Cancer survivor’s wig shop

Hayley Bennion, 30, owner of Duo Hair and Beauty, in New Street, was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, a rare form of blood cancer, in May last year.

She had intense chemotherapy which involved her being treated for 92 hours at a time.

The mother-of-two said losing her hair through that treatment was almost more distressing for her than hearing she had cancer.

She said: “It was a really intense treatment. I lost my hair within 13 days of the first treatment.

“I was told it was such an aggressive harsh treatment and there was no way of keeping any of it.

“My whole life has always been around hair. That’s what I’ve always done. So in a way that was worse than hearing the cancer word.”

Hayley travelled for more than two hours to Essex to get an appointment at a wig shop.

The nearest wig shop to this area is in Brighton but Hayley said she couldn’t get a suitable appointment there.

She said: “I was shocked. There’s nowhere in this area that can offer people advice about hair loss.

“When you’re not well you don’t want to be travelling.”

After being given the ‘all clear’ in October she decided to set up a service so other people living in the area would find it easier to buy wigs and get hair loss advice.

She said: “I’m so passionate about this. There’s so many women that have no one to talk to and they don’t know where to go. I need to talk to those people and tell them it’s going to be OK.”

Hayley will open a wig shop and hair loss treatment clinic in her salon Duo Hair and Beauty later this month.

She will also offer a free head shaving service.

The new service will be called Elegance at Duo Hair an Beauty and appointments can be made in advance.

For more information about the new service call 01403 241307.