THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS

Shopping, North Dallas

January 24, 1990

A frail woman walked hesitantly into Special Needs by Gloria at Meadow Central Shopping Center, lagging behind her daughter. The devastation of the chemotherapy showed in the bald spots and thinning of her short reddish blond hair.

"When I realized I was losing my hair, I couldn't face the world," she said. "I couldn't imagine even going to the grocery store. How was I going to be able to take my grandson to his favorite places? I was frightened. I just didn't know where to go. I didn't know what I was going to do."

Her daughter found an important pamphlet among the information the hospital had given her on the effects of chemotherapy. It described the services offered by Special Needs by Gloria. "I was even afraid to come here," the woman said.

Gloria Jensen, the shop's owner, has heard the story many times. "It's trauma enugh for a woman to learn she has an illness like breast cancer, but losing her hair from chemotherapy is almost as difficult," says Gloria. "Some women come in here angry, some are sad and others are frightened. We care about these women. We cry with them and we pray with them. We give them back some of their self-confidence, so they can go out into the world."

When the frail woman saw Gloria, the relief of familiarity showed on her face. She remembered Gloria from her Skandals Hair Design shop.

The woman was warmly greeted by all the members of Gloria's staff, and showed to a salon chair. The staff suggested a wig identical in color to her hair. It suited her so well that people in the shop couldn't believe she was wearing a wig. The fear had subsided, and there was a big smile on the woman's face. "I feel safe and taken care of in here," she said. In the corner of the store, her daughter was blotting tears, relieved to see her mother smiling again. The woman left the shop with two wigs, turbans and accessories, and with a bounce in her step.

Gloria knows firsthand what it's like to suffer hair loss. She remembers being prepped for an operation to remove a brain tumor eight months ago, and the nurses expressing their dismay at having to shave off her beautiful red hair. "I just wanted to get the surgery over with," she says. "I really wasn't thinking about the trauma of being bald on one side of my head."

Although her surgery was successful, Gloria couldn't bear looking at herself in the mirror after the bandages were removed. She took comfort in knowing the hair would grow back, but she was troubled by thoughts of other women who weren't as fortunate. "Many women have to deal with permanent hair loss because of radiation, chemotherapy and burns, not to mention natural thinning and alopecia (becoming bald for no apparent reason)," she says. "I felt a need to do something to help them."

When Gloria's friend and business associate, Kerry Dodson, came to visit her at the hospital, the two made plans for a new shop. They created a business that would make use of their past experience in wigs, hair styling and fashion accessories - and would cater to the special needs of people who have lost their hair. They came up with Special Needs by Gloria.

Setting up a business from a concept was nothing new to Gloria. She opened her first business venture in 1966. It was a wig salon called Hair Square in NorthPark Shopping Center. "It was one of the first wig salons in Dallas at a time when wigs were both fun to wear and fashionable," she says.

Gloria did so well that she later added a hair salon (Mantrap Hairdressers) on the upper level of the shopping center. Then she opened the Gloria Hight Salon at NorthPark East and Bay Window, a women's accessories store, at NorthPark. After 18 years as an entrepreneur, she sold everything to go to Europe and travel. When she returned to Dallas in 1985, she began Skandals Hair Design. She was forced to sell the salon in April 1989 when she became ill.

By the time Gloria was out of the hospital, she was ready to begin working on the shop's design an dconstruction. Gloria contacted Linda Foster and Patty Doughty from the original Hair Square group and enlisted them to join Kerry and herself in the new shop. Four months after her surgery, she opened the doors at Special Needs by Gloria.

"We direct our skills and knowledge to outfitting people who need a wig, hairpiece, or head covering because of hair loss of any kind. We can help people - women, children and men - cope with hair loss by offering them fashionable, comfortable, affordable head coverings," says Gloria.

We specialize in customizing wigs to fit each customer," she adds. "The wig isn't just brought out of a box and put on a customer's head. It has to really look good on the customer. We've even designed what we call "a band of bangs," based on the needs we saw. It's a surgical headband to which we've added bangs. Worn under a turban, it gives the illusion of a full head of hair."

Special Needs by Gloria also cleans and styles head coverings of all type, from full wigs to falls. The shop also features an extensive line of fashion hair pieces and accessories, including bows, ruffles, snoods (a baglike net worn at the back of the head to hold hair) and hair pieces on combs that clip together. "Adding hair pieces to your own hair for fun is coming back," says Gloria.

"Hair is a woman's glory," says Gloria. "This dates back to the biblical times. It also protects the head, and helps people maintain their body heat when sleeping." That's why a number of insurance companies cover the cost of the head coverings that Gloria furnishes, she says. The shop distributes a form for doctors to sign that can be sent to insurance companies for reimbursement.

About Staff

Throughout the years, Special Needs by Gloria has added excellent personnel. Among our licensed staff are Linda, Sheryl and Kerry. Other professionally trained personnel include Verda and Shelly. All are very qualified and eager to meet your special needs.

Click Here To Return To Special Needs Homepage.

Click Here To Contact Us.

Click Here To Learn About Special Needs History.