How many people suggest Locks of Love?

[adiapalic]

I know this topic may have been brought up before in a thread, but I haven't come across it yet.

How many people have suggested that you donate your hair to Locks of Love, and what is your initial reaction?

I've had about 5 or 6 people suggest I donate mine. My reaction is usually either "um....I'm too stingy with my hair..." or "Oh, well you should grows yours out and donate it :)." I don't mean to come off as 'snarky,' but my hair is one of my few vanities that I pride myself in.

I think Locks of Love is a wonderful program, and if I didn't care about my hair I would definitely grow mine out for the purpose of donating it.

[spidermom]

Gird your loins; I feel a backlash against Locks of Love coming your way.

[Kerynna]

I've never had anyone say that to me, but if they do, I'll be tempted to say (in a mock-melodramatic way) "I've signed an organ donor card. Isn't that enough?!" *sob!*

ETA: Actually, after reading this article http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/34753/locks_of_love_pg3.html?cat=5 , I think my response would be along the lines of, "Have you donated time or money to Locks of Love? No? So why do you presume to tell me to donate a physical piece of myself?" Sheesh!

[enfys]

Thankfully that organisation isn't one we have in the UK and the similar ones aren't that well known anyway.

Should they ever gain ground I think I'd just comment with the (partial) truth; that at least I know that should I ever need a wig to cover my own bald head I'll know a great place to get one. Myself!
I could chuck in an "It's for my religion" comment. Also a partial truth and great mute button.

[twilight]

you might want to check out this thread for some helpful info/rebuttals to that remark as well as alternatives to LoL: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=547&highlight=locks+love

no one has said it to me yet, but i'm sure someone will soon... hair is getting "so long," apparently. haha.

[Roseate]

I think you're right, Spidermom. People do not love LOL around here, perhaps because they hear that line too often!

I donated my waist-length hair to them more than a year ago, after having examined everybody's objections to the organization. Yes, they sell hair they can't use. Yes, they use the money they get from selling subpar hair to fund the production of synthetic hairpeices for some kids who are better candidates for synthetic than natural hairpeices.

I still found plenty of people who had been helped by them, and if they ended up selling my tail rather than using it directly, fine. I would never suggest anyone should donate their hair who didn't want shorter hair anyway. If you don't want a haircut, don't get one!

Donating hair is not an imperative, it's just a nice alternative to throwing your cut-off hair in the trash, if you're cutting it anyway.

[HoneyMouse]

what is locks of love ?

[RancheroTheBee]

I think people often don't understand why someone would want exceedingly long hair, unless they were to donate it. And for some reason, people also think it's selfish to keep it when "someone really needs it."

However, I do think it's a little odd. Whether or not you agree with the logic that donating a part of yourself to someone else so that they may comfortably adhere to a social expectation of physical attractiveness, you have to admit that an organization that collects hair is a little strange.

[~GypsyCurls~]

I don't think I've ever had anyone suggest that to me...maybe because my hair is dyed lol. The people that comment on the length do so as a complement though, and encourage me to keep growing it out. :D

[LHGypsyRose]

Grrr:mad:...Lock of love is scam! They throw out the majority of hair that they recieve after deeming it unuseable, and they sale most of what they do keep. They were exposed in one of New Yorks major newspappers sometime last year. If anyones tells you to donate to LOL..they just have yet to be enlightened.;)

[Roseate]

And for some reason, people also think it's selfish to keep it when "someone really needs it."

You know, I never have anyone give me any flak for keeping both my healthy kidneys, even though there are people who really need them, and I could live just as well with one!:p

[twilight]

However, I do think it's a little odd. Whether or not you agree with the logic that donating a part of yourself to someone else so that they may comfortably adhere to a social expectation of physical attractiveness, you have to admit that an organization that collects hair is a little strange.

three words: peanut butter solution. (anybody?)

[Darkhorse1]

This was a trend for me last year and drove me NUTS!

I felt like saying 'do you donate to charities?'. First off, I do dontate to charities of my choice, secondly, Locks of Love lies. And I tell people that. I am happy to say I can't donate my hair and want to make a t-shirt that says this since I color my hair/it's sun-bleached and I have gray. They can't use any of that.

The odd comment, like from one of my students who was 12, it was a sweet question. But, from the same person over the course of show season, I wanted to smack someone. I finally said 'why' and she said 'you always wear your hair back'. I eyed her ponytail 'so do you, maybe you should donate?' and she said 'well, I'm at the barn'. I looked at her and smiled 'exactly'. We were at the barn. (a show actually). I wear my hair loose ALL the time when not at the barn :)

I honestly think it's a rude thing to say. Do people go up to pregnant women and tell them they should consider adoption?? Heck no!

