How wigs help children handle hair loss

Our hair affects how we look and feel, and sudden, unwanted change is difficult to deal with. For young people with cancer, hair loss is often one of their biggest fears. A good wig can make a huge difference. Photographer Carmel King documents some of the processes and people involved with a charity providing beautiful human-hair wigs for kids.

Photography by Carmel Kingwords by Helen Babbsaverage reading time 6 minutes 7 September 2021

Photo story

Photograph of a young girl in her living room, sat on a sofa. She is wearing a knitted grey jumper and ripped black jeans. She is holding a straight haired pink wig in her left hand and stretching out a few strands of hair with her right hand. She is looking down towards the wig with a slight smile on her face. In front of her is a foot stool, on which is another wig, this time blonde with a plait. The wig is supported in a mannequin head. Behind the young girl is a wood burning stove, a canvas artwork of a flower and a bookshelf containing DVD and family photographs in frames.

Teiva was nine years old when she found out she had leukaemia. Her first question when she understood that leukaemia meant cancer was, “Does that mean I will lose my hair, Mummy?” Her hair was long and blonde, and it felt like an important part of who she was and how she fitted in. For Teiva’s mum, Dawn, answering that question was one of her worst moments.

But they were determined to be positive, chatting about how Teiva could have fun with fancy hats and wear wigs in whatever colour she wanted, even pink. Treatment began just three days after diagnosis, and Teiva’s hair quickly started to fall out. She cut it into a short bob, then shaved it off once she left hospital.

Wigs are expensive, and Dawn was relieved to find out about a charity providing them to young people for free. Within days of contacting the Little Princess Trust, Teiva was sent a top-quality, hand-knotted wig made from donated human hair, closely matched to her own hair colour and length.

Remembering what it was like to wear the wig for the first time, Teiva says, “It felt really nice that I wasn’t the odd one out any more. I got a lot of funny looks when I was bald, but I was normal with my wig on. It made my head very hot, but I loved it. I wore it quite a lot when I first got it. Then I started to wear it at certain times – for school, or going to the shops, or special events.”

Teiva’s hair grew back fluffy and thin. It was about an inch long when further treatment meant she lost it again. She was entitled to another wig and this time the charity dyed it a gorgeous shade of pale pink. It arrived just in time for her tenth birthday. Teiva was thrilled.

“I would never let her dye her hair, but oddly enough the pink wig was fine,” says Dawn. “We ended up preferring it over the natural one.”

Donation sorting centre

Photograph showing an indoor setting with a large industrial table and shelving coloured blue and orange. Behind the table are 4 individuals wearing white plastic aprons, face coverings and purple latex groves. They are each opening and sorting packages containing cut hair donations. On the tabletop are many groups of cut hair, ties or plaited together. There is a variety of hair coloured and types. On the shelves behind the people are large labelled cardboard boxes. — 1 of 4
The Little Princess Trust was named for Hannah Tarplee, but the charity doesn’t just help young girls. It provides real-hair wigs for children, teenagers and young adults of all genders. The charity, based in Hereford, receives thousands of hair donations a year. Once unpacked, the hair is hand-sorted by a dedicated team of volunteers.

Photographic diptych. The image on the left show a close-up of a tabletop on which is an opened padded envelope. Standing behind the table is a person wearing purple latex gloves, a shite plastic apron and a checked cotton shirt. In their right hand they are holding several plaited lengths of brown hair which have come out of the envelope. The image on the right show the same person holding the plaited lengths up to a shelving unit containing labelled cardboard boxes. They are comparing the plaited hair to a sample of hair hanging off the shelving. — 2 of 4
The donated hair is sorted it into 13 colours and four lengths. The hair is then sent to the manufacturers for processing. Most of the Trust’s wigs are made in China, handmade by expert wig makers. A high-quality human-hair wig looks more realistic, is more comfortable to wear and is longer lasting than an artificial-hair one.

Photographic triptych. Each image is similar and shows a plastic lined cardboard box containing many hair donations, some plaited, some in a pony tail. In each image the open box is photographed from above and fills the frame. In the image on the right the box contains blonde hair, the box in the middle contains dark brown hair and the box on the right contains ginger hair. — 3 of 4
It can take up to 15 individual donations to make a single wig, while the knotting process can take anything from 30 to 60 hours. Around two inches is lost from the length during the tying process, which is why longer hair donations are best for the wig maker to work with.

