new thread
Lather, Rinse, Donate
Giving hair is popular, but it may not go where you think.
".....as much as 80 percent of the hair donated to Locks of Love, the best known of the charities, is unusable for its wigs, the group says....even hair that survives the winnowing may not go to the gravely ill, but may be sold to help pay for the charities' organizational costs."
In today's New York Times--link to full story below.
Page E1 Style Section 9-6-2007 NYT
Thanks Rob
That was a very interesting article I'm glad you posted it. I had no idea they rejected as much hair as they do.
Kevin
Thanks for that, Rob. It was a well-researched and very well-balanced article. It even mentioned the unjustified pressure that some longhairs face due to the activities of those operations.
So they throw out gray hair. Guess my giving would be pointless. Not that it would happen between now and when the earth's core freezes.
My bet is that they are not interested in anyone's hair if they are over about the age of thirty. They seem to only keep the prettiest of hair, and when your age is twice that, it isn't exactly "pretty".
What they failed to mention was that boys and men seldom get this hair. It almost all goes to girls.
Bill
yes, I noticed that and thought "I guess I'm off the hook with gray hair, as if I'd donate otherwise." I also noted that the outfit they send their accepted hair to rejects about _half of that_ meaning that of all they get only 10% winds up in wigs.
Hi Rob.Very interesting article but I've already known that much of the donated hair never really goes into these wigs anyway.Actually I feel bad for these well meaning people who cut off their great hair for what amounts to nothing.Why can't they just produce wigs with synthetic hair as I'm sure in this modern era fake hair isn't like it used to be.Anyway its not like donating hair is going to cure the persons cancer so why not donate to medical research to find a cure if thats possible.Also I hate it when the longhair is shamed into making this sacrifice by some shorthaired guilt tripper!Oh well it was fun to see this subject pop up again and lets hope it doesn't happen again for some time!LOL.Mark
Hi Mark,
The LoL head honcho even said it would be better if people gave them money instead of hair. how about that.
One reason I had for posting it is that it will wind up in the archive of the mlhh so that in the future, if we get a longhair who announces he's getting it cut off for charity, or is getting pressure to do that, we can dig this link up out of the archive and have him read it.
rob
On another hair board, there are numerous discussions regarding Locks of Love. Wigs for Kids comes highly recommended, for those who feel a desire to donate. Interestingly, the article quoted the president of LOL saying she'd rather have the monetary donations than the hair, as so much of the hair is unusable.
Carol
wigs for kids is just a subsidiary of locks of love. or so i've heard... it's possible i'm wrong. and since i'm to lazy to look it up, we'll never know.
Great article! I'll save it to have on hand if any of my long-haired friends start talking about giving up their locks.
Interestingly enough, a friend of mine donated hers to LOL about two months ago. Given the grey in her hair, it probably went right into the trash. :-( I have a hunch that she wanted a shorter style again anyway, so no real harm done in the end I guess. However, she made a passing comment about how nice my hair would be for donation someday. I didn't respond, but even then I knew enough about the organization to know better than to be guilted into giving up my hair. Now I have an article in a reputable newspaper to fight back with.
Thanks!
Mouse
woo mouse, pressure! : )
yes, that's how I hoped it would be used!
I'm not anti helping these poor kids--anyone with useable hair who wants to do this, have at it, but people should be informed about the chances of their hair getting used and that according to them, writing a check is a better way to go.
I am so glad that you posted this. Thanks Rob. With luck, it just might open a number of eyes to "Locks of Love."
Justin~
"Pantene Beautiful Lengths, started in June last year, has the resources of Pantene, the $3 billion global hair product division of Procter & Gamble, including teams of publicists who stage cutting fests. Already the program has received 18,000 ponytails — 8,000 more than originally projected — and distributed 2,000 wigs to women with cancer, said Seth Klugherz, the North American Pantene brand manager."
So, they distributed 2,000 wigs to women with cancer, and apparently none to men with cancer. Hmmmmph!
Al
Better to sell your hair to a haircut place (they will sometimes pay for long hair which they then sell) and donate the money to a cause of your choice, whether it is giving wigs to children or saving the whales or whatever you believe in.
Oh, and funny how Locks of Love is LoL just like "laugh out loud"...
yeah that was mildly confusing to me when I read the story in a hurry.