Locks of Love is a current trend, and FYI, the wigs go to kids with alopecia, not cancer. If your hair will grow back, you don't get a wig. Since cancer treatments only stop hair growth during that time, and it will grow back, kids don't get wigs. So, again, it's misleading advertisment. I wouldn't care if a child with alopecia got a wig, that's fine, but I don't like it that they are lying to people in their ad capagin. AND, they DO sell the hair!! To maintain their website/etc. nice huh??

[Kerynna]

three words: peanut butter solution. (anybody?)
But people neeeeeeeeed paintbrushes! :D

[enfys]

“We created this monster because people get so much from it,” said Madonna Coffman, the president of Locks of Love. “They get the attention. They get a warm and fuzzy feeling. They feel they’re going to help a child.”

A quote from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/06/fashion/06locks.html?_r=1

They feel it, they aren't actually. Nuff said.

[Sam-I-Am]

There's a person at my workplace who has made donation comments a couple times. I tell her that I've donated 36" of hair over the last ten years, and this time I'm growing it out for myself. I don't think she's done pestering me yet, so maybe next time I'll suggest she donate her own hair.

[twilight]

But people neeeeeeeeed paintbrushes! :D

*squeal* i'm so glad somebody got that! :eek:

/hijack

[adiapalic]

Wow! I never knew there was any corruption behind it. That'senlightening. Even though I can be a rather skeptical and sometimes cynical person :p I never really thought about it.

Hmm, selling the hair? Kinda messed up.

Now I guess I have some fodder for when people approach me :)
I will say, however, that I get more compliments than "Locks of Love" comments.

[twilight]

...I will say, however, that I get more compliments than "Locks of Love" comments.

probably because your hair is a m a z i n g.

[Deimos]

The thing with charities is that you don't know what really happens to the donations. Doesn't stop me from giving money though.

The other day someone I knew had her hair chopped off to a short bob (before it was between APL and BSL) She has very thick, shiny and pretty hair, so I asked her why. Turns out she was growing out her hair for the single purpose of donating it. Wow. I would never do that.

Then again, they couldn't make a wig out of my hair anyway :P

[HoneyMouse]

If anyone asks tell them you're growing it for yourself then planning to shave your head and wear the wig yourself

[Bene]

Donating hair is not an imperative, it's just a nice alternative to throwing your cut-off hair in the trash, if you're cutting it anyway.


i'd honestly rather throw it away

[lora410]

No one has ask me that question yet thank god!!!

[LittleOrca]

I have been called selfish for refusing to donate to locks of love. Yes, keeping a part of me is selfish (sarcasm). I have only nurtured it and cared for it and done what I can to make sure it is healthy, but sure! Take it! Who needs it? (more sarcasm).

After what LHGypsyRose said, I will have to use that in my responses and tell my mother about it since she is a Locks of Love brood mare.

Anyone else find it a little funny that to abbreviate Locks of Love you get LoL?

[Jessaka]

No one has ever told me to donate my hair. I think that's because my hair has never gone beyond my waist. I've never told anyone to donate their hair either. It does seem a bit odd, and if they toss/sell most of it, what's the point? I don't know. I only ever trim anyway, so I wouldn't be one to donate a huge chunk.

[Roseate]

i'd honestly rather throw it away

The landfills are always happy to accept your donation.

Though my local landfill does salvage things from the trash and sells them, then uses the cash to finance improvements to their recycling facility. So your hair may still not be safe from sale in the trash!

Probably is, though. I think they go more for furniture than potential wigs.

[Kerynna]

“We created this monster because people get so much from it,” said Madonna Coffman, the president of Locks of Love. “They get the attention. They get a warm and fuzzy feeling. They feel they’re going to help a child.”

A quote from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/06/fashion/06locks.html?_r=1

They feel it, they aren't actually. Nuff said.

Wow. That's interesting. I know a lady who grew her hair out specifically to donate to LoL, but she only grew the requisite 10 inches, and she was unhappy about it the entire time. She couldn't wait to reach the milestone of 10 inches so she could be rid of it.

I'm seeing her in a different light now ... and I feel kind of bad for her.

