Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Hair Donation: Know your Stuff


13 inches of ponytail today! Previously, I've been a big supporter of Locks of Love and promoted their non-profit each time I've donated my hair; however, I wanted to do some research on hair donation agencies, since recently I’ve heard a thing or two that made me wonder if Locks of Love was the best recipient. I know many of you have mailed in your daughter's locks, which is why I want to share with you what I discovered in my research:

1.     Locks of Love: they are “a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under age 21 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis.” What this means is that Locks of Love can charge for the hairpieces they construct from donated hair if the child’s family earns more than X amount (note, I tried to find out what the family would need to earn annually to receive the hairpiece for free, but I couldn’t find anything other than LofL requires a tax return as part of the application process). Details: must have 10” of non-gray, non-damaged hair (note, chemically treated is okay, just so long as the hair isn’t damaged).

2.     Wigs for Kids: this is a non-profit organization that makes “custom-made Hair Replacements” free of charge to families of children suffering from hair loss. Details: must have 12” of non-chemically treated and non-gray hair.

3.     Wigs 4 Kids: basically Wigs for Kids but for the region of Michigan. There are a few other regionally specific organizations, including Children with Hair Loss (Michigan) and Angel Hair for Kids (Canada).

4.     Pantene Beautiful Lengths Campaign: their organization accepts hair donations to create wigs for women fighting cancer. They work with the American Cancer Society. Details: must have 8” of non-chemically treated hair that is no more than 5% gray.




Special thanks to Lee Groh at Jolie Salon in Danville for my new hairdo!