'I hope hair-hats help people going through chemo'

A woman who lost her hair following chemotherapy is offering others going through the same thing a chance to make hats using their own hair.

When Joy Roodenburg-Vermaat from Stroud, Gloucestershire, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2023, she said she found the prospect of losing her hair "terrifying". She tried wearing wigs, but did not feel comfortable in them.

Her children came up with an idea that involved cutting her hair and attaching it to the lining of a hat. The family are now sharing tutorials and packs so other people can make their own hats.

"I hope that it allows people to keep their identity through chemo," said Ms Roodenburg-Vermaat's daughter.

Ms Roodenburg-Vermaat said she "resigned" herself to the fact that she would lose her hair during the treatment for her "aggressive" cancer.

"When I was diagnosed with cancer, it felt like the ground was literally shaking underneath me.

"I was losing control of my life, my identity and how I looked."

She added that she was conscious of strangers seeing her without hair and realising that she had cancer.

Joy Roodenburg-Vermaat's children came up with the idea to make the hats

After Ms Roodenburg-Vermaat's children suggested the idea of creating a hat with hair, her daughter, Morwenna Louttit-Vermaat, attempted to turn it into a reality.

She spent the afternoon "saving" Ms Roodenburg-Vermaat's hair by cutting it off in bunches before it fell out and gluing it on to a strip to sew to a piece of fabric that could be worn under any hat.

Hours later, Ms Roodenburg-Vermaat looked "exactly the same" as before.

The family were able to craft a hat in a few hours

Following the success of the "hats of joy", the family has created a website to share tutorials so other people can make their own.

They have also sent out 20 packs to local centres that support people going through cancer and have asked for feedback to shape their future plans for the venture.

Bunches of hair, pins, glue and thread are needed to make the hats

"You get stripped of everything - all your control, your whole life, but it's the one thing you can still control," said Ms Louttit-Vermaat.

"It's your hair and you're still you, going through all of it.

"The dream is that something nice comes out of a very tricky year in our family."