just above the elastic band of a ponytail to the ends). Click Here, or call 800-945-7768, for more details and where to donate.
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Chemocare.com
Contact: 844-268-3901
Population Served:
Anyone seeking information on chemotherapy or cancer
Mission
Chemocare.com® is a website designed to provide the latest information about chemotherapy to patients and their families, caregivers and friends. The site focuses on care during chemotherapy including information about FDA approved chemotherapy medications, nutrition, managing side effects and self-care tips. The content is continually updated and reviewed by oncology specialists.
Chemocessories
Contact: Website
Population Served:
Women with cancer in the US
Mission
To help women with cancer hold on to their strength and sense of themselves during treatment by providing personalized sets of accessories
- Provides a free set of accessories (such as scarves, turbans, jewelry) to women going through cancer treatment and hair loss
- Website offers a list of additional resources.
EBeauty
Contact: Website only
Population Served:
Women in the US undergoing cancer treatment
Mission
To provide all women, regardless of economic status, access to wigs in order to restore their self-image and confidence during cancer treatments
- Offers a Wig Exchange Program in which donated wigs are refurbished and sent free of charge to women in need. Patients may select style, color and other options via an interactive online platform.
- The EBeauty Resource Center provides online listings of local and national services, providers, support groups, etc.
Hair We Share
Contact: 516-484-8483
Population Served:
US residents with permanent hair loss due to a medical condition (cancer, alopecia, autoimmune disease, trauma)
Mission
To help maintain dignity, confidence and self-esteem to those affected by medical hair loss.
- Provides a wig free of charge to children 18 years old and under with a medical hair loss condition; if over 18 years old, offers a free wig based on financial need and approval
- Accepts hair donations; see website for details
- Builds public awareness about the psychological devastation of medical hair loss.
Heavenly Hats
Contact: 920-362-2668
Population Served:
Cancer patients and other medical patients who lose their hair due to a disease or the treatment of a disease.
Mission
To provide brand-new hats for cancer patients and other medical patients who lose their hair due to a disease or the treatment of a disease; to provide hats to individuals and hospitals in order to help the patients feel better about themselves and to give them the extra courage and hope to win their fight.
Hope Scarves
Contact: 502-333-9715
Population Served:
Cancer survivors (pediatric and adult) in active treatment throughout the world.
Mission
To support people facing cancer through scarves, stories, and research.
- Provides free headscarves paired with survivor stories to offer encouragement to those in active treatment.
Knots of Love
Contact: 949-933-7000
Population Served:
People who may be undergoing chemotherapy, or who are burn victims, brain surgery patients, head trauma patients, or individuals with alopecia
Mission
To warm the hearts and heads of those experiencing traumatic hair loss by knitting and crocheting caps with love.
- Hats are delivered free of charge to patients across the country
Locks of Love
Contact: 561-833-7332
Population Served:
Mission
To return a sense of self, confidence and normalcy to children suffering from hair loss by utilizing donated ponytails to provide the highest quality hair prosthetics to financially disadvantaged children. The children receive hair prostheses free of charge or on a sliding scale, based on financial need.Look Good Feel Better
Contact: Website
Population Served:
Cancer patients worldwide
Mission
To teach beauty techniques to people with cancer to help them manage the appearance-related side effects of treatment and to help them find a sense of support, confidence, courage and community.
- Look Good Feel Better is a non-medical, brand-neutral public service program that includes resources and hands-on workshops on skin and nail care, cosmetics, wigs and turbans, accessories and styling. Though geared primarily to women, teens and men can find helpful information on the website.
- Website provides an online “Program Finder” to search in–person workshop locations; virtual workshops are offered as well.
Patients Into People
Contact: info@patientsintopeople.com
Population Served:
Anyone affected by cancer in the U.S.
Mission
To brighten the day of a cancer patient with a gift of a cheerful, new hospital gown.
- Provides gowns in a variety of sizes to men and women battling cancer
Wigs and Wishes
Contact: 856-582-6600
Population Served:
Cancer patients (women and children)
Mission
Dedicated to providing wigs & granting wishes to courageous individuals battling cancer.
- Offers a free wig and complimentary styling services to women with cancer through a network of participating salons and stylists
- Accepts hair donations; see website for details
- Offers wishes to children who are terminally ill with cancer
Wigs for Kids (WFK)
Contact: 440-333-4433
Population Served:
Patients 18 years and under (sometimes older if still in school) who have lost their hair due to chemotherapy, radiation therapy, Alopecia, Trichotillomania, burns and other medical issues, worldwide