Cancer patients enjoy ‘nice treat’ as they get pampered for free at Northampton beauty salon

Cancer patients shared their experiences following treatment as they enjoyed getting pampered for free at a Northampton beauty salon.

Natalie Faulker, who has run Beauty Withinn in Harlestone Road for 15 years, launched free pamper sessions for cancer patients earlier this year after her mum and nan died of the disease. Her salon has since won a ‘positive impact award’ for their work in the community.

I was invited along to the salon by Natalie to their latest pamper session, where I was treated to a blow dry from Ryan who comes from a line of Northampton hairdressers dating back to the 1960s. He has been cutting and styling hair for 14 years now and worked his magic with some GHD straighteners to give me luscious waves.

Soon enough, the salon began to fill up with people who sat down with cups of tea and chatted away with one another. There were fresh cakes provided by The Coffee Press across the road and a raffle to raise money for The Lewis Foundation.

I had a chat with a woman whose husband died of cancer last year. She finished radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment for her own cancer just three months ago and is now “really nervous” as she awaits further test results.

The woman, who wanted to be kept anonymous, told me: “This is probably the first time I’ve come out apart from friends and family and that so it's just a nice little treat to see other people also getting out, not just me. It’s been a bit of a journey but I’m strong.”

I asked her what treatments she had done so she showed me her blow-dried hair and freshly painted red toenails and told me she may be getting a massage as well - how lovely!

Zara, who has stage three breast cancer, told me there was no support in place when it came to things like hair care following cancer treatment and she had to endure chemotherapy alone during the pandemic because she was not allowed to have her family with her, which was very difficult.

She said that, whilst her hair is growing back, it is not the same as it was before so working out how to manage and style it is a whole other struggle. She shared that it is nice to come together with other patients to talk about similar experiences and, showing me her purple glittery nails, she said she would love to come again.

Speaking to Natalie afterwards, she felt today’s event was “very relaxed” and said it was “beautiful” to give back to the community.

She continued: “Being here in this environment, they have something in common - which is not a nice thing to have in common - but they do so they can talk to each other.

“Our little hub of Beauty Withinn is a haven and we love it.”

Natalie said she would like to extend her salon’s free pamper sessions to carers in the future.

Book your place at the salon’s next free pamper session for cancer patients by calling 01604 588881 or emailing [email protected]