Wig fitting service

Some chemotherapy or radiotherapy treatments can cause you to lose your hair. Medical or nursing staff are able to issue you with a wig voucher and you can then phone The Lodge to book an appointment. Our wig fitting service runs on a Wednesday and is for booked appointments only.

If you decide to have a wig, the voucher covers the cost of the wig within the range offered by the wig consultant.

As the wigs are synthetic, you cannot use ordinary hair products on them and will need to purchase specialist shampoo, conditioner, and styling spray. Whilst you are under no obligation to purchase from The Lodge, we have wig care packs available for £20.00. These contain everything you may need – shampoo, conditioner, styling spray, wig stand, and hair brush. Payment can be made by cash or cheque only, as The Lodge is unable to take any card payments.

We also have a range of headwear to purchase and these can be shown and demonstrated to you.

Frequently asked questions

Click on the headings to view the answers to these frequently asked questions.

You will be advised by your clinical team if the treatment you are offered will effect your hair. Some treatments will cause hair thinning and others will cause complete hair loss.

This varies but hair loss usually starts to happen 3 to 5 weeks after the first treatment.

p>You will be offered a New Patient Talk with the staff on the Ricky Grant Day Unit (RGDU) at which the side effects of your treatment will be discussed with you. If hair loss is a side effect of your treatment you will be issued with a wig voucher. If your treatment plan is changed to a different regime that involves hair loss, it may be that your cancer nurse specialist (CNS) will issue the wig voucher. The voucher covers the cost of the wig from the wide selection available through our wig fitting service.

If you are receiving treatment at Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust Hospital which causes hair loss, the Trust will subsidise the cost of your wig up to £120 (inclusive of VAT). If you wish to have a more expensive wig, the difference in cost will be charged.

Once you have received a voucher please contact The Lodge to book an appointment with our wig consultant. The appointment lasts up to an hour.

Our wig consultant carries a large selection of wigs but if you don’t find one that you like on the day one can be ordered for you and should be ready for you to try on by the following week. You will be advised on this at your appointment.

No, there are alternative suppliers of NHS wigs. Please contact The Lodge for a list of up to date suppliers.