A hairstylist in New Glasgow, N.S., wants to help people dealing with cancer, and especially the hair loss that often comes with chemotherapy and radiation.
Angela Cromwell has set up part of her salon to provide wigs for people going through the treatment.
“It'll be something where you can close the curtain when you come in, have your privacy, be not afraid of taking off your wrap or your scarf and trying on some wigs,” Cromwell says.
Cromwell grew up in New Glasgow and moved to Toronto for more than 20 years before coming back home.
“When I first came back, I noticed that there were no black hairdressers in the area between Antigonish and Halifax. There was nobody tending to ethnic hair,” she says.
Cancer has touched the lives of nearly everyone, including local resident Elizabeth Paris. She thinks Cromwell's plan is wonderful.
“My own mother had cancer and she lost her hair,” says Paris. “I had to go to Halifax to get a couple of wigs for her hair … she's introducing something to our community that we need.”
Cromwell lost her mother to cancer more than 30 years ago. That inspired her to help others dealing with the disease.
“I remember her saying to me at one time, they keep telling you you're beautiful on the inside when you lose your hair. They keep telling you you're beautiful. You're still beautiful. But we still want to love what we see in the mirror,” says Cromwell.
Cromwell and her musical group will be performing a gospel concert on April 8 to raise money for her campaign. Cromwell says the more tickets sold, the more wigs that can be purchased.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Dan MacIntosh.
