Well I've done it. I hung on to my hair for a few more months. A friend of a friend was diagnosed with Cancer and it was uncanny how similar our hair colour was to each other. Anyway this lady had a hard time getting a wig and wanted to use hers and her daughters hair and with my hair we would have been over half way to getting a wig.
I have found that it is really hard to donate your hair. It's political and corrupt and in fact a total nightmare. You think one place is reputable and then it isn't and then you think another place is and then you see reviews or hear of that being corrupt!
I got in to donating my hair as I raise money for a variety of charities and well apart from asking the same people over and over and over again for sponsorship... Growing my hair is "free" and I know that wig makers love Indian hair it's the one that they apparently prefer to use so I purposefully grow to donate. Yep i'm the duffs who sits in a hot tub with my hair in a swimming cap... and yes I have a large volume swimming cap made by Speedo, I don't know if it would fit Marge Simpsons hairdo in it but When I donated 2 lengths last time my hair was below my waist and that fitted in the swim cap. Last time I had to post my hair to the USA... This time it can stay in Canada.
A lot of people are now beginning to SELL their hair and then donate that money to charity... Well I went for Pantene beautiful lengths, hopping in the fact that it's a large public multinational company if there was any profiteering from the hair that it would come to light... It was also an unbraided 8 inches donation I gave them 11.
The problem with all these hair donation places is that it is unregulated, and some of the people profiteer from (sell it), if it isn't cut properly it gets thrown in the bin.... Which when you have spent 2+ years growing your hair for someone who is going through the fight of their life you just want these people to have hair/wig if they wish to have one...
Know the upset and despair that this lady (friend of a friend) went through with not getting a wig and then then being quoted $000's in to making a wig... it is just ridiculous... What I found more shocking was that well 5 of us had hair for her... and it takes between 6-8 donations to make a wig.... this lady and her daughters and I gave our hair away and this lady gets a synthetic wig from a wig exchange company. Don't you think that this is just wrong, apparently this lady didn't qualify for a wig. Just last week another friend of mine contacted me to offer her hair....
There are so many other uses for hair, some environmental groups make Boom's from hair and animal fur to collect oil from oil spillages.... they can even used dreadlocks...
I know hair is relatively free... (I say that the cost of hairbands that i have had/gone through lol! well I let my hair air dry as much as possible lol!) but it is the one thing that they can't manufacturer, which is why I think it's so special.... they can manufacturer synthetics but not the real McCoy.
What is more annoying is that some places (who take hair donations) want 8 inches unbraided, some want 10 braided... and some wont' accept grey, it costs money for hairdressers to post of donations so they just throw someones ponytail in the bin...
I wished that there was a national or international hair programme whereby you can donate you hair whatever condition it is, permed, grey, highlighted and it gets used for the best it can be used for... the wigs could be given out for free... Considering the cancer rates these days and having 3 out of 4 of my grandparents who have all died from cancer....
I know you probably are shouting what's the fuss it's just hair. Well have you ever come out from the hairdressers when you have had a hair disaster and think OMG! I had my hair cut on our honeymoon and I got a flattop from this hairdresser who hated English people, Well at least it grew back... I think that people who are facing cancer should have the choice, if they wish to have a wig or not, and if they wish to have one to not have to pay for it if they can't afford it and not have some external person telling them that they have to pay for it. You know if you can afford it by not blanching at the cost of paying for it.
Each time I have donated my hair, the places I can donate to have changed, not running anymore, I wonder if any of it has actually got to a person that I have intended it for-to. Or did it end up on some rich person who wanted hair extensions and have been sold twice?
Well I'm growing my hair to donate again, in good faith. If by my next donation, I have more than 5% of Grey hair then I can't donate to Pantene next time... maybe we should campaign to them to accept grey hair. Like one wig manufacturer said, not everyone wants to be a bottle blonde, some want to have their wig to look like 'them'.
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