The Breast Cancer Foundation’s (BCF) Positive Image Room in Sin Ming Avenue is designed to help survivors navigate one of the quieter battles of recovery – rebuilding their confidence after the physical toll of cancer treatment.

Madam Dwi Rahayu (right) leaving the Positive Image Room with Breast Cancer Foundation (BCF) assistant manager Alycia Goh. All wig fittings take place in the room, which is sponsored by cosmetics maker Estee Lauder. Madam Dwi had cut her hair short but she still experienced significant hair loss, so she decided to shave her head completely.

Here, women try on wigs under the social service agency’s complimentary loan programme, which started in 2005.

Ms Goh helping Madam Dwi to try out a wig in BCF’s Positive Image Room.

Beyond the wigs and accessories, the programme offers something less tangible but far more powerful: dignity, reassurance and the reminder that beauty and strength can coexist, even after loss.

BCF’s wig loan programme offers a range of styles and colours. The agency also holds wig cleaning and sorting sessions twice a year, where volunteers help clean and comb the wigs.

Madam Dwi is one of the many who have found solace through the programme.

When she felt a small lump in her right breast during a routine company health screening in August 2024, she did not think much of it at first.

She was not in pain, and life was moving along as usual – taking daily walks, going to her maintenance job as an engineering specialist at an American manufacturing company, and spending time with her husband.

Madam Dwi had long hair before her cancer diagnosis. She was emotionally down after losing her hair due to chemotherapy. PHOTO: COURTESY OF DWI RAHAYU

Just two months later, on Oct 16, she was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer.

She underwent lumpectomy surgery to remove the lump. Initially, her treatment plan did not include chemotherapy. But after surgery, her oncologist discovered the cancer was more aggressive than initially thought and chemotherapy was recommended.

Within weeks of her starting chemotherapy at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, her hair, which she had cut short in preparation for the treatment, began falling out in clumps.

Madam Dwi getting help in adjusting her scarf at BCF. Scarves are used by cancer patients to cover their heads, providing warmth, protection from the sun, and a stylish alternative to other head coverings during hair loss caused by treatments such as chemotherapy.

A BCF volunteer at the hospital introduced Madam Dwi to the agency’s wig loan programme, under which women can borrow high-quality wigs made of real hair for six months, with the option to extend the loan if necessary.

Madam Dwi at a wig fitting with Ms Goh in BCF’s Positive Image Room on March 11.

Wigs can be expensive, ranging from a few hundred dollars to more than $1,000 each in shops.

The BCF programme offers the use of high-quality wigs, without the financial burden, to cancer patients and those experiencing hair loss due to various medical conditions.

SURGE IN STRANDS

BCF now handles more wig loans than before – from 80 in 2024 to more than 100 in 2025 so far.

It offers a range of styles and colours. The selection and fitting process, strictly by appointment only, is private, gentle and guided.

At Madam Dwi’s fitting, her stylist Alycia Goh, an assistant manager at BCF, wears a T-shirt that declares: “No one fights alone.”

“I can now wear a wig for events or social gatherings without always having to think about how to cover my head,” says Madam Dwi.

Madam Dwi intends to wear her wig when she heads out of the house to meet friends and when she travels overseas.

Behind every wig is a community that cares – from the people who donate their hair to the team that raises funds and the stylists who give their time to make each wig perfect.

Ms Swetha Swaminathan (left), 21, and Ms Rachel Tan (right, in red), 37, donating their hair at a hair donation drive organised by Project Haircatchers on June 8 at One Punggol. The event is supported by volunteers from Team MDI, which has been cutting hair for the community since 2016.

BCF’s wig loan programme is supported by Project Haircatchers, a student-led non-profit initiative that has, over the years, turned hundreds of ponytails into symbols of hope.

The project was initiated by students from Nanyang Girls’ High School in 2017 with the aim of supporting cancer patients in their journey by collecting hair from the public.

Project Haircatchers conducts online campaigns to raise funds for the making of the wigs. Members of the public can also donate money during the hair donation drives.

The school has since passed on the project to Hwa Chong Institution, whose students are leading the project’s core team in 2025.

Project Haircatchers’ core team members from Hwa Chong Institution (from left) Elliot Tan, Jillian Lee, Michelle Cao and Boon Yan Xin, all 18 years old, handing over donated hair to Singapura Hair Wigs boss Ho Yang Chuw on June 19.

Project Haircatchers also raises funds to cover the cost of making the wigs at $180 apiece.

HAIR MEETS HEART

BCF works primarily with Singapura Hair Wigs, a well-known local wig-maker.

After collection, the hair will be sent to the wig-maker. The wig-making process can take months as the hair needs to be carefully sewn onto a net.

Madam Tang Wang Mui, 70, a freelance worker with local wig-maker Singapura Hair Wigs for more than 30 years, working on a hair attachment on June 19.

Once completed, most of the wigs are sent directly to BCF, but Project Haircatchers is open to passing them to any beneficiaries who would like them, as its aim is to provide wigs for any cancer patients who need them.

The quantity of the wigs produced depends on how much hair is collected from each hair donation campaign.

But a wig, no matter how well made, needs the right touch to truly feel right.

A CUT ABOVE

Enter Geranium Skin & Hair Boutique, a salon in Horne Road.

It has been working with BCF on the wig loan programme since 2019, providing complimentary head shaving, wig styling and trimming services for first-time wig users. It sees an average of six BCF clients a week.

The survivors often request natural-looking hairstyles that are easy to maintain, and the salon accommodates these preferences as much as possible.

Madam Dwi getting her wig styled and trimmed on March 11 by senior hairstylist Eva Ling, 51, at Geranium Skin & Hair Boutique in Horne Road.

Styling wigs is different from styling real hair as the hair on wigs is stiffer than natural hair, making it harder to style. Cutting is also challenging as wigs are sewn with a fixed parting, so it is not possible to achieve every style desired.

“Shorter wigs are often easier to care for,” says senior hairstylist Eva Ling, 51.

“But what matters most is how (the cancer survivors) feel when they see themselves again.”

For Madam Dwi, she is visibly emotional as she studies her reflection in the mirror. A short bob frames her face after her styling at Geranium.

“After the trim was done, I was emotional because I never imagined that I could get back my look that fast with a wig,” says Madam Dwi.

It is more than just hair – it is a quiet reclaiming of her confidence and identity.

To schedule a fitting or to learn more, send a text or WhatsApp message to 9365-0864. Visit www.bcf.org.sg for full programme details and donation opportunities.