The tlc / EverYou Catalog Has Closed. Here's Where to Get a Wig Now.

If someone at the hospital handed you a sheet mentioning tlc or EverYou, and you went looking and found nothing, you didn't do anything wrong. The program closed. The good news is almost everything it carried is still out there — and a good amount of it is free.

Two things worth knowing up front. First, an honest disclosure: SPARX makes wigs, the founder Allison, lost all her hair during pregnancy and as made it her mission to make hyper-realistic hairwear that is as comfortable as activewear. A bit further down, we'll tell you, who we are, what we make and why but first let's go over the free options. Our advice is that if a program near you can help you at no cost, use it. Second, a piece of good news, a lot of people don't realize that a wig can often be covered by your insurance as a cranial prosthesis, and a wHAIRable by Sparx qualifies. In a bit, we'll walk you through how that works.

Start Here: Free and Low-Cost Options

Free wigs and headwear absolutely exist, but what's available depends heavily on where you live and where you are being treated. Two phone calls usually tell you everything, and both are worth making before you spend a dollar.

Ask your own cancer center first (this is the fastest):

A lot of treatment centers keep a wig closet — sometimes called a wig bank — a donation-based boutique stocked with wigs and headwear like chemo caps and beanies. Often there's no application and no waitlist, and sometimes you walk out the same day with a free wig and a few other goodies. Ask your oncology nurse, social worker, or patient navigator.

This is the single most underused resource, and when it exists, it's a great one. The staff often has expereince with wigs and will teach you how to put on a wig, wash it, and style it. Not every center has one, so it's worth asking directly rather than waiting to be offered.
National programs worth a call

- CancerCare. Probably the strongest starting point. Free wig clinics with partner hospitals, and a Hopeline answered by licensed oncology social workers who know what's available in your area. 800-813-HOPE (4673).
- Wigs & Wishes. Works through a network of salons, so you find a participating stylist near you and the wig and styling are free.
- The Verma Foundation. Provides free cap wigs (human hair sewn into a cap) by application, usually with a note from your doctor.
- Wigs for Kids and Children With Hair Loss. Free hair replacement for kids and teens, at no cost to the family.
- American Cancer Society helpline, 1-800-227-2345. Can still point you toward wig banks and local resources, even though the catalog itself is gone.

One honest note about donated wigs. Most are basic synthetic styles and the cap is often stiffer against your scalp. That is not a knock on the programs, which do a great deal of good with donated inventory. It's just worth knowing before you spend three weeks on a waitlist for something that may not turn out to be comfortable enough to wear every day.

Good News: Your Insurance May Cover Your Wig as a Cranial Prosthesis

A wig was one of the more expensive things the tlc catalog carried, and it's also one that insurance often helps with, if you use the right words.

Ask about a cranial prosthesis, not a wig. Many plans will say no to a wig and yes to a cranial prosthesis, and the wording is often the whole difference. A wHAIRable by Sparx qualifies as a cranial prosthesis, which means you may be able to get one through your insurance instead of paying out of pocket. Here is how to do it:
- Ask your oncologist to write a prescription for a cranial prosthesis for hair loss secondary to chemotherapy, and to include your ICD-10 diagnosis code.
- Call your insurance and ask how a cranial prosthesis is covered: how many per year, whether you need to buy in network, and whether you pay up front and get reimbursed.
- Choose your wHAIRable by Sparx.
- Keep your itemized receipt. Ask us for a receipt that lists your wHAIRable as a cranial prosthesis, which is what your plan will want to see.

Most plans cover one per year, and you'll usually pay first and claim it back afterward. It takes a few phone calls, but for a lot of people it turns a wig from an out-of-pocket expense into something insurance helps pay for.

Choosing a Wig When Your Scalp Is Sensitive

Buying a wig online sounds harder than it actually is. When your scalp is tender from treatment, a few things matter more than anything else.

Start with the cap. The cap is the part that sits against your skin all day, so it's what decides whether you actually wear the wig or leave it in a drawer. Chemo can caused the scalp to feel sore and sensitive in a way that's hard to describe, and a stiff or scratchy cap only makes that worse. At Sparx, our mission is to design wigs that are so comfortable that you forget your wearing one - our cap is seamless, breathable and stretchable. Many say that it is most comfortable cap on the market, so it doesn't dig, pitch or rub on your gentle, tender scalp. That is the whole reason we make them the way we do.
If the inside of your wig isn't comfortable, check out bamboo wig liners like our wig grip cap, which is worn underneath the wig and helps keep the wig secure. It's made same way that our full wigs are made so it's breathable, flexible and stay put all day.
Then think about the hair or fiber, though not the way it's usually framed. Most people are told to start with synthetic because it's easy: wash and go, low maintenance, and lower cost. All true. The catch is the cap. To hit that low price, cheaper synthetic wigs are often bulky and a little shiny, packed with extra hair to hide the cap, and sized large so they fit everyone. They're the wigs that give the whole industry a bad name, and the ones people most often end up disappointed by.
- The more important question to ask yourself is this: do you want throw on and go hair - go for a synthetic. Does the look and texture matter more to you? Something you can wear up or down, curl or straighten, and really feel like yourself in - then go for human hair. Neither answer is wrong, but knowing which one you're after makes the rest of the decision much easier.
Get your size right. Most wigs are made in an average size, a bit like hats, and that fits most people. But if hats tend to run too big or too tight on you, finding a wig that fits well is trickier, so work with your cancer center to figure out your size.
Take your time with color and style. These are often the things you're thinking about most, and that's completely fair. The best advice we can give is to get a color swatch and look at it in different lighting: inside and outside, low light and bright. Color can shift a lot depending on where you're standing.

