WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. – A local beauty school helped cancer patients and survivors get glamorized Tuesday.
At Empire Beauty School on MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township, Lehigh County, they were cutting, coloring and curling for a cause.
“Whether it’s a family, a friend, themselves, everybody gets touched at some point or another in their lives by cancer,” Said Empire Floor Educator Bridgett Roberts.
As part of National Cancer Survivor Beauty and Support Day, Empire offered one free service to those who have beat cancer or those who have just begun to fight.
Empire career planning specialist and cancer survivor Melissa Reilly says while a beauty treatment won’t cure cancer, it can soothe the soul.
“Your body is changing, how you feel is changing. You are sick, you may be losing your hair, losing weight and you start to feel a little less beautiful and this is a great way to uplift your spirits,” said Reilly. “To say you are beautiful regardless of what you look like and you can keep doing this and fight the battle.”
Each year, the services are provided by senior students at 120 Empire Beauty Schools coast to coast.
With each free shampoo, blow out or styling, Empire says the students are not only honing their craft, but also giving back to members of the community who need their support the most.
“Our true goal for them to feel happy about what they feel inside and their outer beauty as well,” said Roberts.