Mondays are a traditional day that salons close their doors to give employees some time to rest. For most salons, this means that the salon remains empty and unused. However, a Chicago salon decided to take advantage of an empty salon to do something good for the community: provide free services for cancer patients. With these services, the salon helps cancer patients find some joy during their difficult journey.
The Program
Studio 10 in Naperville has joined forces with the Mondays at Racine Foundation to offer these services, according to CBS Chicago. This salon will open its doors the third Monday of the month for cancer patients undergoing treatment. Although walk-ins will be welcomed, clients are encouraged to make appointments.
Cancer patients have the right to feel beautiful, too
The Mondays at Racine program has successfully helped those at the Racine spa receive salon treatments for over ten years. The success of the flagship program has led to a movement to take the idea to other spas around the country, including Studio 10. Several corporate partners and sponsors have also supported the movement, including HBO Documentary Films and Brookhaven Memorial Hospital and Medical Center.
Services Offered
The Naperville salon will provide services to help those going through treatment for cancer feel beautiful and pampered. Some of the services offered include makeup application, cosmetic lashes and brows to those who have lost their hair due to chemotherapy, and massage therapy. The lashes used have been specially designed from a collaboration between Mondays at Racine and Japanese International Beauty to work with the needs of those who are in treatment, according to Mondays at Racine.
Chemotherapy affects eyebrows and eyelashes, too
The massages offered are also specially designed for those in treatment to provide some relief of the pain associated with cancer. They also use organic creams that are hypoallergenic, unscented, and parabans free to ensure it will not have any adverse reactions. During the massage, therapists may also use aromatherapy to help mitigate some of the pain and other side effects of cancer.
More than Just Beauty
Although some of the services may seem to be catering to vanity rather than relieving cancer symptoms, they actually provide important healing elements. The physical changes that occur due to cancer and its treatments cause emotional hardships experienced by those in treatments. According to the National Cancer Institute, one of the things that cancer patients have to deal with are physical changes that can alter one’s self image, such as losing hair, including eyelashes and eyebrows. Although many people adjust, these physical changes often make cancer patients feel self-conscious in public.
With some help from Studio 10, cancer patients can start to feel like themselves again
Providing services to help a person feel more like their previous self can help one cope with the issues on hand and go a long way in mitigating a successful recovery. Additionally, these free services provide a space for cancer to feel pampered and loved in a place that offers support and solace, rather than a sterile hospital setting.
Mondays at Racine and its partner spas, including Studio 10, have a mission to support those in cancer treatment. By providing beauty services, they can impart a sense of hope and normalcy that can go a long way in a person having a positive outlook and coping with their disease. They also work on providing education and awareness about cancer and its various treatment, especially to reduce some of the stigma associated with the disease.