Two East Bay women are bringing comfort and confidence to women who've lost hair due to cancer treatment and alopecia.

Morgan Moore and her sister-in-law, Lee Hoff, put their heads together to make a difference in women's lives. Moore, a licensed cosmetologist and Hoff, an oncology nurse practitioner, started in 2022 to help women who have lost their hair regain their self-esteem.

"It's important that we use the gifts we've been given by God to bless the people around us," said Moore.

"I see it as a way to give them their power back and control back in a very challenging time," said Hoff.

Their Vallejo-based company creates custom medical wigs and also fills a gap. While most wigs are synthetic and with straight hair, Morgan and Hoff offer a variety of human hair.

"There were a huge number of women who weren't being helped, whether they had kinky, curly hair or extremely wavy hair, and with the Bay Area being so diverse, there were a lot of women not being served," said Moore.

However, they also found that not everyone who needed a custom medical wig could afford it, and it's not always covered by medical insurance. So, the pair formed a nonprofit in 2024 called , and raise money to give the wigs away.

The first recipient was Kayla Betorina, a mother and special needs educator who has dealt with alopecia all her life. During her pregnancy last year, she lost all of her hair and cut herself off from the world.

"I didn't leave my house last year," said Betorina.

"She had canceled her wedding. She stopped taking her kids to school," said Hoff. "She was feeling embarrassed and a little bit of shame around that."

A custom wig with human hair costs between $1,500 and $10,000, depending on texture and length. When Betorina's insurance would not pay, Moore and Hoff gave her a free wig.

That brush of generosity changed Betorina's life.

"They gave me a lot of my life back, just with that confidence," she said. "And having a lack of confidence, then having it rebuilt back really affects your life a lot."

Betorina eventually rescheduled her wedding for July.

So far, Inclusive Crowns has provided free medical wigs to several women in need. Hoff and Moore also find joy partnering with other nonprofits to teach women how to care for them.

"To be able to offer these women the opportunity to get a piece of themselves back so they don't have to look sick, so they can feel and look better is huge," said Hoff.

"It's important to us that people know that they matter on a deep level," Moore said.

Inclusive Crowns takes donations of money and hair. The custom wigs are currently made in Florida, but Moore and Lee want to fund a program to train young women to start their own businesses making the wigs.

So, for providing free customized wigs for women with medical hair loss, this week's CBS News Bay Area Icon Award goes to Lee Hoff and Morgan Moore.

• Alopecia
• Cancer