[janeytilllie]

I haven't been asked to donate my hair. I think its very unfair when people bully longhaired people into giving to locks of love. If the person wishes to donate their hair thats great! :D but to be bullied, made to feel guilty about having long hair then pressured into cutting is very bad! :(

I hated having short hair, so I wouldn't personally donate, I've heard rumors about locks of love that also puts me off.

[AJoifulNoise]

I've never been asked to donate. I think it's a combination of being kind of unapproachable and almost always wearing my hair up. If I were asked, I think I'd just stare at the person silently until they moved on to another topic.

[Carolyn]

i'd honestly rather throw it awayOh I so agree with you. If I ever cut off a donate-able length, I'd either keep it as a treasured memory or I'd have a little bonfire here at home and burn it. I do not like the idea of someone examining my cut off hair and deciding whether it's "worthy" of LoL. It makes me :shudder: to think of other places it could go. So call me selfish or whatever.

[Bene]

Oh I so agree with you. If I ever cut off a donate-able length, I'd either keep it as a treasured memory or I'd have a little bonfire here at home and burn it. I do not like the idea of someone examining my cut off hair and deciding whether it's "worthy" of LoL. It makes me :shudder: to think of other places it could go. So call me selfish or whatever.



i suppose i'm selfish, but i kind of see it as MY hair. i've developed a relationship with it, and i'm totally concerned with it's future EVEN if it's no longer attached to me. kind of like when the dentist removes a wisdom tooth, i don't want him selling it or giving it away to someone so they can make a necklace out of it. if i throw it away, at least i'm sure no one else will get it.


i've had a few major chops over the years, and i've kept it for a little while (getting closure, maybe?) and then slowly throwing it away in small strands over a long period of time. i just don't want someone else's grubby little paws (regardless of it being for a good cause or not) on it to treat it like a commodity. :(

[Dianyla]

If I average it out, I'd say I easily get 1 LoL/donate question per week. Some weeks I may get less if I'm wearing it up all the time. A single trip to the mall with any amount of hair down will easily bring in about 3-4 conversations asking the donate question.

The donation fad really got sensationalized about, hmm, 10 years ago? So, I'm guessing about 500 times in my life.

Extrapolating this one step further... If every single one of those conversations took 2 minutes of my time, then I've spent well over 15 hours of my personal time explaining I don't really care to donate, and don't plan to.

[MsBubbles]

How many people have suggested that you donate your hair to Locks of Love, and what is your initial reaction?
.

Ooh nobody has suggested it to me yet, but I'm looking forward to the day somebody does so I can thank them for it. :D I'll consider it a compliment because I'm sure nobody would suggest donating hair that looked bad, right?

So I'm sitting here on the side of the fence, looking over at all you folk who've had someone suggest this.

[adiapalic]

It seems that more people with remarkably long-hair get a lot more comments about Locks of Love-- and the more I think about it, the more I find it offensive that the first thought individual has in relation to someone with super long hair is "you should donate that--you know, since your hair follicles are healthy enough to grace you with such long locks."

It's sort of a passive way of suggesting that you're selfish for not already having donated.

I wonder, has anyone ever experienced a situation escalating to the point where a person actually becomes rude when you let them know you're not interested in donating?

[Kleis]

I've been asked often enough that I have an entire basket of replies, depending on the tone and method of the person who brings it up. The quickest answer, which avoids the whole LoL situation but still works, is to say, "If you see a person with very long hair, just remember, they have already been asked this innumerable times and have already said no just as often. So, please, save your breath."

It really does get annoying quickly.

[GlennaGirl]

Gird your loins; I feel a backlash against Locks of Love coming your way.


LOL!!!!!!!!!!! "Gird your loins." That tickled me. I rarely hear that expression.

Just had to say that...ahem, sorry, back to the topic, I guess!

[Dianyla]

LOL!!!!!!!!!!! "Gird your loins." That tickled me. I rarely hear that expression.
And I'm pretty sure I know where Spidermom got the expression! :frog:

[Magdalene]

I wish some of the more web savvy folks around here would put together a website detailing all the evils of LoL, with the documentation that we can point people to.

I get the comments pretty frequently, particularly in the last year or so (my hair has been long most of my life)

[Kleis]

LOL!!!!!!!!!!! "Gird your loins." That tickled me. I rarely hear that expression.

Just had to say that...ahem, sorry, back to the topic, I guess!

Whenever people say this, I get the weirdest mental image, so I finally looked it up.

