How to Find a Free or Low-Cost Wig for a Loved One

Channeling her experience to help others, she works for CancerCare.org, a national nonprofit that serves clients in Connecticut, New Jersey and all five boroughs of New York City. The organization encourages patients with hair loss to call its Hopeline, at 800-813-4673. An oncology social worker will answer and help patients schedule an in-person or online appointment to find a free wig that works for them. CancerCare.org prides itself on offering a diverse range of looks, including hair for African American women and beyond. “No matter how you look,” Potts insists to clients, “remember that real beauty comes from self-love and from inside yourself.”

EverYou by the American Cancer Society

This summer, the American Cancer Society relaunched its wig program with a new name, EverYou. Wigs start at $30 and go up to $650. “We provide products that are chosen by experts and people living with cancer,” Street says. “We want to make sure that individuals have a meaningful shopping experience, so we help guide them through their questions.” Free wigs are available for those with financial barriers; to find out if your loved one qualifies for a free product, talk to a social worker at the hospital where they’re being treated, or contact EverYou at 800-850-9445. 

Pay it Forward by EBeauty Community

Two-time cancer survivor Carolyn Keller started the Pay it Forward program as part of her nonprofit, EBeauty Community, in 2011. Keller says it’s a “circle of giving” that empowers women concluding their cancer journey to help women who are beginning theirs. Women who no longer need their wigs donate them to EBeauty; then, students at Paul Mitchell beauty schools nationwide wash and refurbish them, in the process learning more about the empathy required to care for women with hair loss. Stylists are often the “first line of defense” when a woman loses her hair, Keller points out. Once the wigs are ready for a new owner, EBeauty Community distributes them to individuals who request one online, as well as through partnerships with nearly 100 hospitals nationwide.

Over the past 13 years, the organization has distributed more than 100,000 wigs to women facing cancer treatment, alopecia or other medical hair loss. (In addition to donated wigs, it distributes new wigs through its partnerships.) The group asks women to send in a doctor’s note as well as photos of them with their natural hair, so a network of volunteers can find the best match for everyone.

TRS Care

The nonprofit TRS Care provides free wigs for individuals who meet U.S. poverty guidelines. “We want to reach women [in need] who feel like they don’t have any choices, and give them the opportunity to get something that maybe they wouldn’t otherwise have access to,” says Tabassum Mithani, director of operations at TRS Health Inc.

Verma Foundation

Cancer survivor Natasha Verma, a news anchor in New York, lost her hair during chemotherapy. She created the Verma Foundation, she says, “as a way to give women hope, confidence and a real hair cap wig.” Since launching the program in 2017, the foundation has distributed more than 3,000 cap wigs — baseball caps with real human hair attached — around the world to women with financial limitations who are experiencing hair loss.

Wigs & Wishes

Hair stylist and salon owner Martino Cartier created the nonprofit Wigs & Wishes to bring together salon owners around the country to provide free wigs and services to those experiencing cancer-related hair loss. Patients can enter their ZIP code online to find the closest participating salon, schedule a consultation and order a wig that suits them best. “And if there is not a location near you, simply contact the Wigs & Wishes headquarters, and we will be sure to make you look cancer-free for free,” Cartier says. His motto: “If you don’t know how to give, you don’t know how to live.”