Delco hairstylist hopes to boost women's self-esteem
FOLCROFT, Pa. (CBS) -- October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. On Thursday night, we took a look at a Delaware County hairstylist who is paying it forward.
She creates wigs for women undergoing treatment for those who are experiencing hair loss. She shares how hair plays a huge role in many women's self esteem.
Aesha Brooks, an experienced hairdresser, pours her heart into every strand of hair she sews into a wig.
"I want everybody, all of my clients and patients, to feel great about themselves," Brooks said.
Brooks, the founder of Gifted Hair Foundation, which provides free wigs to women with breast cancer and other medical conditions who have lost their hair.
She created the nonprofit in June after realizing insurance companies often won't cover the full cost of a patient's wig.
"I don't have the money," Brooks said. "But if I can raise the money, this can really help everybody, and they can get their wigs either for free or paid for halfway through the foundation and insurance covers the rest."
For Brooks, these wigs made from real human hair are a labor of love that take about a week to make. It's to empower women and build up their self-esteem as they're undergoing treatment.
This mission also hits home for Brooks.
"I have suffered from alopecia myself," Brooks said. "And we like to say, 'Oh, I'm bald and beautiful.' But even though you may feel bald and beautiful, you feel confident and you feel beautiful."
Sometimes she uses a sewing machine.
But for the most part, each wig has to be sewn by hand by pulling a tiny needle through holes barely big enough to see.
"It's so worth it because it helps build so many women's self-esteem because it looks real and they feel like themselves again and that's my goal," Brooks said.
On Saturday at 11:30 am in Darby, Brooks is hosting a Breast Cancer Awareness Month event to raise money for her foundation.
Twenty women at the event will get a wig for free.
Brooks hopes to grow her foundation in the future and surprise women with free wigs at their doorstep.
