From Bald to Beautiful

MBOMBELA – For the past seven months, runny mascara and soaked tissues has for once not automatically translated into sadness for cancer affected women. On the contrary, sufferers and survivors are getting teary eyed when they fit, choose and buy new hairstyles to cover their once naked heads.

Women around the Lowveld are taking their hats off to JJ Wig and Beauty’s inspirational owner Jenni Dunn (57). She was diagnosed with rectal cancer three years ago and her battle has driven her to provide women with beautiful and lifelike wigs that they can flaunt and style with confidence.

“A woman’s greatest asset is her hair and it is our crowning glory. We wanted to sell great wigs and not the rubbish one’s you normally get. We want women to look and feel good about themselves.”

Cancer had stolen their power, chemotherapy had erased their dignity and a feeling of emptiness had made headway into their identity, but Jenni had a plan to give women their confidence back.

“Sitting in chemotherapy and seeing all the ladies looking so miserable with their hair falling out gave me a reason to start the this business.

Jenni has had a number of bad experiences where she had bought wigs online that were terrible and looked really fake, so the she decided to import them instead.

These wigs are made from synthetic fibres or from real hair and are the product of Jon Renaud, a South African, who is now living abroad in the United States of America.

The women also prefer the synthetic wigs because they don’t have to style them, in turn eliminating the extra effort of blow drying and straightening your hair. The synthetic wigs are also fully washable and resume its original style after it has dried.

“One lady, who was going blind, wanted a wig as she would not be able to blow dry it any longer.”

At the store there is a backroom where self conscious clients, can fit the wigs at their own comfort until they have found the perfect look.

“They come to the store wearing their knitted caps and then I have to take off my hairpiece so that they see that I relate to them. Some women would only buy a wig when I’m at the shop,” she said.

Jenni personifies the human fighting spirit as she comfortably stares into the lens, with or without her hair. She composes herself after taking her wig off and reveals the evidence of her struggle, but quickly reverts back to one of the half a dozen wigs in her possession.

According to Jenni, buying a wig is an emotional experience as hair is something that belongs to a person – it is part of her identity.

“It is such a gratifying and emotional experience to sell a wig. It is very therapeutic, as we share a cup of tea and we cry our eyes out as we all can relate to the same situation. We always have lots of tissues at hand,” she said.

“I have about half a dozen wigs, but this is my favourite one, as it reminds me of how my hair looked 36 years ago, she says while stroking her fringe. It is strange how each wig on the shelf also seems to wait for the right person,” she added.

“The cancer put me in so much pain that I had to take 14 painkillers a day, now I am only on six per day. I still have my good and bad days.”

Under the make-up, gorgeous hair and radiant smile lies years of pain and self-doubt that could easily have derailed any ordinary woman. Jenni, is on crutches as she recently had a knee replacement that has restricted her movement considerably. This is however not the first physical obstacle that she has encountered in her fascinating life story.

According to her husband Nelson, Jenni’s whole journey has been filled with a range of medical problems that would have brought a lesser woman to despair.

“She has lost all the sight in her left eye, had a hip replacement, the cancer and now a knee replacement,” he said.

Jenni lost half her sight after she had contracted cataracts and in 2010 she lost all the sight in her left eye after having struggled with eye problems for years.

“At least I can still read!,” she said, again displaying her silver-lining approach to life.

“She is such a strong woman and an inspiration to all the women who visit her store.”

Previously when I stayed at home as a cancer patient, all you think about is yourself. You have a little cough, and worry that it could be lung cancer. It’s just cancer, cancer, cancer and it drains you.”

Since I opened the shop at the Village Centre I have interacted with so many ladies who are in a far worse position than I am, and then I realise that there is no need to feel self-pity -you become so much more empathetic.

“The shop is very close to my heart – when they walk out with their new wigs, they are radiant with confidence as they have their hair back again.”

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