October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and ghd wants to help make sure you check your breasts each month

120,000 women under the age of 35 are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. Only one in two women regularly check their boobs for signs of breast cancer and 90% of 18-35 year old women check only a few times a year or less. However…83% of women in the UK use a hair styler at least once a month.

But ghd, the most popular hair styling product company in the UK, wants to help change these statistics, as a part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, this October. To celebrate 16 years of supporting breast cancer charities globally, ghd have partnered with 11 incredible women who were diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 35 to launch the limited-edition Take Control Now collection to remind women around the world to donate some mirror time to their boobs and self-check every single month.

The collection includes the award-winning ghd platinum+ styler, ghd gold stylers and the new Helios hairdryer, available in delicate shades of dust pink, and embossed with the central campaign message; ‘Take Control Now’, to ensure women of all ages are reminded to self-check more regularly. “Checking my boobs is never at the forefront of my mind - it only takes five seconds yet I spend an hour doing my hair and make- up in the mornings,” says Francesca. With each purchase, £10 will be given to Breast Cancer Now, for research.

Clockwise: ghd gold stylers, the new Helios hairdryer and ghd platinum+ styler.

Toral Shah, a south Asian woman, nutritionist, founder of The Urban Kitchen and one of the incredible survivors collaborating with ghd said, “I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 29 while studying for an MSc in Nutritional Medicine, specialising in cancer. A few years after my mum had been diagnosed and treated for the same disease. My whole world was falling down around me and my plans were way laid whilst I came to terms with what was happening to me”

Toral first noticed a symptom of breast cancer when she found a lump in her breast. “It was breast cancer, which was an incredible shock,” she says, “it made no sense; I was under thirty, committed to a healthy lifestyle and I was even training for a triathlon. I felt too young to lose a breast.” But she has committed herself to using her experience for the better, by helping others. “The more we can educate the public and health professionals, the more we can share the pool of our resources and knowledge,” she says. “Campaigns like this will help people to have an earlier diagnosis by checking their breasts and make positive lifestyle changes to help prevent all forms of cancer.”

Toral Shah

Her key message for others is the importance of self checking: “Doctors put my early diagnosis down to my own self-examination. I’m sad to say though, that in September 2018, I was diagnosed with a recurrence of my original breast cancer. I found this by knowing my body and checking both breasts thoroughly every month.” By sharing her story, Toral is raising awareness and encouraging women all over the world to check their breasts.

To date, ghd’s limited edition collections have helped raise over $19 million globally. This year, ghd will continue this support with their latest collection. The company has partnered with breast cancer charities globally for 15 years and raised over $19 million. As women, we effortlessly check our hair everyday but not our boobs - it’s time to take control now!

When checking your breasts, there are some things to look for, and some things to feel for.

What to look for:

1. Changes in skin texture

2. Nipple discharge

3. Swelling in your armpit or around collarbone

4. A sudden change in size or shape

5. A rash or crusting of the nipple or surrounding area

6. Nipple inversion

What to feel for:

1. Get to now the normal rhythm of your boobs so you can detect anything abnormal quickly.

2. Feel for irregular lumps (which can be relatively small) that are firm and solid.