Since dabbling in the wig business, Expressions Hair Salon has taken on a new role in the community. The locally-owned Main Street business isn’t just selling wigs, but is also forming relationships with women who have lost their hair to cancer and other health conditions.

It’s not unusual, said Cathy Cavallo, to receive phone calls from clients sharing the news that they are cancer-free or pictures of clients at major events in their lives.

 

“And this has just been since September when we started selling wigs,” said Cavallo, who heads up the wig boutique. “People are really opening up.”

 

To bring women and their stories together – as well as provide useful tips – Cavallo and Expressions Hair Salon owner Judy Bonamico have decided to start a support group. At no cost, women and girls are invited and encouraged to attend monthly meetings to be held the first Monday of each month at Expressions.

 

“We want to share experiences and strength and hope with other women who are going through hair loss – whether it be genetic or for medical reasons, aging, female pattern baldness. There are so many reasons and we see it every day,” Cavallo said.

 

When a woman comes into the boutique and is interested in a wig, a stylist might spend an hour or so helping her decide on color, size and style, then provide tips about the upkeep of the wig.

 

“We want to be able to spend more time with them to go over tips or secrets about how to take care of a wig or what to do with existing hair,” Cavallo said.

 

Though it is possible that professionals will be brought in from outside sources, there is a wealth of knowledge right under the Expressions roof, she said.

 

“We can draw from our own stylists, some who have been in the hair industry for 40 years and some who have cut, styled and washed wigs and some who have experienced hair loss themselves and know how to camouflage that with different styles,” Cavallo said.

 

On a regular basis, Cavallo, Bonamico and other Expressions stylists see the sisterhood that forms between women who support each other.

 

“A woman may be going under surgery for a mastectomy and then having chemo and her girlfriends bring her in and each buy her a wig,” Cavallo said. “This can be a very devastating thing for a woman.”

 

She considers it a calling or perhaps a mission to help women going through such an ordeal.

 

“I’ve been through losing my own mother to cancer and experiencing what she went through with chemo and wigs and I’ve even had some hair loss of my own,” she said. “For some reason, it’s taboo in our society to wear a wig and that’s a real problem.”

 

It’s a little-known fact that many insurance companies pay up to 80 to 100 percent of the cost of a wig if it is purchased for medical reasons, Cavallo said.

 

“As long as it’s a cranial prosthesis prescription from their doctor,” she said. “We have a certain type of receipt with a medical code for patients losing hair for medical reasons.”

 

There are also all kinds of tricks women can take advantage of to make thin hair appear thicker.

 

“There is a product that camouflages the scalp a little bit – like makeup for the scalp and there are little fibers that also camouflage the scalp, which also thickens up the root of the hair and makes hair look fuller,” Cavallo said.

 

There’s no need to RSVP. Those interested in being part of the support group can just show up at Expressions at 6 p.m. the first Monday of each month.

 

“Whether women are facing the challenge of losing their hair, be it permanent or temporary, the more we talk about it, the more we can learn and help each other,” Cavallo said.