In Pictures: Vanessa McWilliams's mobile wig business in Alberta
She visits clients in their homes and provides a more comfortable wig-buying experience
Vanessa McWilliams is the founder of Confident Curls, a Calgary-based mobile wig service. She started her company three years ago to create an alternative to salons for trying on wigs. The salon experience can be uncomfortable for bald people.Laura Leyshon/The Globe and Mail
Ms. McWilliams’s struggle to find cool tresses began 20 years ago when, at the age of nine, she was diagnosed with alopecia, or hair loss. “I was 12 when I got my first wig and it was horrifying,” she says. “The wigs back then were uncomfortable, short and curly, more mature styles. And they were way too big for me.” She was teased and bullied at school. Here she is pictured with her son Justin, 4.Laura Leyshon/The Globe and Mail
Today the 30-year-old mother of two is helping others. She travels Alberta visiting clients – giving them a shoulder to cry on if that’s what they need – and finds them the perfect wig. “I can make you look smokin’ hot, or we can just have coffee,” she says. “I know what it’s like to have to purchase a wig. I know what it’s like to have to wear one. I know what it’s like to watch your hair fall out.”Laura Leyshon/The Globe and Mail
Ms. McWilliams buys her wigs wholesale from Jon Renau, a brand known for quality. She has several hundred customers, many of whom have lost hair from chemotherapy.Laura Leyshon/The Globe and Mail
She doesn’t have a lot of capital, but she’s rich in determination. “I want to get as far as I can and reach as many people as I can,” Ms. McWilliams says. “Come hell or high water, I’m going to make it go.”Laura Leyshon/The Globe and Mail