KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — For anyone who loses their hair during a cancer diagnosis, it can be a painful reminder of the fight. That's why a Knoxville wig maker is creating confidence through her craft.
Siobian Jones is the owner of The Mighty Wig and knows the power her hands hold.
"Wigs can be a sense of empowerment, a sense of control, a sense of self, a sense of self-expression," Jones said.
Jones does a lot of work in theater and styling costume wigs, but she also works with people who are struggling with cancer, alopecia and other autoimmune diseases that could cause someone to experience hair loss.
Through thousands of hours of "ventilating," she has created wigs from scratch by taking each strand of hair and weaving it through mesh.
"When they put the wig on, I want them to be like, 'Oh my god, I can't even tell that it's not my hair,'" Jones said.
She started her business almost three years ago after the pandemic dimmed stages and productions. She decided to make a transition into primarily helping hair loss patients.
"This wig is going to help them go through the next steps with one less thing to worry about," Jones said.
This seasoned hair stylist started using her talents to help those going through chemo while working on Cirque du Soleil shows in Las Vegas.
"When I worked in that salon, and I saw people come in, they were devastated," Jones said. "They knew they were getting ready to lose their hair, or they already had started losing their hair."
She may have left East Tennessee almost 20 years ago to pursue her dream, but now, this Knoxville native and Tennessee School of Beauty graduate is back home, and using her talents to create hope and healing.
"Somebody who's losing their hair and wanting to feel normal or a sense of normalcy again, it's mighty, it has so much power," Jones said.
She still does work for shows, and most recently did the wigs for Clarence Brown's production of Hair, but mainly uses this artform to educate and empower.
Eighty percent of people will experience hair loss at some point in their lives, and Jones believes people don't talk about it enough. Criticism from other people and negative comments about the stigma surrounding wigs don't help the cause.
Jones agrees there's work to be done to change the conversation.
"They like to say it's vain to want to wear a wig, or to be sad about losing their hair, and it's not, it's not vain at all," Jones said. "Hair is so much of our identity, that when we lose it, we are losing our identity in a lot of ways.”
Whether she's crafting the wig from scratch, or giving a cancer patient an eye into other options, Jones is going to make sure her clients get the appropriate wig they need.
Her goal is always to be a supportive step in the unique journies.
"I'm just trying to help people feel confident to go out in the world again," Jones said.
That goal is never ending, from her studio inside Mighty Mud in North Knoxville to the scalp of her client's head.
"We can fight that stigma and have fun with wigs," Jones said.
Jones can even do repairs and helps men who are also navigating hair loss. Overall, she wants people to be kind to one another and not make comments.
She notes a person's decision with their hair is personal. If someone would rather stay bald, she supports whatever decision makes them feel most comfortable.
Jones is very busy and can't take new custom wig clients until October, but you can still contact her for anything you might need in repairing wigs and hair, as well as getting fitted for pre-made wigs.
If you would like to donate hair or money, head over to her website, themightywig.com.