Chambray Colter’s Senior Project: Making Wigs for Cancer Patients

Chambray+Colters+Senior+Project%3A+Making+Wigs+for+Cancer+Patients

Lily Merritt, Opinion Editor

Chambray Colter chose to create wigs, makeup, and skin care products because she wanted to create a line that she can eventually donate to cancer patients. This idea for her senior project stemmed from her own mother’s ongoing struggle with cancer, who she says is at a healthier state right now. Colter wanted to stick to natural products that are better for the skin and have healthy properties for her creations. She is currently looking at charities to donate her products to later down the line, but still needs to perfect her creations to her standards before doing so.

Chambray enjoys doing people’s hair as a hobby during her free time. She thought that it would be a fun experience to learn how to make wigs. She made two wigs – a weft wig and a crochet wig. She explained that crotchet wigs are made from braided hair, that is put in the wig cap using a hair crochet needle and knots, which took her at least 48 hours to make. Weft wigs, however, are sewn into the wig caps, this one took her at least 40 hours total to make.

When making the makeup, Chambray directed her focus towards foundations of both liquid and powder formulas. She used arrowroot powder, cacao powder, cinnamon, turmeric, and nutmeg for the powder formula. When making the liquid foundation she used coconut oil, olive oil, shea butter, bees wax, and cocoa butter. She says she still doesn’t have it down quite yet, “Finding the right proportions to make it a liquid that has coverage and looks good has been a lot more difficult than I anticipated.”

Chambray plans to continue working on her project and towards her goal of one day being able to donate everything she creates. “I learned so many things when doing this project, and it really increased my patience and time management.”