Donating hair after a big chop

[mouse2cat]

Hi! I am a long time member here and I recently decided to go full pixie as a way to support my friend who is going through chemo.
I have kept my braid (it was hip length thick natural blonde hair) and I would like to figure out what to do with it. I have heard some bad stories about locks of love and I don't want to support them but I don't really know about any alternatives.

Thanks for the help. I have really enjoyed how supportive this community has been.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Well done for wanting to help your friend. :) There are online sites where you can sell your hair and then if you wish you could donate the money to your friend or to a cancer charity yourself.

[akurah]

I would not donate it except to charities that use it to clean up oil spills.

Most hair charities get more hair than they can use. If you really want to "give" it to a hair charity, find someone who will buy it outright (such as a for-profit wigmaker) then donate the cash.

[Joules]

mouse2cat, may I ask what your friend thinks about it? Sorry if this question is way too rude and inappropriate, you are free to ignore me.

I'm asking this because I've dealt with cancer in my family (everything ended very happily), and I know first hand that all this emotional hair stuff is the least important thing during times like this. Especially with donations to charity wig companies, most of them are a scam. If you still want to cut your hair you'd be better off with finding a wigmaker and asking them specifically to make a wig out of your hair, or just sell it and support your friend financially.

Again, forgive me if I'm saying something rude. I have quite strong feelings about this topic.

[LittleHealthy]

Yes I’ve heard interesting things about hair charities!!
I like the suggestion of selling the hair, then use that money to directly support your friend. The money could be used to help her cover financial loss whilst ill, or for fuel in the car when travelling for the treatment etc!

[lapushka]

Here we have cancer "charities", and when my aunts got cancer they couldn't get a dime from them even though their cancer was serious enough that they died from it quite fast. We never give money to these charities again after experiencing this.

I agree, sell it directly and use the money to support her directly (and not the charities). I'm sure your friend can use the money much more.

[lithostoic]

Wigs 4 kids is a good honest one. Do some research just in case though!

[Chromis]

Wigs 4 kids is a good honest one. Do some research just in case though!

They don't have a spotless record either I'm afraid.

Really all of these wig programs seem to be set up more for people to feel good about donating something rather than for the people they are meant to support. (I say this as someone who has had cancer themselves not just because I am on a hair forum!)

[Carolyn]

You could keep the braid and use it as a hair piece when your hair starts growing out again.

[cathair]

You could contact your local hospital directly, see if they have any in house services that could use the hair. Cut out the middle man.

[mouse2cat]

Joules,
This friend is a work colleague and she has great doctors and all the advice she needs. So I didn't want to push myself onto her by "being helpful". So what I decided to do was the day she was getting her second round of chemo (this was the one where her hair fell out) I just went and got the chop as a gesture of support. So when she came back to school she didn't have to be alone with short hair. (She had a glorious mane of tight black ringlets). As a work colleague I am not in a position to give her more intimate gestures of support and she has a good job with benefits. So she doesn't need help with medical expenses. I just felt helpless. She told me later that she found it touching. It's still too soon to tell how bad this cancer is. I think she may be in for a double mastectomy.

As far as what I do with the braid now. I just don't want to waste it on a sham charity. Or keep it in a shoe box like some creeper.

[mouse2cat]

I agree that it seems like selling it is a way better option.

[lapushka]

As far as what I do with the braid now. I just don't want to waste it on a sham charity. Or keep it in a shoe box like some creeper.

My mom kept my ponytail from when I was classic as a child, and before that my grandma had her great-grandma's braid in a glass jar as well; it's hardly creepy to keep it.

[lithostoic]

You could definitely sell it or keep it as a hairpiece as other people have suggested!

[LittleHealthy]

You could donate to a research fund?
Or not at all! The supportive gesture of cutting your hair short is a lovely thing to do. Having the braid and deciding what to do with it is just a bonus really!

[Kat]

I agree with others... Sell it and donate the money to a charity for cancer or research or that gives people synthetic hair wigs*, or any other charity of your or her choice.

*I would include adults in this. Surely there are many adults who have lost their hair and may not be able to afford a wig... and for an adult, the ramifications may be not only to self esteem but also employment.