It's been over two years since my last haircut. Crazy right? Well as some of you know and some of you may not know, I grow my hair to long lengths for reasons more than just personal preference. I grow it to donate it. Excuses I have heard from people to not donate their hair "I just can't cut off more than four inches", "my hair looks terrible short", "I don't know how to do it", "it takes too much work to send it". Blah Blah Blah. First let's just see how much you know about hair donation in this version of Rumors vs Facts.
1) RUMOR: you have to give 12 inches! That's a lot!
FACT: most wig making companies accept 8 inches now. Not that much more than your 6 inch cut is it?
2) RUMOR: it's so complicated to send my hair to these companies.
FACT: to send it is as simple as putting it into an envelope with the hair in a plastic bag and pony tail holders or small rubber bands around the hair and mailing it to the donation place of your choice. Take five seconds and look it up on whatever device you're using to read this.
3) RUMOR: I dye my hair, so I can't donate it.
FACT: for most places, your hair has to be natural. This means no hair dye. No highlights. Etc. However Angles Hair Foundation and Children with Hair Loss both except chemically treated hair and grey hair.
ALSO: Any hair 3 inches or longer can be sent to Matter of Trust. An awesome company that helps clean up oil spills with people's hair! So if you can't quite see yourself making the 8 inch cut. Save your locks to clean up oil! (for this you have to arrange a few things ahead of time for them to accept the donation. Go to matteroftrust.org for details).
Hair donation is something I am very passionate about. If you've been a reader of DHTBB for a long time, you probably read the post I did about it two years ago when I did my last cut. Well, it's important. And I donated BEFORE I got into the field of oncology as a profession. Look at any person you know. If they had cancer, burns, or alopecia would you want them to have no hair? A lot of these patients DREAM of having hair again. And while a wig isn't always what everyone wants, the people who want it are always so grateful when it's available to them. My favorite story to tell people who complain about their hair not looking good after: my hair was SO short the first time I did it. I cried and cried because everyone hated it. But you know what? It grew back! And I learned about places who take less hair and grew my hair out longer the next time. Everytime I do it, it gets easier.
So take the plunge! If you have questions about it, ask me! I love it when people make the choice to donate their hair! This year I even got my little sister in law to do it with me!
Thanks for considering making a difference!
- Olivia
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