GRAND HAVEN TOWNSHIP, Mich. - After surviving her own battle with cancer, an Ottawa County woman is using her talents to help others suffering from hair loss feel comfortable in new hair.
As a hairstylist, going bald was devastating, said Rachael Kaminski, who has been cutting hair in the Grand Haven area for nearly a decade.
"I've met other women who have lost their hair, but you never know how tragic it is until you walk that journey," Kaminski said. She went through chemotherapy for Hodgkin's lymphoma in the summer of 2017.
During treatment, Kaminski's wig was one thing she could control.
"You don't get to control your diagnosis or your treatment, but wearing a wig every day...that helped me feel better about myself," she said. "I wanted to help other women through their hair loss journeys as well."
Kaminski moved to an in-home studio to start "Confidence Beyond Hair Loss," a salon dedicated to providing women with alternative hair including wigs and toppers.
Since October 2018, Kaminski outfitted 200 clients suffering from hair loss with alternative hair options. Many of the customers are also cancer survivors.
The wigs are fit to each customer's head and styled and colored to her choosing, she said.
"A wig is not one-size-fits-all," Kaminski said. "It needs to be customized and personalized for the wearer, so they feel confident and empowered to wear it every day and go into their life with this new piece."
It was hard feeling comfortable in a wig before meeting Rachael, said Mikki Hyde, who lost her hair to alopecia nearly 40 years ago.
"It's the first salon I've ever been where I can go and sit and have someone understand what I felt and needed," Hyde said. "I stopped feeling guilty. It wasn't my fault that I didn't have hair, and I have taken huge steps in accepting and growing past all of it."
Kaminski plans to expand her business in the near future to include an extension option called "Chemo Girls," a technique to reattach a woman's hair following chemotherapy. She will be the only stylist in Michigan certified to apply the extensions.
"I've found my niche," Kaminski said. "It's everything I love and want – helping people, doing hair, changing lives – I can't wait to help more people."
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