FOR the many clients at Shay Preston’s salon her service is so vital, it is almost a lifeline.

But for many, addressing the journey which has led them to seek her help, has often been a very painful one both physically and emotionally.

The issue of hairloss, in both women and men, remains an emotive one but Shay and her daughter Charlotte are determined to do all they can to help.

Three years ago Shay, a trained hair stylist noticed there were a distinct lack of services in Colchester for people who were going through the trauma of hair loss, often caused by treatment for cancer or from alopecia.

She says the power of how your hair makes you feel should never be under-estimated.

“It is the first thing people see and it is noticeable if you don’t have any, of course.

“When you have lost your hair through cancer treatment, you are at an extremely low ebb and feeling very poorly.

“And then you have to deal with having no hair.

“If you don’t feel that you look good then it is hard to feel well, to feel happy with yourself.

“It can knock your self confidence so much and I see it time and time again with the people that come into the salon here,” adds Shay.

Since opening Ciao Bella, in Eld Lane, she has become both stylist and friend to the hundreds of people who come through the door for help.

But she admits to becoming increasingly frustrated so few people know she is there.

“There is a NHS supported place in Ipswich but for poorly people in Colchester this can often be a long way to go.

“I just want them to know there is an option of somewhere closer by and that we understand, and want to help,” she says.

The shop fits and styles wigs and hair-pieces but Shay and Charlotte are also experts in putting hair extensions in - often on the very shortest of hair.

“You would never be able to tell once we have done it and you cannot imagine the difference that can make to someone who has lost their hair.

“Even if it is starting to grow back, when it is so short ladies can feel very vulnerable and being able to have extensions added to your own hair makes such a difference,” she says.

Wigs are available in a huge range of materials, including some real hair and prices start as low as £15 and the shop tries to keep prices as low as possible.

“In London to get a full head of extensions you would be looking at around £1,500 and we are offering it for around £400 and that is with real hair.

“It is a different kind of hair dressing so you need to be specially trained for it,” she says.

Both stylists say they have seen more and more younger women coming in for help, either for sudden hair loss from alopecia, or following cancer  treatment.

Young men also turn to them for help.

“I have got a young male customer who has no hair and by the the time I have finished with his toupee you would never know.

“He says it has given him his life back - he has got the confidence to go out again, got to parties and pubs and feel like everyone else and he did not feel like that after he had lost his hair,” says Shay.

She says it is important just to be a friendly face and tears are often shed.

“Sometimes people just come in for a chat and a cry.

“We both understand and what to help. Sadly we have lost some clients as they are often poorly when they come to us as they are undergoing treatment, and it is hard.

“But I want people to know we are here and in the town if they need us,” she adds.

Case Study : A SUDDEN change in medication left Shioban Hope, 30, suffering the trauma of losing all of her hair.

Shioban admits it was coming out in huge clumps and she quickly had to make the decision either to carry on - or shave what was left off.

She says: “It started a couple of months ago.

“It was coming out in massive chunks and I was more than a bit terrified as I knew something was majorly wrong.

“So pretty quickly I went to my GP and he referred me to dermatologist and it was discovered I had alopecia which had been brought on by my body going into shock because I had stopped the medication I was on for exczema and then started it again,”  Shioban, who works behind the bar at the Old New Inn in Colchester, felt her hair loss was becoming more and more noticeable.

“By Christmas it was becoming more and more obvious. One day I was at work and I ran my hand through my hair and a huge clump came out and it reduced me to tears.

“So I decided to shave it all off. Before it had been red and black and down to my shoulders so it was noticeable when it was gone.

“But when I went into work everyone was so lovely and supportive, in particular the regulars who had begun to notice something was wrong.”

Yet the experience left her confidence at rock bottom and in need of a solution while she waited to see if her hair would grow back.

“It was actually a regular, whose wife had been treated for cancer and had also lost her hair, who told me about Ciao Bella.

“They fitted me with a wig, a bright red one, and basically gave me back my confidence. It really was a life-line for me.

“My hair is growing back but it is very short right now so I am continuing to wear the wig.