We know how much difference good quality cancer hats and headscarves can make during treatment. Soft materials, flattering designs, and breathable fabrics that won’t make your head too hot – our community told us exactly what they wanted from their cancer headwear, so we created a range of hats and headscarves that combine all those elements into a set of reliable, go-to gorgeous designs.
Browse our full cancer headwear range
When we designed our new range of bamboo chemo hats and headscarves, we knew from the start that we wanted to make it all about you, the real cancer experts. So when the time came to shoot the pics of our gorgeous new products, we turned to our online community to find our models – and you really wowed us!
Out of an unbelievable number of applications, we managed to find four wonderful ladies who could make it over to London on the day for a special photoshoot. Meet Cris, Natasha, Heidi and Nicola – our models for a day, kicking cancer’s butt and looking stunning doing it.
First up is Natasha from Coventry. She’s in her twenties and going through treatment for breast cancer, and lost all her hair during chemotherapy. It’s growing back a little now, so Natasha’s learning to rock a pixie cut (and we think she suits it perfectly!).
As we got to know Natasha on the day she had so many tips and stories to share, including trying turmeric teas and lattes to help with inflammation, compression sleeves for lymphedema, and our favourite – investing in lots of big statement earrings when you’ve got little or no hair.
(Natasha is wearing our 3 Roses Bamboo Hat in Ruby – it’s a simple beanie style underneath, but with added texture and volume on top and 3 cute applique roses.)
Next up is Heidi. Designing is something she knows all about, as she’s worked as an alternative fashion designer in the UK and Europe. Heidi is currently going through her second cancer diagnosis, but she dazzled us on the day with her energy, wicked sense of humour and willingness to try anything – she even got into bed for us to model our super soft bamboo pyjamas!
It was wonderful to see how comfortable Heidi felt both in her wig and without it on the shoot – though when we talked about how being in front of a camera all day had made everybody feel, she was beautifully honest about how hard it can be seeing your body and face change during treatment. Putting on weight, losing her hair and changes to her face from steroids were all difficult parts of treatment for Heidi (and the other ladies too) – but we think the final photos really bring out Heidi’s beauty, inside and out.
Heidi is wearing the bamboo Wraparound Chemo Scarf in Deep Turquoise – it’s a clever design that looks like an intricately tied scarf, but is actually attached to a beanie underneath so you can just pop it on with no hassle. You can tie the long scarf ends up or leave them long for a range of different looks!
Our next model Cris isn’t currently going through cancer, but has been through breast cancer and come out the other side. After her own experience, Cris helped to set up Headwrappers – a charity that helps women going through cancer-related hair loss find cancer hats and headscarves that work for them. Headwrappers runs workshops all over London and the surrounding areas, teaching women fun and simple ways to tie a headscarf, and showing people the range of fashion and comfort options available to them during hair loss.
It’s a little thing that goes a long way to helping women feel confident during a difficult time, and Cris is so dedicated to the cause – you’ll often find her dragging a massive suitcase of headscarves around on public transport, going from hospitals to health centres to run her workshops! Click here to find out more about Headwrappers.
Cris is wearing our Bow Bamboo Hat in Magenta – all our beanies come in a range of colours, including darks and neutrals for everyday or workplace looks – but we just love this hot pink colour against Cris’s skin tone!
Our final model is the lovely Nicola, who was getting ready to go for her final Herceptin injection the day after our shoot. Nicola is having treatment for breast cancer, and found during her experience that cancer wasn’t talked about very openly in the black community. She volunteered as a model to help raise awareness and we are so grateful to her – we want to represent everyone who needs help living better with cancer, and we couldn’t have asked for a better ambassador for diversity!
When Nicola wasn’t blowing us all away with that incredible smile, she had so many tips to share – Nicola managed to work through a lot of her treatment, and hearing her stories about how she got on in the workplace during chemo was really enlightening. Apparently the cleaning team at her office took extra time to make sure her office was free from germs while her immune system was weakened – we wish every office was that thoughtful!
Nicola is wearing our Silk Chemo Scarf in Pink Floral – this is our absolute favourite piece in the range! The silk material is beautifully soft and feminine, but unlike a full scarf, it won’t slip off your head over the day – it’s held in place with a soft bamboo headband, so no need for the hassle of tying and fixing it in place.
Finally, an honourable mention goes to Jermaine and Graham – members of our Live Better With office team who volunteered to model our men’s beanies. We often find that men going through cancer are less likely to talk about it openly, so we weren’t too surprised when we didn’t get any male volunteers for the shoot. But Graham and Jermaine bravely stepped in to help us create some images that we hope will make a big difference to men out there going through cancer – and it turns out they were naturals in front of the camera. Thanks guys!
We hope these beautiful bamboo hats and silk headscarves make a little difference for people living with cancer, helping you to feel more comfortable and confident – just because you’re losing your hair, doesn’t mean you’re losing your personality.
Browse our full cancer headwear range
We’d like to send a huge thank you to all our models, we had such a wonderful day getting to know you all, and thanks to you the pictures came out better than we ever could have hoped. Thank you from the whole team for helping us make this headwear range a reality – and welcome to the Live Better With family!