Jul 25, 2007

A Radical Way to Save Money on Haircuts

I've started an experiment. The last time I cut my hair was back in November or December of last year, not too long before Tyler was born. It still looks okay, and since I don't color, highlight or perm it, it's pretty healthy. But it's getting quite long and I keep thinking about getting it cut. There are two things stopping me: (1) the two-hour commitment; and (2) the $100 price tag. Before you say anything, yes, I realize that I could get my hair cut for a lot less money, but I've tried that and been unhappy (the last time I did it, about a year ago, I walked out of Supercuts in tears). So if I'm going to get a cut, then I'm going to the one guy I know will give me a cut I'll be happy with.

But I recently thought of a way to keep myself from going for a while longer yet (inspired by this post by Mapgirl): donating my hair to Locks of Love, which is an organization that takes donated hair and turns them into wigs for children who have lost their hair.

Here are their guidelines for donating hair:
  • 10 inches measured tip to tip is the minimum length needed for a hairpiece.
  • Hair must be in a ponytail or braid before it is cut.
  • Hair must be clean and completely dry before it is mailed in.
  • Place the ponytail or braid inside of a plastic bag, and then inside of a padded envelope.
  • Fill out the hair donation form, or write your name and address on a separate sheet of paper and include inside the envelope.
  • All hair donations must be mailed to Locks of Love at: 2925 10th Avenue N, Suite 102, Lake Worth, FL 33461.
I think it'll take another six months or so for my hair to get long enough that I can donate and still have shoulder-length hair after the cut. Can I do it? We'll see!

3 comments:

mapgirl said...

You'll be happy doing this. I met a 12yo girl with beautiful naturally highlighted strawberry blond hair. Turns out she had a pale birthmark on her skull from which slightly lighter hair would grow. For a split second, I thought she had a $150 highlight job. But she was so sweet and told me that she wants to cut it, but she's waiting to donate for Locks of Love!

Anonymous said...

Three of the teenage girls from our church donated their hair last year... it was pretty cool... they all grew their hair out for more than a year and a half and they all went and had it cut at the same time... the beauty shop donated the cut! let us know how it turns out!
NCN

ChiefFamilyOfficer said...

Mapgirl and NCN - Thanks for the encouragement!