A place of solace

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Wednesday, June 12th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day. Good morning. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. Coming next on The World and Everything in It: a beauty salon for those who’ve lost their hair.

Sometimes it’s genetics. Sometimes it’s due to illness, or the treatment for an illness.

The American Cancer Society predicts that the U-S will see higher-than-usual cancer diagnoses this year. Around 2 million, it says, and about half the patients—women.

EICHER: For many cancer patients, beating the illness means hair loss and the emotional pain that can come with it. But in a small Georgia town, there is a place of refuge. Mid-career WJI correspondent Jen Curtis paid a visit.

AUDIO: [Talking, hair dryer]

JEN CURTIS: Shirley Cook is sitting in a bubblegum pink salon chair — proud and brave and ready to model a new hairpiece. Her husband is there to compliment her strength and beauty, and throw out an occasional joke. The mood is happy and the decor reflects that—inspiring quotes cover every wall. Many who find themselves in this salon are here because of a diagnosis.

SHIRLEY COOK: Well, they said it’s curable. I’ve got to deal with this.

For Cook, that diagnosis is cancer. During her treatment she will lose her hair. Today she made her way to the Georgia Hair Solutions Salon in Jackson, Georgia.

Diana Cowan owns the salon.

DIANA COWAN: I had big hair in high school and then I started losing my hair after I had kids. It just got thinner and thinner and it's devastating to lose your hair as a woman.

In 2007, she was diagnosed with alopecia.

COWAN: I tried every vitamin, every product, everything that you know, the next and latest and nothing worked. And as a woman, like, it's just, it's hard and then you hear Satan in your head saying your husband can't love you.

She begged God to heal her and make her hair grow back. Instead, a ministry grew. She now helps women feel beautiful inside and out while they deal with hair loss due to medical challenges.

COWAN: I now look at my alopecia as the greatest gift God gave me. It is such a gift that he gave me.

One day an online search led her to discover a topper made of human hair. She tried it on and for the first time in years felt comfortable with the way she looked.

COWAN: And I remember all the way home I felt so clear God say, “You can keep it a secret and nobody's going to know. Or you can use this for my glory.”

She started selling hair toppers and wigs from her bathroom. Her business grew quickly.

COWAN: Ms. Shirley, you’re the queen, so you get the queen chair.

With each new client, Cowan starts by listening to the woman's story of medical details and emotional struggles. Shirley Cook describes what will be a tough few months, but a good prognosis.

COOK: But I’m afraid it’s going to fall out and I want to be prepared.

Cowan takes off her own wig and Cook relaxes. The outward beauty Cowan possesses turns to vulnerability to console those in pain. The women’s shared experience of losing their hair bonds them.

COOK: They don’t have to have bangs, but they can have bangs.

COWAN: So I get to play!

Cowan peppers her with questions about length, color and style. Most clients choose to look like they did before treatment, but some want to go with a bold new hairdo they have always dreamt about.

COWAN: They’re just slightly different colors than what you have.

HUSBAND: That makes you look about 30 years younger.

COWAN: Thirty years younger? All right then score! You’ve got to have this one no matter what, don’t ya?

Cowan is most proud of the small room near the front door. It is a place of solace in an otherwise bustling space. Worship music plays softly. A wood cross adorns the main wall. Squares of cardstock cover the cross, each with a name of someone fighting cancer.

COWAN: My husband, he built me this. So people come in and they'll say, “Hey, I've got somebody. Can you add Ms. Shelby up here?” So we go and we write their name or they write their name and we hang it on the wall. And I have people committed to come and pray over this wall all the time.

The salon is a place of refuge for Cook. She has picked out the perfect wig, but before she leaves, Cowan prays for her.

COWAN: I pray to God for Mr. Gene as he is going through this with her, to support her, and love her…

Cowan's own pain gives her compassion for each woman who walks through her door.

COWAN: For me to take my hair off and say listen, I cried so many times over my hair. But now many many more years later I look at what God gave me and I'm happy that this happened. But he's going to use it. Romans 8:28. I promise you as hard as that is, that's my life verse. He's going to use it all for his glory.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Jen Curtis in Jackson, Georgia.

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