There are many reasons for hair loss, not least oncological therapy regimens, for example. This experience is one of the most traumatic aspects of treatment. The Haarwerkstatt Basel provides valuable support here. No matter whether woman or man, child or adult – the two wigmakers find the right solution for everyone concerned.
The burden of oncology patients is great. If hair falls out during chemotherapy or radiotherapy, the already stressed psyche is even more affected. According to research, women suffer more from hair loss than men. For about half of those affected, this experience is one of the most traumatic occurrences of oncology therapy. 8% even consider refusing chemotherapy for fear of the physical change. This departure from one’s own body image troubles many of those affected. In addition, the disease suddenly becomes visible to the outside world. The patients feel stigmatized as cancer patients and exposed to the prejudices of society. Mitigating these effects of the disease is the goal of the Haarwerkstatt Basel. In addition to wigs, hairpieces and toupees, the wigmaker also offers turbans, beanies, caps and hats, some of which are made exclusively in Basel. Tips on make-up, eyebrows and eyelashes round off the portfolio. Because the two owners Andrea Blick and Susanna Piccarreta know what they are doing. As make-up artists and wigmakers, they have learned their craft from scratch.
Dear Mrs. Piccarreta, dear Mrs. Blick, what exactly do you offer in the hair workshop?
We are a wig store in the heart of Basel and offer wigs, hairpieces and toupees made of synthetic and human hair. Our clients are people who have some kind of problems with their hair, i.e. partial or universal hair loss. This includes chemotherapy patients to a large extent. As trained make-up artists, we are also wigmakers and can therefore make wigs and hairpieces ourselves as well as adjust, repair and maintain them. In addition, you will find various beautiful headpieces, some of which are made exclusively for us in Basel. Besides the wigs are also very important and helpful during the hairless period. Also we offer eyebrows, eyelashes and makeup consultation. For clients with a doctor’s prescription, we also handle the billing process with AHV/IV.
How did the hair workshop come into being?
We got to know each other while working at Theater Basel. As make-up artists with training and professional background from the theater, we have learned the wig craft from scratch. Nowadays, the theater is the only place where you can still learn how to make wigs. Since most of the other wig stores have their background mainly in the hairdressing sector, it was time for us to close this gap in the market and create an offer where the hairpieces and wigs can be made ourselves on the one hand or we have the creativity and the necessary know-how to customize prefabricated models as much as necessary. We have opened our store then on 01.05.2018.
What do you place particular emphasis on in your consulting?
In any case, we take our time and peace of mind for the consultation. We have designed the premises so that we ourselves and the clientele feel comfortable. We respond to the needs of each individual with empathy and understanding, while maintaining high aesthetic standards for our appearance and products. We pursue an individual consultation without pressure with a final product with which the clientele recognizes itself and which it can integrate into its external self-image and thus wear with well-being.
Whenever possible, we also work in a resource-conserving manner. We have a large part of our headwear (jersey, knitwear, etc.) manufactured in Basel, using sustainable materials, among others. Make-up consultations take place in our premises.
In addition, we maintain a lively exchange with our partners. These include the medical and nursing staff from oncology and dermatology, AHV/IV offices in the various cantons, as well as our suppliers and manufacturers of our products. In this context, we also participated in various events, such as the Oncology Nursing Congress Bern, the Breast Cancer Info Day from Bethesda Hospital Basel and the Cancer Info Day from the University Hospital Basel. For the Lungenliga beider Basel, we have also conducted training courses on the topic of “masking impressions of sleep apnea masks”. We ourselves also regularly attend training courses and network with similar workshops at home and abroad.
Researchers are working hard to reduce hair loss during chemotherapy. Currently, “cold hoods” are being used. What feedback have you received from your customers on this so far?
As far as we know, the cold caps are used to cool the scalp during chemotherapy to prevent hair loss. Of course, we do not know the exact results of the investigation. But we always have clients who lose most of their hair despite the cold cap. Sometimes this process is slowed down, but this still leads to people opting for a wig. There are also female customers who can not stand the cold hood. Furthermore, the hair changes anyway through chemotherapy in its stylability, this is often reported by customers after the first day of chemotherapy and is also visible and noticeable for us.
InFo ONCOLOGY & HEMATOLOGY 2020; 8(2): 30-31.
