We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Venita Graves. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Venita below.

Venita , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

The night i performed my self breast exam and found a lump in my right breast was the day that my whole life changed. I was diagnosed with Ductal Carcinoma Insitu Breast Cancer in 2003. As a salon owner, I lost my hair and started making wigs. I volunteered for the beauty barber salon at MD Anderson for many years and from that Beauty Beyond Breast Cancer was birthed. BBBC provides free wigs for women who lose their hair while enduring the ravishing effects of chemotherapy.

Venita , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m a seasoned hair stylist, salon owner and founder of Beauty Beyond Breast Cancer. I’ve been behind my style chair for 35 years. It started with a simple scissor hair cut on a friend and was encouraged to go to barber school. I’ve fallen in love with the art of hair and beauty for women and it has been my passion throughout my career to maintain the hair on my clients. When a woman leaves her home knowing her hair is in place and feeling beautiful is of the utmost importance to looking good and feeling good. On days I’m not feeling my best, i still make it to work, its then that i come alive and feel better doing what i love to do
Our mission is to provide a serene atmosphere where women can come and to select a free wig, receive complimentary salon services and learn makeup applications all while in treatment.
Assisting and motivating women who lose their hair to chemotherapy is another passion that you cant pay me for. When a patient come into the breast cancer headquarters for a new wig and leave out feeling like she just left the salon looking beautiful makes them feel so renewed, beautiful and wonderful. We have a beautiful selection of new wigs for women to chose from. We are a 501(c)3 fondation. our wigs are provided from people who generously donate funds or wigs that we provide complimentary to our patients. We customize, shape and prepare cut, thin out, fit and shave off your hair if its shedding from treatment,
we are very proud to have celebrated over 10 years of providing services to women and have given away hundreds of wigs to women during treatment and it didnt end during covid 19, truly its been a blessing.
we have a Wig Drive for donations during the month of October, but people donate all year round.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

yes, I would definitely choose the same profession because of the impact it has brought to so many women, I truly believe my walk has been a divine order from heaven above. God’s divine plan and purpose for my career choice in the hair industry has brought me to where I am today with being a blessing to others with the work I do with BBBC. My knowledge, skill and experience have provided a pathway to assisting, inspiring, motivating and informing women of beauty beyond cancer Since 2010, We at Beauty Beyond Breast Cancer, a non-profit organization, have provided a mirror that reflects the inner and outer beauty of breast cancer survivors. I’m, a 19 year breast cancer survivor, and I’m familiar with the challenges of acceptance and the triumph of survival that often occur after diagnosis.
My life mirrors that of millions of survivors who now thrive in the world of wellness, and our organization reflects the beauty that is birthed from devastation. Beauty Beyond Breast Cancer offers free wigs and makeup lessons to women who are enduring the physical inconveniences related to chemotherapy, medical therapy, and psychological distress.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start?

It started off as a request for my birthday. I was asked what I wanted and I asked for new and unused wigs. Then we started a Wig drive for the foundation and monetary donations was received and we were able to purchase more wigs, Different organizations sent wigs and funds and I took $500 from my savings and that how it all began.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.beautybeyondbc.org
• Instagram: beauty_beyond_breast_cancer
• Facebook: Beauty Beyond Breast Cancer

Image Credits
Super star photos