Locks of Love Hair Challenge
If there is one thing that I was blessed with - it's my hair.
I've got good, dare I say great, hair.
It's thick, radiates a black shine, and I have never done anything to it except wash and brush and I often get compliments while I am standing in line for something.
A few years ago, I discovered Locks of Love and donated my hair. They ask for a minimum of ten inches to use for one hairpiece, but also accept shorter hair as well. My locks are long, intentionally so, cascading down my back and I'm thinking, THINKING, of shaving my head and donating my hair to kick off 2009.
I consulted Adonis about his thoughts and as always his reply, "I support whatever you really want to do. It's just too bad the idea of a woman shaving her head has been stained by Britney's breakdown."
When I think about the children - particularly young girls - who are sick and went through chemo and want to have the feel of hair on their heads, I can't help but think about how I normally just chop my hair at a salon and leave it on the floor. Young girls usually love long hair and I've got it to donate. It's just HAIR. It'll grown back. My hair grows like springtime weeds. What really sends me over the edge is when I think of little girls of color who want black hair and have a limited selection of chestnut, brunette, redheaded, and blond pieces to choose from; again, not seeing themselves in the world in the face of choice. I nearly breakdown if I think of a little Filipina girl asking for a black hairpiece.
Anyone out there willing to cut (or shave if you're daring) for Locks of Love? I'm thinking of doing this sometime in 2009 and would love to have a Hair Challenge with a fellow volunteer.
AHHHH, why am I so attached to my hair? Why is my body needing to do this with you and my mind beating it down?
ReplyDeleteokay so I'm not willing to cut my own hair presently, but I did want to say to anyone thinking of shaving their heads - I shaved my head about 14 years ago, and kept it shaved (buzzed, not to the skin) for about a year and a half. I effing LOVED it. For a variety of reasons.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know about Locks of Love at the time (I was sick at the time anyway so maybe my hair wouldn't have been good enough), but when I'm an old lady who wants to go bald again (and I will be), maybe they could dye my gray any color they need/want...
Bless your heart either way, Sudy, for considering it.
I hate to get my hair cut a lot so I always end up with it really long. The last two times I've gotten it cut (in three years) I've done the locks of love thing. I'm happy to do it again. :)
ReplyDeleteLocks of Love are actually pretty racist. They won't accept black women's hair("too coarse"), and they won't accept dreadlocks. They also don't actually donate wigs to children with cancer, only about 3% of the wig recipients have cancer. The majority of recipients have Alopecia, a hair loss disorder. LoL often sell the hair commercially (and Asian hair doesn't fetch as much as blonde, red, or even brown hair -- i.e. white peoples' hair -- in the commercial market), and there was a controversy a while ago about how they were just storing a lot of donated hair and not doing anything with it at all. The entire wig/human hair industry is extremely dodgy when it comes to woc.
ReplyDeleteLocks of Love has charged children's families for the hair pieces they receive, which aren't always made from human hair. At the very least, they did this to my friend who had leukemia from the ages of 10 to 15 (1994-1999). I second everything Fire Fly said about Locks of Love's controversial practices of selling and storing hair. I would not donate to them again.
ReplyDeleteAn alternative you might want to consider: Wigs for Kids http://www.wigsforkids.org/ I sent my hair there.
And hey, they're local to you! (me too)
Re: "white people's hair." The majority of white people in the U.S. have brown or black hair but that isn't always apparent because so many women dye their hair.
ReplyDeleteI'm in remission from metastatic leiomyosarcoma and lost all my hair during a year of chemo. I volunteer for other sarcoma patients. I've been intrigued by Locks of Love because synthetic wigs are often considered superior. Maybe someone can enlighten me, but it seems like it would be easier, cheaper and better to give synthetic wigs to kids who can't afford them.