Girding loins: This was accomplished by pulling up the fabric of the knee-length tunic so the length in front stopped at the upper thigh, and then collected and bunching excess material around one's waist. It to keep getting snagged or entangled. (No butcher shop involved, which was part of my mental image.)

Hmm, so clearly, "gird you hair" makes MUCH more sense for us!

[embee]

I've only been asked once, by a woman who *did* donate. I bet they didn't use her gorgeous hair either, because she is partly grey-haired. Oddly, she's never grown her hair back out again.

I told her I was growing my hair for *me*, I'd always wanted it long and now I was going to have it. She never asked again.

[Heidi_234]

Hmm, so clearly, "gird you hair" makes MUCH more sense for us!
LOL :lol: I like it! :D

Thank GOD there's no Locks of Love in here. Instead we've got plenty of waist length, hip length and further longer manes gracing the backs of women (and men) on the streets. *phew*

[Beatnik Guy]

Extrapolating this one step further... If every single one of those conversations took 2 minutes of my time, then I've spent well over 15 hours of my personal time explaining I don't really care to donate, and don't plan to.
Send LoL a bill for your time? Say at $30 /hour? :cheese:

I wish some of the more web savvy folks around here would put together a website detailing all the evils of LoL, with the documentation that we can point people to.
Why that probably hasn't happened is that, true or not, there'd be risk of a lawsuit from the LoLsters. :rolleyes:

[HairyCarrie]

That NY Times article ended with the LOL president saying: “A check would be easier for me,” Ms. Coffman said......

So if someone asks me to donate (still years to go!), I'm gonna suggest that a money donation would be better appreciated by LOL and direct them to the place where *they* can send it in.

:smile:

[Ursula]

I was trying to go through and update my links/information on Locks of Love, and I can no longer find information on their website about the number of hair donations they get. Would anyone else mind looking around and seeing if they can find that information on their website? Obviously, if trying to show the rate at which hair goes into wigs, using their own numbers would be the best.

For now, I've got the NYT article link for that bit:

How many donations does it take to make a hairpiece:
http://www.locksoflove.org/faq.html#Aa14

Q. How many ponytails does it take to make one hairpiece?
A. Six to 10 donated ponytails go into one hairpiece.

How many children have been helped?
http://www.locksoflove.org/history.html

The number of hairpieces provided has increased significantly since its inception. To date, over 2,000 children have been helped. Locks of Love has recipients in all 50 states and Canada and is working towards its goal to help every financially disadvantaged child suffering from long-term hair loss.

How many donations of hair does Locks of Love get?
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/06/fashion/06locks.html

“At the headquarters of Locks of Love in Lake Worth, Fla., the hair deluge — up to 2,000 individual donations a week…”



What does Locks of Love do with hair that is not used for wigs?
http://www.locksoflove.org/faq.html#Aa8

Q. Does Locks of Love sell hair? Throw away hair?
A. Hair that is short, gray, or otherwise unusable will be sold to help offset manufacturing costs. Locks of Love DOES NOT throw hair away unless it is wet and moldy or not bundled in a braid or ponytail when it is received.


6-10 donations per wig - I'll use the 10, to give them benfit of the doubt
"up to 2000" donations per week - I'll use 1000, to give them the benfit of the doubt
Over 2000 kids helped - I'll assume 2500 kids got wigs this year - over 2000, and all of them helped this year, to give them the benfit of the doubt.

1000 donations per week for 52 weeks, is 52,000 donations

10 donations per wig for 52,000 donations is enough hair to make 5,200 wigs

Hair for 5,200 wigs, with 2,500 kids getting wigs, means 48% of the hair is going into wigs.


Obviously, I've rounded very generously in Locks of Love's favor, and there is still more hair not going into wigs than going into wigs...

[atlantaz3]

Three times since I started growing mine out. It was usually asked when I explained what my length goal is. I politely told them - it will take me about seven years to grow out my hair. And if pushed I ask why they don't their home to a homeless person?

[Feline]

I get the LoL question every so often. I usually tell them, no, I can do more for sick kids by writing a check (which I do, regularly- I have two nieces with juvenile diabetes), and that is that. I just don't understand people who do this, I would never ask a woman with an obviously expensive purse if she intended to donate it to Goodwill. :confused:

[Themyst]

A loud talking manager guy actually cornered me last year in a convenience store and exclaimed something like, "Wow!" (eyeing my hair), "Hey, would you like to cure cancer?"

Now, he caught me off guard, I'm rather shy, and had no idea where he was going with this, so I stumbled out something like, "Ummm, sure."

