METAIRIE, La. - Hair loss for anyone is a tough battle, especially for young kids. In some cases, it can be embarrassing. However, a Metairie woman hopes to change that and give people their smile back.
"So I've been doing hair for 14 years," Tiffani Calix said.
Calix was a hair stylist by trade. That it's, until two and half years ago.
"So after my third child I started have postpartum hair loss, it never stopped," she said.
That's when her own challenges inspired her to help others.
"When I got into this business, I didn't know how much hair loss actually affected people, I just know how I felt about it," she said.
She began her own line of wigs and opened her own business, Wigs By Tiffani. The wigs are specifically made for women who've lost hair because of medical reasons.
"People should not be embarrassed by it because it is very normal," she said. "Whatever hair loss you're going through you're not alone. So many people go through it, so many women go through it and it's actually very normal but it's not "normalized" which is what we're trying to do."
Recently though, she wanted to do more. Mainly for kids struggling with their own medical battles.
"So I said I'm going to start doing wigs for free for kids," she said. "And the reason for that is because I get emails all the time about my child is going through Alopecia right now we just found out, or my child is going through cancer right now and we all have a soft spot for children especially when they're going through something like that."
Made with real hair, the wigs are lightweight and natural looking. They also are custom fitted to the person's head giving the hairline a natural look. Once on, the results can be lifechanging for everyone.
"Children going through medical things triggers you, and when I put the wig on them and see their jaw drop it makes your heart feel a certain way," she said. "It makes you feel good you're making someone else happy."
The work Calix is doing has just begun and she hopes to bring joy and confidence back one wig at a time. While she charges for adult wigs, all children wigs (8-17 years old) are donated. She currently has made just a few, but hopes to get up to at least five a month. She encourages anyone who's interested or who can to donate.
If you'd like to donate hair, the hair must be at least 14inches long. It's okay if the hair has been treated/colored but it must be healthy. If you'd like to make a monetary donation you can do so on her GoFundMe page.
More information can also be found here.