Photograph showing a woman dressed in a white blouse and dark jacket standing in a storeroom. She is looking down at her hands, in which she is holding a ginger coloured wig. Surrounding her is shelving containing many purple and white boxes stacked on top of one another. To the right is a table top containing a piece of office equipment, purple envelopes and a bag of cut blonde hair. — 4 of 4
Wendy Tarplee-Morris, the co-founder of the Little Princess Trust, looks at one of the finished wigs that will be sent out to a young person suffering hair loss. The charity provides around 2,000 wigs every year to children and young people.

How the Little Princess Trust helps young people

Teiva was so happy with her experience with the Little Princess Trust that she has recently become an ambassador for the charity, which was founded 15 years ago in memory of Hannah Tarplee.

Hannah was four when she was diagnosed with cancer in 2004. She loved her hair and had three drawers in her dressing table full of ribbons, bobbles and clips. Losing it had a profound impact.

Hannah’s mum, Wendy, explains that her daughter’s hair loss was most difficult when they were out. “You’d see the stares and sympathy looks, and she would soak them up. It’s such an obvious visible sign that you’re unwell, and it robs them of their identity.” Her parents struggled to source a suitable wig, but it made a huge difference to Hannah once they did.

Hannah sadly passed away in 2005. For her family and friends, launching a charity dedicated to providing real-hair wigs for young people felt like a fitting tribute. The Trust has grown a lot over the intervening years, and Hannah’s mum, Wendy, is still actively involved, delighted by the many donations of both hair and money they receive, and the number of people they’ve been able to help.

In 2016 they started funding children’s cancer research. In 2020 they celebrated producing their 10,000th wig. They now send out around 2,000 wigs a year, always free of charge.

Donating hair

Photographic triptych. The image on the left shows a woman with long brown hair reaching almost down to her waist, swept over her right shoulder. She is seated on a narrow white countertop with white wood panelling on the wall behind her. She is wearing a crimson dress and black cardigan. She is looking straight to camera wearing a blue patterned face covering. The image in the middle shows the same woman turned around, facing away from the camera, with her hair fanning out across her back and shoulders. The image on the right show another woman who is wearing a brown hairdresser's apron and a black face covering. She is standing in the same area as the other woman holding a large white comb and a pair of scissors on her hands. — 1 of 3
Emily donates her hair in May 2021, as the UK is slowly emerging from its third coronavirus lockdown. Both Emily and the hairdresser, Michelle Michelon, have to wear face masks. Emily’s hair is thick and long, reaching far down her back. She has donated her hair before, last cutting it three years ago.

Photographic triptych. The image on the left shows a woman with long brown hair reaching almost down to her waist sat in a chair with a hairdressing cape over her shoulders. Standing to her right in a brown hairdressing apron, black face covering and a transparent visor is a woman who is holding a length of plaited hair. The image in the middle shows a close-up of the seated woman's upper chest, draped in the black hairdressing cape. Resting on the cape are 7 lengths of plaited hair. The image on the right show the same woman standing against a white wooden panelled wall, still in her hairdressing cape and a blue patterned face covering. Her hair is now all in plaited lengths. She is looking towards the camera. — 2 of 3
The process is straightforward. The hair must be at least 16 cm long, clean and dry. It should be made into several plaits or ponytails before being secured at the top and bottom and then cut. Michelle says Emily’s long hair is “amazing, like fabric”. She plaits it into nine braids.

The brave act of hair donation

Little Princess Trust relies on hair donations, inviting anyone with long hair to consider cutting it off and posting it to them. The longer the hair, the better – they’re especially keen to get donations that are 16 inches or more. The charity gets tens of thousands of donations a year and they need it: there are up to 15 different people’s hair within each wig.

Embracing a dramatic haircut is a significant ask. What motivates people to do it? “We recognise what a personal sacrifice it is,” says Phil Brace, the Trust’s Chief Executive. “I think people support us because they can see the tangible difference their donation makes on the life of a young person or child suffering hair loss. It’s so relatable.”

