For Jessica Vincent, it’s just a way she can give back.

Vincent, of LaBella Salon in downtown Russellville, said she wishes more people in the community knew about services she offers for those battling cancer ­– free of charge.

“There are people in our community I feel like I can help,” said Vincent.

As a local partner for Friends Are By Your Side – which is headed up by Martino Cartier with a mission to “restore dignity to women who lost their hair to chemotherapy at no charge” – Vincent offers free cuts both to women who are losing their hair as well as women who want to donate their hair (10.5 inches or longer) to Friends Are By Your Side to made into wigs for those who need them.

“If they are battling cancer or anything like that that would cause them to lose their hair, we can cut it to fit their needs,” – at no cost, Vincent said. She said she and her staff also arrange “parties” where she closes the store to allow friends and family to congregate and support their loved one through a cut or shave with a degree of privacy. “A lot of people don’t want to just go into a salon and have their head shaved,” Vincent pointed out.

Cancer patients who cannot afford a wig can also have one provided free of charge at LaBella through Friends Are By Your Side. Vincent, joined by stylists Ana Lucas/Delgado, Brooke McNatt Courtney Purser and Christie Tabbert, also promotes pink streaks during Breast Cancer Awareness Month with proceeds going to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

“When people have cancer, they need support,” Vincent said. “The No. 1 thing you lose is your looks. When (women) lose their hair, in a way to them, they’re losing their looks, their appearance, and that’s a major self-esteem thing. To me, that’s my job – to boost someone’s self-esteem.

“It’s a good thing to have in a small town.”