Kaleigh Dawson started losing her hair when she was 12, covering it by wearing hats and beanies, before she was diagnosed with the auto-immune disease alopecia areata not long after.
"I don't really remember a lot of it, but it just kind of went away on its own and I've had 22 years with no complaints," she said.
But about two years ago she started losing her hair again.
While it was difficult, Ms Dawson had more options than just hats to deal with it this time around.
The Caroline Bristow Wig Library was created in Barmera, 15 kilometres west of Berri in South Australia's Riverland region, in 2015 in honour of the late police officer who passed away from cancer just months before it launched.
While Ms Dawson had moved away to the Barossa Valley, her mother Libby Dawson still lived locally and knew the wig library would be able to help.
"When Kaleigh had alopecia again I rang one of the volunteers there and I was able to go and see her and have a look at some wigs for her," she said.
Kaleigh Dawson said being able to wear a wig helped her to feel like she could fit in again.
"It's hard not feeling yourself because you look in the mirror and you're sometimes not quite happy," she said.
"But you can put a wig on and you can go out and no-one really notices."
The wig library allows people to browse around 160 wigs to choose an option to suit them best.
Ellen Traeger is a two-time breast cancer survivor and co-created the regional loan facility to help other country people feel more confident, in an affordable way.
"Country women are very isolated in a lot of ways. It costs a lot of money to go to Adelaide and stay in accommodation," she said.
"We thought if we had this lending library of wigs, it would make a difference to a lot of people."
Comfort and confidence
Ms Dawson said the library offered a personalised experience in what could be a difficult time.
"You're in a private area where you can just have that little session of working out what's going to be best for you," she said.
Libby Dawson said the wigs helped her daughter to be herself again.
"I remember the first long one that she got, it was her birthday and it just looked natural, you wouldn't have known it was a wig.
"It's just been rewarding that the wig library is there for people to use."
Chel Campbell is the president of the Australia Alopecia Areata Foundation and said many people diagnosed with alopecia areata chose to wear wigs or other hairpieces to boost their feelings of self-worth.
She said buying a wig was expensive and it was important to be supported in getting the right one.
"It can help people feel a sense of control over their appearance and their condition, and feel more confident when in public," she said.