If you want to see what we make, here's our wHAIRable collection. And remember, if a free program above can help you first, please use it. If buying is what actually helps, your insurance may cover it.

A tip worth two minutes today: if you still have your hair, cut a small swatch from the top-front of your head (not underneath, since that hair is usually darker than your overall color), tape it to a plain sheet of white paper, and set it aside. Your natural color is much harder to match once it's gone.

Soft Sleep Caps for a Tender or Bare Scalp

Nights can be their own thing. No one really tells you how cold your head gets once your hair is gone. For sleeping, skip the beanie and reach for a chemo cap or sleeping cap instead, because they're made from breathable materials that feel better against a bare scalp.

At Sparx, we make a soft sleeping cap for sensitive scalps that actually stays on all night. That matters more than it sounds, because a lot of chemo caps and sleeping caps slip off while you sleep, and you wake up freezing in the middle of the night. Ours is made from the same gentle, breathable fabric as our wHAIRables, so it stays put through the night and feels soft against a tender scalp. A lot of people keep one by the bed even if they wear a wig during the day.

Try Not to Shop in a Panic

The most common mistake we see is people shopping in desperation, after hair loss has already started, when they're exhausted and just want it resolved. That is exactly when people settle for something they never end up wearing.

Here's the part most people don't realize: a lot of quality wigs are made to order, and that process can take two to four months depending on the brand. So it really is worth looking into hairwear before you need it, not after. What we see again and again is how easy it is to put off. You tell yourself a beanie will be fine and that all of this will be over before you know it, and then one day something shifts and you want a wig tomorrow. That is usually where the disappointment, the wasted money, and the lost time come from.

And if you don't have the energy for any of this right now, that's understandable. Ask a friend or someone you love to help. They can make the calls, do the research, even sit in on a consultation or two before you ever have to. If you're not ready to think about it yet, that is completely fine. Just know that a little lead time takes a lot of the pressure off later.

If You Also Need Headwear or Mastectomy Products

The old catalog also carried soft hats, chemo caps, turbans, and scarves, plus breast forms and mastectomy bras. If that's what sent you here:

For headwear, look for full coverage from your hairline to the nape of your neck, soft seams (a scalp in treatment gets tender fast), and gentle natural fabrics like cotton or bamboo.

For mastectomy products, what you need changes as you heal, and your care team will tell you when you're ready for each stage. Under the federal Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act, group plans that cover mastectomy are generally required to cover breast prostheses and post-mastectomy bras too, so ask your plan how many per year are covered, and ask your surgeon for a prescription.

When Does This Usually Happen?

Hair often begins to fall a couple of weeks after your first chemotherapy treatment, but this varies a lot depending on the regimen, so ask your oncology team what to expect.

A lot of people will tell you to cut your hair short before it starts falling out, as if shorter always looks better once it's thinning. What we've found, and what a lot of women say afterward, is that this is usually the wrong moment to try a brand new look. You're already feeling vulnerable, and the thing you want most is to feel like yourself.

So do it on your own terms. You can cut it shorter, you can shave it, or you can do neither. There's no rule. But if you are going to buy a wig or hairwear, we recommend to look for something that looks close to how you wore your hair before the loss. It's tempting to treat it as a fresh start, but a pink wig or a sudden pixie when you've always had long hair rarely feels right in the moment. Something that looks like the you that you're used to seeing in the mirror will help you feel steadier and more like yourself.

tlc and EverYou: Quick Answers

What happened to the tlc catalog and EverYou?

The American Cancer Society ran it as tlc (Tender Loving Care) for years, renamed it EverYou in 2024, and stopped accepting new orders in 2026. There has been no announced replacement.

Is it coming back?

There's no announcement that it will. For now, treat it as closed.

I have an old catalog with an order form. Will it work?

No, new orders are no longer being accepted.

Can I still get a free wig through the American Cancer Society?

The catalog is gone, but the ACS helpline (1-800-227-2345) can still point you toward local wig banks, and programs like CancerCare and Wigs & Wishes provide free wigs directly.

Can I use my insurance to buy a SPARX wig?

Often, yes. A wHAIRable by Sparx qualifies as a cranial prosthesis, which is the term insurance plans use for a medical wig. Ask your oncologist for a prescription for a cranial prosthesis with your ICD-10 code, then check with your plan on how many they cover per year and whether you pay up front and get reimbursed.

Will insurance pay for a wig?

Often, yes, if it's billed as a cranial prosthesis with an ICD-10 code from your oncologist. Most plans that cover it cover one per year.

My hospital's handout still lists tlc or EverYou. What should I do?

It just hasn't caught up yet. It's worth letting the staff who gave it to you know, so they can fix it for the next patient.

About SPARX

SPARX makes wigs designed to be worn, not endured. After years of frustration with itchy, stiff, fake-looking wigs, we built wHAIRables by SPARX around the same breathable, four-way stretch fabric you love in your favorite yoga pants, a cap that moves with you and stays put whether you want a timeless everyday look or something that holds through a run into the wind.

Comfort is the whole point, and it matters even more when your scalp is tender from treatment. Our stretch lace cap, headband cap, and gripper cap collections are each built for a different kind of day, and because a wHAIRable is considered a cranial prosthesis, many people are able to get one through their insurance. You can also read real stories from women living in them.

We would rather tell you the truth than sell you something. If your cancer center has a free wig room, use it. If a donated wig fits you, take it. Buy only if buying is what actually helps, and if it does, let your insurance help you get the most comfortable cap you can wear.