Why one Boston salon owner created a nonprofit to provide cancer patients with wigs

Arun Rath: This is GBH’s All Things Considered. I’m Arun Rath.

Since its founding in 1995, the Salon at 10 Newbury has cemented its place as one of the top salons in Boston, right at home on that street so packed with affluent designer stores. But the salon is about a lot more than fancy haircuts; it also helps cancer patients embrace confidence in hair loss from treatment.

This week’s edition of the Joy Beat is celebrating the work of Wigs for Wellbeing, a nonprofit that provides those experiencing hair loss from cancer treatments with customizable and luxurious wigs to help them feel a bit more like themselves. Joining us today is the founder of Wigs for Wellbeing and the Salon at 10 Newbury, Patricia Wrixon. Patricia, thanks so much for joining us.

Patricia Wrixon: Hello, how are you today?

Rath: Doing well! It’s great to talk with you. So tell us, first off, about how Wigs for Wellbeing came to be and how it’s grown.

Wrixon: Well, I’ve been doing work with patients who have different forms of hair loss for a number of years—for probably over 30 years—when I moved to Newbury St. in 1995. We have a huge selection of wigs. We had this wonderful nonprofit where we actually give wigs to women who do not have insurance and do not have funds to purchase the wig.

The wigs are donated back by our previous clients who have outgrown the wig for various reasons—their hair is growing back. They’ve experienced the same thing that breast cancer patients or other cancer patients have experienced. Next month, October, is breast cancer month.

So when these women come in, they need to have a prescription from a doctor. They need to have a note or a letter of financial need from either a social worker or someone at the doctor’s office. It’s a very easy process without a lot of paperwork. Then, we prepare these wigs so that they look like a woman so that a woman can look like herself. For those women, it creates a lot more normalcy—for all women, it creates a lot of normalcy back into their lives instead of feeling uncomfortable about their image or presence.

The other thing is that they would have a wig that’s valued at several thousand dollars. They’re beautiful, beautiful pieces, and they look incredibly natural. In our salon, at this moment, after many years of going through a transition, we primarily only do hair loss for women in this location at 10 Newbury.

Rath: I understand that you also worked with Boston Children’s Hospital.

Wrixon: We do some work with Boston Children’s Hospital. We also work with, actually, every medical center in the city and outside of the city. Our foundation is only from Massachusetts, but we could also do it virtually.

Rath: You mentioned the thousands of dollars that the wigs cost. Is there any kind of insurance coverage for that? I mean, in a way, it’s sort of like a medical prosthesis.

Wrixon: It is a medical prosthesis—that’s typically called the scalp or cranial prosthetic. But all insurance companies are different, and some of them provide a much bigger benefit, and occasionally the entire amount. But many insurance companies only cover a very small amount.

Rath: Tell us a bit more about this process. You’ve been through it with so many people—I have to imagine at this point—when someone comes in and goes through it. Talk about what that’s like. I mean, it must be pretty powerful.

Wrixon: It’s very gratifying work, and the people who work here with me have handled it so well. I do not do the coloring or cutting, but we do, also, cut and color them. We actually like to trim them on someone’s head, but if not, once again, we can do it virtually.

When a patient comes in, we would have a consultation—a relaxed consultation. Many years ago, I only saw women who had already experienced their hair loss; that’s rarely the occasion now. Usually, everyone who comes in has their own hair, which is really good for us because then we can really check the color and check the length. After we have the consultation, you know, the pieces are here, we would select a piece, and then we would customize it for that patient.

Rath: Talk about the emotional process for you and the women going through it.

Wrixon: I think that it is very emotional for women. Most of the time, they’re very nervous when they come because wig shopping isn’t something that particularly happens in department stores. So really, most people don’t know much about them, so they’re imagining the worst instead of a more positive outcome.

But once they’re here, they can see how much better it will be than what they thought. Many, many women look so much like themselves. I mean, they never really feel they look entirely like themselves because they’re the person wearing it, but when people see them, they will never look like they have a wig on. They’ll look very natural looking.

Rath: I mentioned joy in the intro. What’s been the most rewarding part of this for you? What brings you joy?

Wrixon: What brings me joy from my work? I really feel that it’s a gift that was given to me because every day, I feel like I have a mission, and we provide such an amazing purpose. The nonprofit really makes me feel really good to know that I can recycle these pieces and give them to women who would never have the opportunity to do this.

Rath: Pat, it’s been really lovely speaking with you. Thank you so much for coming on and telling us about this work.

Wrixon: Thank you for helping us expose our nonprofit. But may I say one more thing?

Rath: Please.

Wrixon: My primary vendor is the luxury hairline in the country. It’s called the Daniel Alain Follea. The pieces are amazing, and women are always thrilled to have that experience.

Rath: And I imagine you’re online if anybody wants to find out more about this.

Wrixon: Oh yeah, we have everything. You can find us on our website.

Rath: That was Patricia Wrixon, founder of Wigs for Wellbeing and the Salon at 10 Newbury.

If you’d like to nominate someone or something for the Joy Beat, please leave us a voicemail at 617-300-BEAT (2328).