She Left Without a Wig. That Is Why We Built Coils to Locs.
My sister Dianne was a patient. She was going through something hard, the kind of hard that changes you (and your loved ones), and on top of everything else she was managing, she lost her hair. Anyone who has been through that, or loved someone who has, knows that hair loss is not just physical. For most women, Black women especially, hair is identity. It’s culture. It’s memory. It’s the way you show up in the world.
Dianne went to several hospital boutiques to find a wig. She had an insurance benefit ready to use and she walked in each time with excitement and hope. And she walked out each time with nothing, because there was not a single wig on those shelves that reflected her natural texture. Not one style made for kinky, coily or curly hair. Not one option that looked anything like her.
Although frustrated she didn’t make a scene or complain to management. She just left, quietly. The way Black women have been leaving spaces that weren’t built for them for a very long time.
We decided that couldn't be the end of the story. So we built something different.
What Coils to Locs Actually Is
Coils to Locs is a premium wig brand designed specifically for women with coily and curly hair types 3C through 4C. We’re based in Boston and distributed across the US. We've been working since 2019 to make sure the experience Dianne had in that boutique becomes a thing of the past.
We curate wigs that honor the beauty, identity, and culture of Black and Afro-Latina women. Styles that look like our natural hair and textures that feel familiar. We’re talking options that don’t ask you to abandon who you are but help you get back to yourself again.
We sell directly to consumers through our website, and we partner with hospital boutiques and cancer centers across the country so that women can access our wigs through their insurance and FSA benefits if applicable, right where they are receiving care.
But I want to be clear about something: Coils to Locs is not only for women in medical situations. It never has been. This brand is for every woman with textured hair who has ever scanned a wig wall and not seen herself.
Who This Is For
When people hear our story, they sometimes assume we only serve women going through medical hair loss and I understand why. The founding story lives there. But our community is so much wider than that, and I want every woman who belongs here to know she belongs here.
If You Are Navigating Medical Hair Loss
This is the closest thing to our origin story, so I won't rush past it. If you are going through chemotherapy, dealing with alopecia, or experiencing hair loss for any medical reason, I want you to know that we built this with you in mind first.
You deserve a wig that looks like your hair. Not a compromise, not a close enough, and not a style you would never have chosen for yourself. A wig that makes someone look at you and think, she looks amazing, not, I wonder if she is wearing a wig.
Our wigs are available through partnering hospital boutiques and cancer centers, which means you may be able to use your insurance benefit or FSA funds to purchase them and we can also provide a proper invoice for insurance if you purchase with us online. If your facility does not carry us yet, you can ask for Coils to Locs by name. That request matters more than you know.
If You Wear Wigs for Protective Styling
Protective styling is one of the smartest things you can do for your natural hair. Wigs, along with health hair care, give your edges a rest, protect your length, and let your hair breathe while you still show up looking exactly how you want to look.
But we hear from so many women who say they’ve settled for textures that aren’t really theirs because that’s all the market offered. Loosely wavy when your hair is a 4C coil. Barely curly when your pattern is tight and defined.
We made Coils to Locs so you don’t have to settle. Your protective style should protect your hair and reflect your identity at the same time.
If You Just Love Wigs
Not everything needs a deeper reason, and I love that. Some women wear wigs because they woke up and wanted a different look. Because they have a big event and want something dramatic. Because switching styles is one of the great joys of being a woman with textured hair and an imagination.
You are absolutely welcome here. Come find your next favorite style.
If You Are a Caregiver or Supporting Someone You Love
Shopping for a wig on behalf of someone who is going through hair loss is one of the most loving things you can do. It is also one of the hardest, especially if you are not sure what to look for or where to start.
I want you to know that we’re here for you. You can shop our collection online, reach out to us directly with questions, or ask the medical team caring for your loved one to connect you with the nearest Coils to Locs partner location or us directly. You don’t have to figure this out alone.
Why Representation in Medical Spaces Is Not Optional
“You gave me my natural look back.” Some version of that is what women tell us when they find a Coils to Locs wig for the first time.
And when I hear those words they never stop moving me because I know what it means. It means she spent weeks or months feeling like a stranger in her own reflection. And then something shifted.
Representation in medical wig boutiques is not a nice-to-have. It is a standard of care. When a Black woman undergoing cancer treatment can’t find a wig that reflects her natural texture at the hospital boutique, the message she receives, whether anyone intends it or not, is that her healing was not fully considered.
That is why we launched our Ask by Name campaign. We are actively encouraging women, caregivers, and community members to engage with their care teams, patient advocates, etc., at medical facilities and resource organizations and ask for Coils to Locs by name. The more brand recognition, the more every woman who asks is making the case that textured hair belongs in that space. And it does.
If you are a patient and your hospital does not carry us, ask them why not or if they know about us. If you are a caregiver, mention our name to the oncology navigator or social worker on your loved one's team. These conversations create change.
A Note to Our Hospital and Boutique Partners
If you are reading this as someone who works at a hospital boutique, cancer center, or any facility that serves women experiencing hair loss, I want to speak directly to you for a moment.
The women in your care with textured hair are probably not asking you where the coily and curly wigs are. They are looking around, not seeing themselves, and most likely leaving. That silence is not satisfaction. It is what happens when someone has learned, over and over, that it is easier to walk away than to ask a question and be disappointed again.
Carrying Coils to Locs is one way to change that dynamic. It tells your patients with textured hair that they were thought of. That someone on your team considered their identity, not just their diagnosis.
We currently partner with over 27 hospital boutiques and cancer centers across the country. Our wholesale process is straightforward, and we stand behind every partner with display guidance, patient-facing materials, and team support.
If you already carry our wigs, thank you. And I want to gently encourage you: display matters as much as inventory. If our wigs are tucked in a drawer or corner or mixed into a general display without clear labeling for coily and curly textures, the women who need them most may never know they are there. Put them at eye level. Label them clearly. Make it easy for a woman to walk in and immediately see that this boutique is thinking about her.
The Ask by Name Campaign
Ask by Name is our way of closing the loop between awareness and access. We are building a movement where patients, wig wearers, caregivers, and community members all know the name Coils to Locs and know they can ask for us wherever they are receiving care.
Here is how you can be part of it:
- If you are a patient, ask your hospital boutique or cancer center if they carry Coils to Locs. Your request is a form of advocacy.
- If you are a caregiver, share our name with the medical team so they can guide patients toward us.
- If you are part of the wig community online, tag us, share us, and help other women with textured hair know that options exist.
- If you are a facility partner, post that you carry us, mention us in patient consultations, and make sure our collection is visible and clearly displayed.
Come Find Your Wig
We have been at this since 2019, and every year the community around Coils to Locs grows. Women who found us during treatment. Women who found us while looking for a protective style. Women who found us because a friend sent them our way. Women who wish they had found us sooner.
If you are here for the first time, welcome. You deserved to find us sooner, and I am glad you are here now.
Shop our full collection at coilstolocs.com. If you are looking for a partner facility near you, reach out and we’ll help you find the closest location… or potentially initiate one! And if you want to stay connected with our community, follow us and join the conversation. We’re building something together, and there’s a place in it for you.
Warmly,
Pamela Shaddock
Co-Founder and COO, Coils to Locs
