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Feb 24, 2008 5:04 pm US/Central
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Chicago Salon Aids Cancer/Burn Victims
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
She's known for her cutting edge hairstyles, but one Chicago salon owner is being honored for bringing out the best in people who are feeling their worst. CBS 2's Joanie Lum reports.
Dorothea Lovelace's long locks are finished with a flat iron. The gentle tugging does not reveal that the locks are semi-permanent pieces – a hair system that hides where she was burned as a child.
"I can't get a hair transplant, so now it's more a permanent fix, more natural than a wig," said burn survivor Lovelace.
Salons didn't specialize in cancer causing hair loss issues when Judith Hayes went through treatment for breast cancer 18 years ago.
"I always had a bit of hair, to lose it was devastating to me," Hayes said.
Both women rediscovered their beauty and self-confidence at Lillian Dion Salon in the South Loop, which offers private consultation for cancer patients and burn victims.
"The thing I appreciate, most important is the privacy that I have," Lovelace said.
"They come in here in this room and are like, 'is the door closed? No one can see me?' We put the hair on them and they're ready to hit it," said salon owner Lillian Dion Howard.
Dion Howard was presented the Hero of Health Care Award by the Cook County Bureau of Health Services, for her dedication to helping patients look better and feel great.
"A lot of times, we'll cry with them, but we'll walk with them through it," Dion Howard said.
The professionals at Lillian Dion believe services delivered with compassion can really improve a person's medical condition and that is a beautiful thing.
Dion Howard says she was inspired by her grandmother who suffered from cancer.
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