Shed Some Hair
May 21, 2008
Posted by CindyC in : Opinions & Thoughts , trackback
When I took my daughter to school yesterday, I noticed that her teacher was sporting a new hairdo. She went from having long flowing tresses to the current short but stylish pixie cut. I admired her new do and asked what inspired this dramatic change. “Well, I’ve been waiting to recycle my hair for quite some time!” she claimed with a wink.
In all seriousness, the teacher told me that she’s always been a short hair person but has been growing out her hair for the past year so she can donate it. I vaguely remember hearing about organizations that take donated hair but confessed I don’t know much about it. So, the teacher gave me a quick lesson.
There are apparently organizations that accept donated hair and use it to make wigs for chronic ill patients (children and adults) who have lost their hair. There are some variations in criteria but generally donated hair have to be at least 10 inches long, not bleached and bundled in a ponytail or braid. Anyone can cut the hair though it’s recommended that you go to a familiar person or salon, as 10 inches will mean a dramatic cut. It can take 10 to 30 ponytails to make one good wig so these organizations are constantly in need of donations. Comparable wigs generally retail for $2,000 to $3,000 and these nonprofits provide them either free of charge or on a sliding cost scale. Some of the more well-known organizations that our teacher suggested are:
- Wigs for Kids
- Locks of Love (helping kids under 18). Caution: I did find some disgruntled comments about LoL but not sure whether there’s substance behind them.
- Pantene’s Beautiful Lengths (helping women with cancer). This seems a bit commercial but has received a lot donations, including Hillary Swank’s hair.
So if you are thinking about cutting your hair to beat the summer heat (like me), consider “recycling” your hair for a good cause.
CindyC at Organicpicks
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Comments»
Several people I know have donated to Locks of Love, and felt it was a good organization
My sister donated to Locks of Love and had a good experience. Maybe I should think about it.
I’ve always wanted to be able to do this, but I’ve had short hair for the past 6 years! It hasn’t been past my shoulders in at least 13 years.
When we shaved our hair off for St. Baldrick’s (to raise money to fight childhood cancer) we rubberbanded our hair up to donate to Locks of Love. We haven’t donated it yet, though, because a friend wants to make a stop animation video using the ponytails before we do. I think they’ll be looking for heads to attach onto. We’ll see.