Donating to Locks of Love

Hey there.  About 15 years or so, when I was in Jr. High School, I decided that I was going to let my hair grow out.  Once the hair grew out, I was one of those guys with long hair.  It was most in a pony tail or "bunny tail" as some of my band mates would call it, and I rocked that style for years at a time.  When I graduated high school in the year 2000, I decided that it was time to start the new millenium with a different hair style.  At that point, I haven't had a hair cut in years so it felt odd going into a barber/hair salon to get it cut off.  While in the chair, I remember the woman complimenting me on my hair (soft, long, beautiful, etc. etc.) and that I should seriously consider donating it.  Donating my hair... now there's an idea.  I asked about what organizations I can donate to and she promptly stated that if I wanted to, they can donate my hair for me to Locks of Love.  I wasn't all that familiar with the organization so I asked questions.  What do they do?  Who do they benefit?  Is the organization reputable?  Once she explained it to me, my mind was made up.  I was donating my hair to Locks of Love.

For those of you that are not familiar with the Locks of Love organization, it is a non profit organization that provides hair pieces to children who have lost their hair due to medical illnesses.  You know, when it comes to helping out kids, I'm always up for it.  In this instance, the young ones losing their hair because of an illness can leave their self esteem in shambles.  Providing these kids with a high quality hair piece can do wonders for their self esteem and I'm all for that.  I don't mind giving up my hair if it means that a young one can benefit from it.  It's been a no brainer for me.

Left:  Me rockin' the braid and awesome 8 bit sunglasses!
Right:  15 inches of braided hair ready for donation!

My first donation was back in 2000.  It is now 2012 and I have donated my hair 3 times since then.  When I first donated my hair, I felt good.  It's good to give to charity.  Especially when it involves kids so I told myself that I would let my hair grow out and donate it every 7 years.  Someone once told me that 7 is the number of good luck, or something like that, so I decided that 7 years would be good.  I donated my hair, again, in 2007, and I didn't quite make it to the 7th year this time around.  I donated it after 5 years this year.  The awesome thing about my donation this year is that my girls donated their hair as well AND we all received this awesome certificate from Locks of Love.

No... Thank you, Locks of Love, for all the awesomeness that you guys do!

I strongly suggest that you donate your hair to Locks of Love if you plan on getting your hair cut.  Your hair must meet a few gudelines before it can be accepted but unless you have recently bleached your hair, you should be good to go... as long as you have at least 10 inches to donate!  If interested, you can read the hair requirements and download the donation form here.  Later!