Hyderabad hairstylist spreads smiles to cancer patients

Hairstylist Shiva Kumar Yadav has raised hair donations from over 200 people to make wigs for over 30 cancer victims

Hyderabad: That people lose hair when undergoing chemotherapy for cancer is something known and for many, losing hair lowers their confidence and drastically affects their mental health.

Attempting to help cancer victims regain their confidence at least to an extent is Hyderabad-based hairstylist Shiva Kumar Yadav. In the last one year, he has raised hair donations from over 200 people and helped over 30 cancer victims regain their confidence. February 4 is World Cancer Day and here is the journey of a man who has been playing his part to make the lives of cancer victims better.

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“I come from an economically backward background and I did a diploma in hairstyling in 2014 and later worked for several high-end salons in the city. Whenever I used to see people coming in for a makeover and chopping their hair off, I used to advise them to donate it to cancer victims. I would help enable them sending the hair to various NGOs across the country,” says Shiva, who was later advised in 2018 by a friend to launch his own NGO and start making wigs.

Having registered Hyderabad Hair Donation for Cancer Patients organisation in 2020, Shiva started getting wigs made, as and when he got requests from cancer victims and according to him, irrespective of the financial status of the person who requests him for a wig, he doesn’t charge a single rupee. “It costs Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 to make a single wig and it requires hair from six to seven people. But I never charge the cancer victims anything for that. So far, I have been paying for the wig-making charges out of my own pocket,” shares Shiva. “The wigs I donate are 100 per cent natural human hair that I get from hair-donors. One can style them the way they want to, straighten, curl, anything. It can increase a person’s confidence and make them feel better about themselves,” he says.

According to Shiva, if a person wants to donate hair, they should have at least 12 to 14 inches of hair and should regularly shampoo it using quality shampoos, oil the hair regularly and care for it for a few months before donating it.

 

 

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