Beating Cancer Never Looked So Beautiful: How Henna Helps Patients Cope With Hair Loss

No-one needs me to re-hash old tropes of how horrific battling cancer is, it goes without saying. What I can do, is bring your attention to the messages of hope and comfort that are out there. This group of Henna Artists are truly inspirational. They've taken it upon themselves to turn one of the most profound visual stages of cancer treatment - hair loss - into something utterly beautiful.

The Canada-based group of henna artists use the traditional art of 'henna crowning', painting floral patterns, messages of hope and religious symbols onto the heads of those who want it.

“For cancer patients, the henna crowns really are a healing experience,” said Frances Darwin, the founder of Henna Heals. “This is all about them reclaiming a part of themselves that would normally be perceived as ill or damaged or not nice to look at and making it more feminine and beautiful.”

From the faces in these few photos, Frances is definitely onto something.