Friday, November 06, 2009
Lourine's offers women comfort during and after treatment
Emily Paine Carter | Special to So Salem
Lourine's staffer Kathy Cruff (from left), product rep Cynthia Walker, customer Dorothy Dombroski, shop owner Lourine Davis.
Emily Paine Carter is columnist So Salem. You can contact her at 981-3430 or via e-mail.
Emily Paine Carter
Recent columns from Salem, Glenvar and western Roanoke County
On a quiet October Tuesday pink balloons danced around a sign and welcomed ladies to a special place: Lourine's.
There, Lourine Davis helps clients grateful for her kind assistance during especially "trying" times. As the gracious owner of the beauty salon, breast prosthesis and wig shop, she and her friendly staff specialize in helping women deal with the effects of cancer treatment. (We SO know the combination of "looking better/feeling better.")
An appreciative customer had urged me to feature this "unsung, deserving, generous" woman. I visited Lourine's on a new-product promotion day -- one of several each year. (A different vendor will be present Nov. 10.)
So American Breast Care specialist Cynthia Walker of Newport News was available for fittings of a "new, lighter, American-made, massage form." Customer Dorothy Dombrowski enthused over the product -- and the "personalities" of Lourine's place -- making it well worth former Mississippian Dorothy's drive from Gretna.
Salemite Hazel Altizer enthused, "I'm absolutely pleased. I couldn't have asked for a better fitting. Everything's wonderful -- and Lourine is most wonderful!"
Lourine had rented elsewhere before settling in this convenient spot, just off College Avenue. "About thirty years ago my [late] husband asked, 'How was your day?' I said, 'Sit down. I bought a building!'" the cheery redhead laughed.
(It also houses Susan Bulbin's "Second Hand Rose," a well-stocked, high-end consignment boutique. And for several years Dean Pittman owned and operated a candy shop in part of the long building.)
It's all been a good "fit" for Lourine. She moved from offering custom-fit bras into prosthetic and surgical bras. Her efforts have been rewarded with a steady stream of customers.
"Lumpectomies require [re-]fitting, too," added Cynthia. "Needs change as surgical techniques change. And 90 percent of all women wear the wrong size [bra] anyhow."
A board now accredits qualified mastectomy fitters. "There's much to live up to," Lourine stressed. "It's not just opening a store. There's a lot to it --and you need much inventory."
The ladies agreed that with a proper fit, you really cannot see which side had surgery. And that we've come a long way from self-help efforts to "even things up" with birdseed and other such "fillers."
The shop also offers bathing suits and quite the array of wigs. And many clients visit the beauty salon for head-shaving prior to cancer treatment, or afterwards for the shaping of hair as it grows back in.
Lourine's indeed seems a supportive, private, good place for women during a sensitive time.
"I'm just delighted to be able to help them today -- and all days." And Lourine smiled warmly.
