Free chemo cuts make hair loss easier to bear

Salon owner Gloria Sheik gives breast cancer survivor Summer Madriaga of Clairemont a haircut at Studio 514. Charlie Neuman * U-T

— Summer Madriaga has beaten back breast cancer, and she has the scars to prove it. But one lingering effect of her chemotherapy treatments - short hair that's slowly growing back in - is something she's still fighting to overcome.


'It was hard losing my hair,' said Madriaga, 35, of Clairemont. 'It came out in haystacks. I'd already lost a (breast) and now I was losing my hair. When losing something is not a choice, it's a little scary.'


But thanks to a new community outreach program at Studio 514 in Oceanside, Madriaga has a new ally in her recovery. The 4-year-old hair salon is offering a free haircut or styling consultation to any breast cancer patient who is losing her hair to chemotherapy or in the process of growing it back.


Hairstylist Gloria Sheik, who co-owns Studio 514 with her husband, Mike Taylor, said she lost two close girlfriends to cancer in the past two years and she wanted to use her expertise to 'add meaning to beauty.'


'These women are going through such a challenging time in their lives. It's a scary place, but by creating a style they like, it empowers them and helps them feel better about themselves,' said Sheik, who specializes in short haircuts and last month styled for four companies at New York Fashion Week. 'What I like to tell these clients is that instead of focusing on length, they should focus on their goals and enjoy experimenting with styles they never had before.'


During a pre-cut consultation Monday afternoon, Madriaga explained to Sheik that all her life she'd worn her blonde hair long. Before it fell out in February 2013, her hair was halfway to her waist. She never wanted short hair and is struggling to keep it styled now because she's busy all day with a home daycare business.


Sheik responded that the right cut could be flirty and fun, and if it's the right shape for her head and hair texture, it would be easy to maintain while she grows it out.


'Women are intimidated by short haircuts because they're not seen as feminine. I give them images of Jennifer Lawrence and Halle Berry and show them that they can look beautiful with short hair, as long as it's not cut like Don Draper,' said Sheik, referring to the 1960s 'Mad Man' character played by Jon Hamm.


Breast cancer survivor Summer Madriaga, of San Diego, at right, admires her new hair style by Gloria Sheik, left, at Gloria's salon, Hair Studio 514.

Madriaga was 19 years old when she found a lump in her breast. It was benign. But when she found another lump in December 2012, she knew it felt different from the first. After a biopsy and ultrasound, she was diagnosed with Stage 2 ductal carcinoma.


While undergoing six rounds of chemotherapy and 25 radiation treatments, she lost both of her breasts to mastectomy and she gained weight from prescribed steroid drugs. Losing her hair was the final indignity and a visible reminder that Madriaga said she can't wait to put behind her.


After their consultation and a shampoo, Sheik reshaped Madriaga's hair so that it better fit her head shape, frames her face and is shorter in the back and around the nape of her neck to give the illusion of length in the front. Madriaga was thrilled with the results.


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