Mona Shield Payne / Special to the Home News

Owner Jane Nelson styles a wig in her mobile salon, “Wigs on the Move,” as she prepares to make a visit to a client’s home.

By Frances Vanderploeg (contact)

Thu, Oct 16, 2008 (midnight)

Mona Shield Payne / Special to the Home News

Owner Jane Nelson opens the doors to her mobile salon, "Wigs on the Move," in order to provide services to clientele whose health will not permit them to visit a conventional hair salon. She has been styling hair since 1970.

Mona Shield Payne / Special to the Home News

High-quality synthetic hair wigs designed by Raquel Welch and Eva Gabor are delivered to clientele around the valley in the mobile salon "Wigs on the Move." Owner Jane Nelson personally cuts and styles each wig at the homes of customers who are unable to visit conventional hair salons.

For cancer patients, the elderly or anyone losing their hair before they're ready, wigs can be a welcome reprieve.

For that reason, Jane Nelson, owner of the Tin Star Salon in Henderson, has started up a new service called Wigs on the Move. The latest arm of her salon consists of a motor home outfitted with everything needed to fit a client with a new wig.

"It's fantastic, because there are people who are housebound and can't get out," Erika Brassington-Stocks, quality of life manager for the American Cancer Society, said.

"It's a big city, and sometimes when people move here, they don't always have that big network of family and friends, so they rely on neighbors," she said. "It's hard to say, 'You just took me to my treatment, now can you take me to pick up a wig?'"

Brassington-Stocks first began working with Nelson several years ago through the society's "Look Good, Feel Better" program, which helps cancer patients learn how to apply wigs and makeup to look their best while going through cancer treatments. Nelson is a facilitator for the program and often holds two classes a month, Brassington-Stocks said.

The idea for Wigs on the Move first came to Nelson after receiving several calls asking to help bedridden wives and mothers. Instead of opening another salon, Nelson thought the better option would be bringing the salon to them.

"The motor home is completely stocked with wigs, heads, hats, bandannas," she said. "We go to their home by appointment and go through the regimen of measuring their head, because wigs come in different sizes, then we find a wig to complement their style."

Nelson said the most common complaint with most wigs is that they're itchy, but she uses only high quality wigs, which aren't itchy at all, she said.

Nelson charges for the wig and service, she said, but there's no additional service fee for coming to the client's home. A normal consultation and fitting will take 30 to 45 minutes, Nelson said.

The wigs range from $100 to $375. Patients undergoing treatment are normally offered a 10 percent to 20 percent discount, she said. With the cancer society's grants, Brassington-Stocks said, they have also been able to purchase gift certificates from Nelson for patients who can't afford the service.

"If you go into a beauty salon and you get your hair cut, colored and highlighted, you're looking at $150 to $200 or more," Nelson said. "Getting a wig, you've got a hair piece that's going to last you a couple years and falls in the same price range."

Nelson doesn't limit herself to cancer patients, she said. The service is available for anyone unable to come to the salon. However, Brassington-Stocks said, when Nelson first brought the idea up, the cancer society supported her.

"We can't be everywhere, so when Jane came up with this idea, we though it was great," Brassington-Stocks said. "She was really a go-getter. Four to six weeks later she showed up with this van, ready to go."

For more information about Wigs on the Move, call 897-1834.

Frances Vanderploeg can be reached at 990-2660 or frances.vanderploeg@hbcpub.com.