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Wig shop gives customers reason to smile again

Washington Twp. firm celebrating 40 years of providing wigs for those who have lost their locks.

Bill Gaver, owner of Oncolotech Prosthetics in Centerville, works with client Pauline Taylor. Gaver's business provides wig services to cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, as well as burn survivors and those affected by alopecia, or baldness.

Ty Greenlees/Staff Photographer Bill Gaver, owner of Oncolotech Prosthetics in Centerville, works with client Pauline Taylor. Gaver's business provides wig services to cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, as well as burn survivors and those affected by alopecia, or baldness.

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By Ben Sutherly, Staff Writer 10:47 PM Thursday, November 19, 2009

CENTERVILLE — Pauline “Polly” Taylor was used to receiving compliments on her hair.

So after being diagnosed with breast cancer this summer and undergoing chemotherapy, “it was very traumatic to have my hair taken off,” she said.

When the 79-year-old Washington Twp. woman came to Oncolotech Prosthesis Co., she said Bill Gaver’s manner put her at ease.

“He was so relaxed and matter-of-fact and reassuring,” Taylor said. “It’s like he understood all about it without saying a word.”

For 40 years — 36 of them at 169 S. Main St. — Gaver has provided wigs to cancer patients like Taylor, as well as burn survivors and those affected by alopecia, or baldness. One male customer was even scalped by a bear, he said.

The overwhelming majority of Gaver’s clients are women, he said.

Gaver, 58, said he’d like to recruit additional workers “with good hearts” to extend the reach of his business through satellite offices around the region.

“I’m so, so limited in the number of people I can help,” Gaver said.

He’s also trying to grow a local network of so-called “appearance professionals.”

A cancer patient might expect to pay $275 to $375 for wig services at Oncolotech, Gaver said. That includes consultation, cutting and styling the hair piece so the color and thickness look appropriate. The price also includes haircuts as a cancer patient’s hair grows back.

Those needing a high-quality wig that will last for several years often pay several hundred to a few thousand dollars, Gaver said. He said a nonslip cap recently made available by New Image in West Palm Beach, Fla., promises to revolutionize the business. It even can withstand the heat when the wearer bends down to pull food from an oven, he said.

Taylor felt as if she drew stares when she first went out in public in her wig.

Then a lady said, “I like the way you got your hair cut,” Taylor recalled. After that, she grew more comfortable in public.

“I look like myself,” she said.

Oncolotech Prosthesis Co. can be reached at (937) 434-3378.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7457 or bsutherly@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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