How does Teiva feel about the fact her wigs are made from donated human hair? “I feel proud of the people who have done it because it’s a brave thing to donate that much hair. If you’re used to having long hair and then you cut it short, it’s going to be a scary thing. When my hair grows long enough, I’ll cut my hair for the Little Princess Trust, and I’ll keep doing it every time my hair grows back.”

Teiva

Photographic diptych. The image on the left shows a young girl and her mother sat on a sofa in an embrace and holding hands. The young girl is looking to camera with a quiet smile on her face. Her mother is also smiling looking down towards her daughter. The image on the right shows the same young girl siting on the floor of her bedroom, cross legged. In front of her on the floor are two wigs. One of them is blonde and is sitting on a mannequin head. The other is a light pink colour and is lying on the floor. The girl is in the process of caring for the blonds wig with strands of hair in her hands and she's looking down towards in with a slight smile on her face. Behind her is am arched mirror on the wall and a pair of ballet shoes hanging from a door handle. — 1 of 3
Having to answer Teiva’s question about whether her cancer treatment would mean she would lose her hair was one of Dawn’s worst moments. But the wig they received from the Little Princess Trust meant that Teiva had the option to look and feel normal again whenever she wanted. “I loved to brush them to make them fluffy and soft, and I loved plaiting them, like when I had my own hair,” says Teiva.

Photographic diptych. Both images are similar in that they both show a view from above looking down on a wig resting on a mannequin head. In both images there is the lap and hands of a young girl who is in the process of caring for the wigs. The main difference is that the image on the left shows a blonde wig with plaits and the image on the right show a light pink straight haired wig. — 2 of 3
“A wig on a child does look like a wig on a child – with most children you can tell – but plaiting it made it look more natural,” says Dawn. Teiva’s real-hair wigs were much more comfortable than something synthetic would have been, but her scalp would still get itchy and hot if she wore them for a long time. The wigs made her feel good, but the pay-off was some physical discomfort.

Photographic diptych. The image on the left shows a garden scene with a large trampoline surrounded by grass and trees. On the trampoline is a young girl who has been photographed mid jump, high in the air. She has a broad smile on her face. The image on the right shows the same young girl stood in front of the green foliage of a fir tree, from the waist up. She is smiling and look off to camera right, her fingertips loosely clasps together across the front of her body. — 3 of 3
Teiva’s own hair has now grown back, but she hasn't forgotten the role her wigs played in giving her the confidence to face the world during her treatment. So much so that she is now an ambassador for the charity, supporting their work and raising awareness.

Having fun with wigs

However we choose to wear it, our hair is part of who we are, and a good wig can help someone to feel like themselves again. The option to not be bald was an important one for Teiva: it allowed her to face the world in a certain way on certain days. But there’s no doubt the wigs provoked mixed emotions, especially for Teiva’s mum.

“I actually didn’t like her in the wig, if I’m completely honest, because she didn’t look like Teiva to me,” says Dawn. “She’s got a perfect-shaped head, so she looked amazing without hair. I love the Little Princess Trust and everything they do, but from the family’s point of view, we found it hard to see her in the wig – we preferred the bald head – but I know Teiva didn’t. It’s important to recognise that.”

Before her treatment, Teiva’s hair was blonde, straight and fine. It’s grown back thicker and curly, light brown with sunny golden tips. Do she and her mum have any advice for someone facing hair loss because of chemotherapy?

“With every bad thing, you can find a good way to be with it,” says Dawn. “Know that it’s not for ever, but while you don’t have hair, it’s your opportunity to have fun, especially when you’re young. It’s definitely going to affect you, and that’s okay, but you have to make the best of it.”

Tevia would also recommend cuddling a cockapoo. Hers is called Rio. “He can be very cheeky and has a habit of not giving back the ball,” she says, “but he’s sweet and he loves cuddles. It’s really nice to have a pet in your house: a pet calms you down a lot and I found that really helpful during my cancer treatment.”

About the contributors

Carmel King

Photographer

Carmel King photographs makers and manufacturers across the UK, documenting British craft and industry. She is particularly interested in capturing regions of the country that are known for specific crafts and long-running family firms, where skills and knowledge are passed down through generations. In October 2022 Merrell published ‘Made in London‘, which Carmel King co-authored with Mark Brearley, which looks behind the scenes of 50 workshops and factories across the capital.

Helen Babbs

Author

Helen is a Digital Editor for Wellcome Collection.

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