This past Christmas, the teaching staff at the Lockport School District 33C pooled their money to fund a Freedom Wig for Sarah Walczak, who at age three was diagnosed with Alopecia Areata, resulting in hair loss that left her completely bald. Freedom Wigs are custom-made “vacuum hairpieces” from a pioneering company in New Zealand. They use only unprocessed human hair that is implanted strand by strand onto a silicone cap. The cap has a suction fit, so Walczak can confidently wear it during swimming or soccer practice, and even during sleepovers. Each hairpiece is made to last three to five years and can cost from $3,000 to $5,000.
Stylist Kristina Kunce of Salon Hype in Burr Ridge, IL, styled and shaped Wlczak’s Freedom Wig, which arrived from New Zealand in early April after three months of customization.
—Pearly Huang
Kristina Kunce of Salon Hype styling the new Freedom Wig for Sarah Walczak
Kunce puts on the finishing touches
MacKenzie Cronin (hair donor for Wolczak's Freedom Wig), Kunce and Walczak