At MANTA, we believe in the power of gentle care — for your hair, your scalp, and yourself. Every brushstroke carries a story, and today, we’re honoured to share one of profound resilience and courage.
We’re proud to introduce Pretti Stanley, our latest MANTA Muse and one of the inspiring faces of our new campaign with Paxman Scalp Cooling. A vibrant, resilient soul, Pretti has faced the challenges of cancer with grace and strength — including the emotional journey of hair loss during treatment.
In her own words, she opens up about what it felt like to confront losing her hair and how it affected her both physically and emotionally: “I’ll never forget the day I was told I had breast Cancer; I didn’t want to believe it as I knew in that moment in time everything was about to change. Finding out that I would be under-going chemotherapy was just as hard as being diagnosed. I had a vision of someone going through chemotherapy and that included hair loss. You get told that you might not lose all your hair, or there are treatments that can help prevent hair loss but the bottom line is you will lose some, most or all of your hair.
The thought of losing my hair was hard, I loved my hair, I had long hair with curls, I loved putting up, styling it and it was a huge part of me. I was told ‘don’t worry it’s just hair, it will grow back’ but that wasn’t good enough for me. ‘Why’ did I have to lose it in the first place.
I chose to have my hair cut into a bob before I started chemotherapy but I lost most of my hair by the third treatment. I had three further treatments to go so I chose to have all my hair shaved off. There were so many emotions when I started to lose my hair, sadness, anger, fear to name a few but when I chose to have my hair shaved off, I felt powerful. I felt like I had taken control of the situation.
I found out about the Manta Hairbrush through someone on Instagram. I bought it immediately as I wanted to use only the gentlest things on my hair, trying to minimise hair loss. The brush definitely helped. I had curly hair so the brush was perfect to brush through the curls. When I started losing my hair, my scalp was very sensitive, it used to tingle and using the Manta hairbrush, helped massage & soothe my scalp. Once I shaved my hair, I read that the Manta hairbrush could stimulate hair growth so I used to gently massage my scalp with the brush, again it felt really nice.
I am now 14 months on from my final chemotherapy treatment, my hair is back, it’s curly and I am loving it. I still use the brush daily, again to continue massaging my scalp to promote hair growth but I also use the brush to scrunch my hair to define the curls. I love the way the brush is malleable which is perfect for my curly hair. Also it’s small and easy to take with me wherever I go!
If you’ve just started your cancer journey and or chemotherapy and know you will lose your hair, be kind to yourself. Losing your hair is huge, it’s your identity and that is important. Yes, it will grow back but that doesn’t mean you can’t honour the pain and sadness of losing it. For me, I did my research and invested in products that would protect and nourish my hair and scalp because that’s what I could control and that’s what I deserved.”
Pretti’s story is one of courage, and self-love, and we’re proud to share her voice with you.
If you or someone you love is on a similar journey — navigating cancer, hair loss, or the changes that come with treatment — please know you are not alone.
Our co-founder and original MANTA Muse, Dani Binnington, has walked this path too. Through her own diagnosis and early menopause, she created the Menopause and Cancer charity and podcast to support women going through these life-altering experiences. Dani brings together survivors, medical professionals, and experts to provide real, compassionate advice and resources.
You can learn more or find support at menopauseandcancer.org — because healing isn’t just physical, it’s emotional and personal too.
