My daughter recently donated some of her hair to Locks of Love, a non-profit organization that makes hairpieces for disadvantaged children. I had heard that you could donate hair to this organization but didn’t know much about it. I learned that most of their hairpieces are made for kids who have permanent hair loss due to a medical condition called alopecia. They also provide hairpieces for kids who have temporary hair loss due to cancer treatments.

They accept donations of ponytails that are ten inches or more, and use the donations to make custom-made hairpieces. It takes ten ponytails to make one hairpiece. The hairpieces are made free of charge or on a sliding scale, based on the financial needs of the family. We let our daughter make the decision on whether she would donate a ponytail or just get a trim, and she decided to donate a ponytail. Her hair was so long that even after cutting off the ponytail, she still had hair past her shoulders.

We went to my hairdresser for the cut, but you can do it yourself as long as you follow their requirements, and there is a video on their website that explains it. I’m glad I learned more about this organization that does such important work, and wanted to pass it on in case there are others who can give up some hair to help someone else. I'm really proud of my daughter, too.