Alaskan Mom Makes Fabulous 'Princess' Wigs for Girls Who Lost Their Hair Due to Chemo

After an Alaskan woman made a princess wig for a friend's daughter, she decided to make similar wigs for children with cancer at her friend's insistence. Little did she know that her passion project would soon become the talk of the town.

Holly Christensen always had a soft corner for children with life-changing illnesses since she had worked as a cancer nurse. She had closely seen children undergoing painful therapies that would make them lose all of their hair.

The Palmer, Alaska mom said working in the cancer ward had changed her life. One day, she learned that a friend's daughter would lose her beautiful hair after undergoing chemotherapy, which made Christensen come up with a brilliant idea to cheer up the little girl.

The Little Girl

In 2014, Christensen's friend from nursing school told her that her 2.5-year-old daughter, Lily, was diagnosed with cancer. "I knew that Lily had a difficult battle ahead," the former nurse recalled.

Thinking about Lily made Christensen sad because she knew the little girl would feel heartbroken after losing her beautiful blond curls. As a mother of daughters, Christensen could understand the feelings Lily would undergo. She said:

"[Lily is] such a girly girl and loves princesses and is about to lose her long beautiful hair."

A Beautiful Idea

What Christensen did next was the perfect thing she could do to make Lily feel better. She made a Rapunzel-inspired wig out of yarn that she had learned to design while making Halloween costumes for her daughters.

Women from prisons in Alaska and Utah had also offered to help Christensen make wigs.

"She was overcome with joy," Christensen said of Lily's reaction to the wig. She had no idea that her first wig for a cancer patient wasn't her last. She was yet to make a thousand more.

The Response

"Lily loved her wig.....and so did the other little girls at Lily's cancer center!" she revealed. On her friend's suggestion, Christensen made a few more wigs for other girls in the hospital, and there was no turning back.

Soon, she began receiving requests from different families who wanted yarn wigs. Because of the sudden increase in workload, Christensen had to set up a workshop, after which she heard from people who wanted to help.

According to Christensen, the reason behind the popularity of her wigs was the material she used to make them. Since she had worked closely with cancer patients, she was well aware of the effects of chemotherapy.

She revealed that the cancer treatments made skin sensitive, which made it difficult for children to wear regular wigs. In contrast, yarn wigs were much softer and didn't irritate the skin.

After receiving overwhelming requests, Christensen gave her noble cause a wonderful name: The Magic Yarn Project. She even made a page on GoFundMe to raise funds for her project.

The donations helped Christensen buy supplies and make beautiful wigs for little girls to make them feel pretty. She has designed wigs inspired by the main characters of Disney's "Frozen," and plans to create wigs inspired by other famous Disney princesses.

The Reward

Making wigs for girls with cancer made Christensen feel happy, but she had no idea many people would soon contact her to volunteer. Women from prisons in Alaska and Utah had also offered to help Christensen make wigs. She said:

"To bring a little bit of magic into such a difficult time in their life is so rewarding. It’s almost equally been so rewarding and magical to meet people who want to help."

Allowing volunteers to work with her meant Christensen had to teach them the art of making wigs. As a result, she hosted multiple workshops for her volunteers and even uploaded tutorials on the internet.

Making a Wig

The first step in creating a wig is to crochet a beanie from yarn. Then with Christensen's guidance, the volunteers weave a princess-inspired hairstyle according to the child's demand.

Christensen makes things even more special by attaching a personalized note to the wig when delivering it to cancer patients. Her little efforts are enough to make the girls smile. Christensen said:

"I am so grateful for the enthusiasm people around the country have shown for this project."

Thousands of Wigs

What started as a gift to make her friend's daughter happy soon became a non-profit project that made thousands of little girls smile. Over the next four years, Christensen worked with more than 50,000 people to make 25,000 wigs for children worldwide.

"While only composed of yarn, ribbon, and rhinestones, these wigs have the power to help children find their smile again during their darkest days," Christensen wrote on her GoFundMe page. She had never imagined that making one wig would mark the beginning of a huge project.

Through the fundraiser, Christensen collected over $119,000 and sent wigs to children in more than 50 countries. As of now, the fundraiser is not accepting more donations, but The Magic Yarn Project is still providing wigs to little cancer patients.

In a world full of chaos, kind-hearted women like Christensen are hard to find. We hope her passion project continues to make beautiful wigs for little warriors going through the worst phase of their lives.

Share this story with your friends and family to tell them about Christensen's incredible story. They might find it inspiring.

Click here to read a heartwarming story about a boy who grew his hair for two years to make a wig for his mother who lost her hair because of a brain tumor.