There can be nothing worse for a hairdresser than a client bursting into tears on catching sight of his or her new look in the mirror. But for the celebrity hairstylist Trevor Sorbie, it is something he is having to get to used to — but his clients are weeping with joy, and more surprisingly, none of these particular women has any hair. All have lost it either as a result of chemotherapy treatments or alopecia, a stress-related illness, and what Sorbie is styling are their wigs.
In September last year, Sorbie, who counts Helen Mirren, Lorraine Kelly and Leslie Garrett among his clients, launched a pioneering scheme called My New Hair, to help women suffering baldness through illness. The impetus was his sister-in-law, who had lost her hair after chemotherapy for bone cancer and had resorted to wearing a wig. Deeply unhappy with its appearance, she had turned to Sorbie.
“At the end of the cut, she just burst out crying,” says Sorbie, based in London. “It was then that I realised how many women might benefit from this service.”
In the UK, some form of malignant cancer is diagnosed in 115,800 women every year, and many suffer dramatic hair loss from chemotherapy. And alopecia also causes significant hair loss in 1.5 million British women. Although men suffer hair loss from both chemotherapy and alopecia too, society seems to let them off more lightly. “In 42 years of hairdressing I’ve never been asked to cut a man’s wig,” says Sorbie. “It just doesn’t have the same stigma. It can even be trendy to be bald.”
Under the My New Hair scheme Sorbie cuts wigs free of charge and he is also training other top hair-stylist around the country.
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For the thousands of women who use wigs to cover their baldness, the options can be deeply unsatisfying. Tam Johnston, a 31-year-old nurse, lost her hair completely five years ago to alopecia, has unhappy memories about her early struggles with wigs. “The NHS ones are diabolical; you just wouldn’t want to wear one,” she says. “They are thick, wiry and glaringly obvious. And body image is so important.”
Her views are shared by many others, according to Sorbie. “A woman came in earlier this year with a wig and said she just didn’t want to wear it because it looked like it had been made for anyone and everyone. So I said let me do my bit and then we’ll talk about it. After I’d finished, she declared it was finally hers because it was tailored to her face.” For many women, baldness can be as traumatic as their underlying condition. “I’ve had women say that they’d rather lose a breast than their hair,” says Sorbie. “I’m trying to provide psychological medicine, to make them feel feminine, to give them confidence. Many women won’t leave the house because they can’t face the outside world.”
Even so, some doctors continue to see hair loss as a minor side-effect of cancer treatment. But Jill Cooper, the head occupational therapist at London’s Royal Marsden Hospital, acknowledges the deep impact it can have on some patients. “It’s a devastatingly visible reminder of illness, particularly for women,” she says. “Hair loss can lead to decreased self-esteem, grief and depression. Even when their hair grows back, it can be completely different from how it was before chemotherapy, requiring another period of body-image change.”
Despite big-name celebrities such as Kylie Minogue dealing with hair loss, widespread ignorance remains an issue for many women. “You still get women who don’t know how to cover it up,” says Johnston, drawing on her nursing experience on cancer wards. “It took me a long time to research options. Even after you buy a wig, there’s still a lot of uncertainty. Someone such as Trevor Sorbie can give a lot of advice.”
However, Sorbie says that many hairdressers are equally in the dark about wigs. He describes a recent seminar at which out of 80 hairdressers only three had cut a wig in their entire working life. “That tells me two things,” he says. “One, clients don’t know that they can have their wig cut. Two, hairdressers don’t know how to do it.” One problem is that wig-cutting is a specialist skill. “It’s a completely different approach,” says Sorbie.
“The problem with every wig is there’s too much hair in it. And you should never cut the wig hair with scissors, always with razors. Just because you can cut hair doesn’t mean that you can cut wigs.”
Apprentice hairdressers can learn haircutting skills on willing guinea-pigs in search of a cut-price cut, but the high cost of wigs rules out wig-cutting as part of general hairdressing training. While NHS wigs are free, others can cost £1,500, Sorbie says. “And it doesn’t grow. If you mess up a £1,500 wig, who pays? Is it the salon owner, is it the stylist? So whoever does this has to be serious, that’s why it can’t be for everyone.”
Having cut wigs for 400 women in the past eight months, Sorbie is all too aware of the need to expand My New Hair. “I’m willing to train people for free because at the moment I’m getting women flying down from Scotland just to get a wig cut and I can’t do it all,” he says. “I need people throughout the country who will be closer for these women to get to.” Charles Worthington and Andrew Collinge are just two high-profile names who are on board.
As he talks, it is clear how much the scheme means to him. “This is my payment,” he says passionately, proffering a bundle of thank-you letters. “Women telling me ‘I can now go out and no one is staring’.”
Johnston emphasises other positives. “It’s not just a fantastic haircut, it’s a fantastic day out. It’s a distraction from your illness, a little pampering, and it is wonderful to be able to walk out that door feeling good, less anxious and less paranoid. And that has a knock-on effect on your overall health and wellbeing.”
Another of Sorbie’s clients, who just gives her name as Tracey, echoes Johnston. “Trevor transformed my wig from what looked like a hat into a personalised style and he made the whole experience a joy.”
“All I’m trying to do is help someone get through their darkest hour,” says Sorbie. “A doctor will say to a woman: ‘Be positive, be strong.’ Good words, but when a woman goes into the bathroom and sees herself in the mirror and she hasn’t got a hair on her head, how can she feel positive and strong? I am trying to bridge that gap.
“This is my crusade, my last ambition in hairdressing. I want to take this around the world.”
Where to make a head start
My New Hair
For further details and information about My New Hair and participating salons, visit mynewhair.org, or call Grace at Trevor Sorbie, London WC2, 020-7395 2901
Alopecia UK
This charity has information and advice on wigs for alopecia sufferers.
5 Titchwell Road, London SW18 (020-8333 1661; alopeciaonline.org.uk)
CAST
This is a charity that was founded last year to support women suffering from cancer-induced alopecia. It also sponsors hairdressing training to help women cope with altered body image. 45 Johnstone Drive, Mossblown, South Ayrshire (01292 521398; cast-scotland.org)
Headline Hats
Headwear as a stylish alternative to wigs.
PO Box 33415, London SW18 (020-8874 1099; headlinehats.co.uk)
