Sun Healing

Salon owner provides special TLC to patients with cancer diagnoses

There is no sign on 301 E Palace Ave. The lobby is furnished with antiques, tables and lounging chairs over 100 years old. “Where am I?” you may ask yourself. The smiling receptionist and manager Desirae Smith greets all customers and checks the appointment book. You’ve entered When the Sun Reaches My Sister, a boutique hair salon.

A haircut takes place while you sit in a pristine white upholstered chair, facing a pricey, engraved vanity. Even your beverage is served in glassware over a century old. It's all a little posh, maybe even excessive to the barbershop crowd. While the first word that springs to mind is chic, the more apt word may be charitable.

For the last two years, salon owner Christopher Willet and his husband Bryan have partnered with the New Mexico Cancer Center Foundation, helping normalize the lives of cancer patients through the simple act of hairdressing.

"The way I see it, I owe my career to women, and to not do something really is criminal," says Willet. "And I'm sorry I didn't [help cancer patients] earlier on."

Willet began cutting hair in 1987, a career that moved him from Washington to Texas, before returning to his hometown of Santa Fe 15 years ago. Willet and his partner opened When the Sun Reaches My Sister in 2009.

On the eve of Sun's opening, a longtime client from Willet's previous salon work shared her unfortunate diagnosis. In a move that would be replicated with every patient in the future, Willet closed down the space and gave a private session. Since then, When The Sun Reaches My Sister has worked with five clients diagnosed with cancer.

Connor Sauer was one of them. Diagnosed on Sept. 30 of last year, Sauer began treatments of homeopathic doses of chemotherapy, which resulted in hair loss. This past spring, she was referred to Sun's for a free wig styling.

"I had people stopping me on the street and complimenting my hair," she recalls after her first session.

But, Willet doesn't care for the artifice of wigs and urges his clients to encourage natural hair growth. The dedication of Sun's team to bring back a sense of normalcy is what leaves Sauer so grateful.

"It's about giving life and the principles of beauty, care and nourishment just because it's there to be done," she says. "They do it for no other reason than that. It's selfless."

Closing down the salon for one client, a pro-bono job at that, can be a huge financial blow for a high-end word-of-mouth establishment like theirs, says Smith, but the patient's comfortable state, and the avoidance of lookie loos, is what's really important.

"It's an hour, hour and half, where, the last thing on their mind, hopefully, is cancer," she says. "It's nice to watch them leave here so much lighter than they were when they came in."

A typical appointment would include a scalp massage, to encourage hair growth, as well as any styling. However, what Willet sees as more important than any check he could write, is the conversation and the relationship.

"Knowing that [patients] have a regular four-week appointment gives them something to look forward to, whether they have hair or not," he says. "At some point the hair becomes irrelevant. 'Come on in, let's talk about handbags and the weather; we don't need to talk about what you're going through physically.'"

When The Sun Reaches My Sister's charity doesn't end with cancer. Every month, representatives from the Esperanza Shelter for Battered Families swing by the shop to pick up more canned food. Willet noted that his typically well-off client base has the means to support, saying "five, six dollars to them means the world to a struggling family." In the two years since they started collecting, the salon has collected about 8,000 pounds in canned food.

"I think if the salon had a motto it would be: Be nice, be gentle," he says. "As a personal motto, the only things you can really afford are those you give away."

As if he couldn't help himself, Willet also designs jewelry for The Lantern on the Water, a foundation that provides funerary services for animals. The jewelery is small, with a little chamber that allows the wearer to house ash or a lock of hair from the deceased pet. This month, he's relocating the salon to 621 Old Santa Fe Trail, where Willet says he's debating about whether to hang out a shingle.

Sauer, reflecting on her time at the salon with no sign, agrees with their underlying message.

"We all have a finite time," she says. "Like [Willet] says, 'Whatever time we have here, we have to make it as most beautiful and nourishing and harmonious."

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