He then announced,"You can donate your hair to Locks of Love ..."

The rest I heard or even remember was just blah blah blah because I was absolutely horrified at this man's strange behavior - and skewed thoughts - hair can't cure cancer! The idiot!

Good grief. I think I remember blurbing about the fact that I donate to other causes, then I slipped away - he was the kind of person that just kept STARING at you.

I mean, anyone can go around and set a standard - hey! I think your house is more than what you really need ... you should sell it, move into something cheaper, and donate your profit to help end world hunger! Or, I could hang outside of a Neiman Marcus and harass nicely dressed people - hey! Why don't you buy your clothes at a thrift shop instead, and donate your $$ saved to homeless shelters!

It's certainly maddening at times, but I try to remind myself that most of these people are well-meaning and just don't understand.

[JamieLeigh]

That seems to be a more recent thing, in the area that I live. I had never heard anything about Locks of Love at all, until fall of last year. And then after that FIRST person asked, it was like suddenly there was some sort of LoL comment at least once a week.

My explanation: people love to be a part of something. In this age of "joining a cause", that seems to be an easy way of hopping on a bandwagon and looking like you care about something important. Odds are, most of the people who ask me this question don't even KNOW anyone who is suffering from cancer and needs my hair that badly. I think they just see long hair and don't really know what to say in admiration that won't come out as a creepy comment. So they try to look well-informed and up-to-date. ;)

Just my :twocents:

[Kleis]

A loud talking manager guy actually cornered me last year in a convenience store and exclaimed something like, "Wow!" (eyeing my hair), "Hey, would you like to cure cancer?"

Now, he caught me off guard, I'm rather shy, and had no idea where he was going with this, so I stumbled out something like, "Ummm, sure."

He then announced,"You can donate your hair to Locks of Love ..."

Ha! I think I'd laugh until I cried if someone pulled that on me. Talk about misunderstanding propaganda to an epic measure!

[Themyst]

Ha! I think I'd laugh until I cried if someone pulled that on me. Talk about misunderstanding propaganda to an epic measure!

Yea, unfortunately, I'm one of those who think in retrospect. Since then of course, I've thought of a million snappy comebacks and corrections. When he did that to me, all I could think of was how to get the heck out of there.

[Kleis]

Yea, unfortunately, I'm one of those who think in retrospect. Since then of course, I've thought of a million snappy comebacks and corrections. When he did that to me, all I could think of was how to get the heck out of there.

Oh, it'd most likely be after I finished running through it in my mind several times, trying to find the logic and failing. I find the best comebacks are usually the ones I've had to use before, or have otherwise dreamed up in advance. (Next time someone tells me I should donate, I'll say with deep regret, "I can't--it's photoshopped.")

[lizzyjo]

Just one person so far.

My dad and I were watching What Not to Wear, and the hair stylest chopped a good 8" off the girl's hair. My dad said, "I wonder if they donate it." Then he turned to me and said, "Hey! You could do that!" I said no way and he didn't push the issue.

It makes me happy that my hair is visably long enough for people to comment on it.

[SimplyLonghair]

I guess the thing that bothered me the most was a child, where I work had her hair donated. WTH?
Yes she was unable to make a decision of that kind, so someone made it for her.
She had long gorgeous auburn hair, very thick. But I have always wondered since I found out what happened to her hair, what LoL did with it.

I never even told them about LoL at work, they wouldn't get it.

I have been asked and pounced upon with this question, sometimes I tell the truth about them, some times I just shrug it off as not worth my time. :shrug:

[howsitgrowin'87]

I've heard that Locks of Love is a scam too.

I bought a long hair care book from the UK (or that is at least where it was shipped from) and the man that wrote that book said that (and this is what he said, no references or anything, so I'm not meaning to offend) Locks of Love is in affiliation with the hair care industry, or salons for that matter (oh and by the way, pantene is affiliated with that Beautiful Lengths organization too, but I don't know anything about them) and that LoL might donate SOME of the hair to make wigs, but that most is thrown out and is a way to keep hairdressers and salons in business. It sounds very conspiracy theory and paranoid to me, but when you think about it, it makes sense. If everyone in the world decided they wanted to grow their hair out very long, hair salons would be out of business, or not very affluent. That's also why all the products out there cause damage and are so expensive, to propetuate their business I guess.

I don't know, it's just this guys theory, but I guess since then I've been pretty wary of Locks of Love and I'm sure once my hair's finally getting "long" to others, I will enevitably hear that fateful line "are you going to donate your hair to locks of love??"

[SimplyLonghair]

I did hear one thing that salons could do to save something. A hairdresser saw an oil spill and the otters and animals in it and though if their hair soaks up oil, so does ours. So he invented a thing that is made of woven hair and stuffed with hair. When it is thrown into oil it soaks it up like magic. He uses the sweepings that he collects and asks others to collect. That way even just trims help out.:p

[Heavenly Locks]

I haven't been told 'I should' donate but I have been asked "Oh your hair is long, are you growing it out for LoL?"

I just said "No, I like my hair long"

That was the end of it. There is NO way I would donate a thing to LoL. I have other organizations that I have much more respect for.

[RancheroTheBee]

Upon reading the numerous links, and complaints from people who are tired of hearing, "Why don't you donate?", I am growing an intense distaste for this organization.

By the way, I like the idea of hair being used to sop up oil spills. That makes more sense, and you don't have to have "perfect" hair to help out. Or even cut a lot of it off.

[Themyst]

I did hear one thing that salons could do to save something. A hairdresser saw an oil spill and the otters and animals in it and though if their hair soaks up oil, so does ours. So he invented a thing that is made of woven hair and stuffed with hair. When it is thrown into oil it soaks it up like magic. He uses the sweepings that he collects and asks others to collect. That way even just trims help out.:p

I like that idea, too. Perhaps LoL could donate the hair they throw out to this guy.

[Stevy]

Honestly? I doubt I'd ever have heard of Locks of Love if people didn't keep bringing it up on this forum. It's not an organisation with a big presence in the UK, where I live.

[jeniffer]

I just tell them it's a scam. And why should I donate my hair because I choose to have long hair? A lot of girls that tell me don;t have long hair themself. If they really think it's important they should let theirs grow! But mostly they say, but my hair can't grow that long! Then I give them the link to this site! haha.

[Beatnik Guy]

It seems that more people with remarkably long-hair get a lot more comments about Locks of Love-- and the more I think about it, the more I find it offensive that the first thought individual has in relation to someone with super long hair is "you should donate that--you know, since your hair follicles are healthy enough to grace you with such long locks."
And, here's a thought...since LoL admits that some of the donated hair is sold, isn't it likely that they'd seek to maximise income from sales? The most valuable hair would presumably be the longest (and healthiest, thickest) ponytails? :ponder:

[BranwenWolf]

I must have gotten a few dozen when I had classic-length hair. I did eventually donate but it was my own decision. Unfortunately I heard about the bad side of LoL after I donated. I won't do it again.

I haven't gotten any rude remarks yet, just someone at the barn saying they liked my hair. :) Maybe people finally grew up!

[Hay22]

This is the longest my hair has ever been (BSL), so I've obviously never been asked; however, I feel awful for the well-intentioned people who have been duped into donating! It's shameful.

My aunt has donated to them twice in the past 4 years and one of my coworkers has donated once every 2 years for the past decade. I don't have the heart to say anything negative when they bring LoL up.

[julya]

I always just say no when people ask if I'm planning to donate my hair. I don't get into an explanation or anything.

[Sissy]

It has been suggested to me by 2 or 3 people. One was the cosmetology teacher at a facility I work at. I just kindly declined.

[joyfulmom4]

I couldn't even begin to count how many times I've been asked if I'm going to donate my hair. It is not uncommon for people to not simply ask *if* I'm planning to donate, but to *suggest* that I should. As in, "you should donate your hair to LOL".

I guess I could find it irritating, but I don't really. I get a lot of hair comments in general and over time I've just come to see them as people's way of making small talk.

I work in an urgent care clinic so all day long I am meeting new people and talking to them in a fairly personal and private context, usually one-on-one. It's typical that we begin the encounter with some sort of small talk, or engage in small talk at some point along the way. It could be the weather or current events, etc. Often, it's a comment about my hair. And when you think about it, it's pretty predictable. It's the most striking and unique feature about me. So it's likely that someone will say something.

Often the comments are nice compliments. Sometimes they're the sort of "duh" comments we hear too much like, "gosh your hair is really long". Um. Yes. It is. And some people make the inevitable comments about LOL. They also ask how long it took to grow and whether I use a lot of shampoo.

I suppose I could be annoyed. But I choose not to be. I have enough aggravations in my life without wasting any emotional energy being annoyed by strangers comments, most of which were probably completely off-the-cuff and forgotten five minutes later by the commentor.

Smile. Say no. Then let it go.