Locks of Love?

[Kimberland30]

Did a search and nothing came up.

Has anyone donated hair to the Locks of Love? I have very long hair, it's almost to my waistband in the back and covers my "girls" in the front. The top layers are shorter to give my hair some body. It's also very thick and naturally curly.

I've been thinking of getting it chopped off for a while now. With it so humid here and since I've had the same "style" for a decade, I'm ready for a change. I'm going to talk to my hairdresser this weekend and see what she can use to donate (I'm thinking the lower areas of my hair that aren't layered, they should be plenty long enough).

What are your experiences with donating? Did you do all your hair, or just the longer areas?

[jellybeany]

My mom had always worn her hair long as in down to her butt long. When she finally made the move to get her hair cut short (above her shoulders) she donated it to Locks of Love. I don't have a lot of info (sorry!) because her hair dresser took care of all of the details, but I know she was glad to be able to help someone. I think its great because the hair would just be thrown out anyways and there are people out there that could use it. :)

[Mrs. M.]

I donated my hair when I got a long piece chopped off. They have guidelines on how long it has to be and how to donate... here is more information:

http://www.locksoflove.org/donate_hair.php

I tied my hair with a rubber band and had the stylist cut just above it, so the hair was tied together. There weren't any participating salons in Europe, so I just took the braid home and mailed it in later. I wrapped it in thin paper and put it in a ziplock bag inside a padded envelope for mailing.

[Sare79]

I donated my hair about 10-12 years ago. My hair was waist-length and I put it in a low ponytail and they chopped just above it. My hair was blonde thick and naturally wavy. They said they could make a few wigs with it, which was nice to hear. I got the rest of my hair styled into a chin length bob. I have never regretted it.

[Sazoo]

I haven't donated to Locks of Love personally, but last year I was at a salon where a customer with super long hair came in & said she wanted to do it. The salon people (it was a tiny salon) didn't have any previous experience with it, so they got on the Internet & read the info on the website. I think they printed out a form that has to be filled out & sent in with the hair. Then they measured her hair to be sure they were cutting off at least the minimum length that Locks of Love accepts (I think it's about 10") & put a rubberband in her hair to hold it together once they cut it.

The salon said they'd take care of sending in the hair & the form for the customer. The process seemed pretty straight-forward, & everyone in the salon was really excited that the girl was donating her hair to such a great cause. The salon owner even took her picture before & after the haircut. :)

Good luck!

[greenbunny]

Not to be a downer, but I've heard a lot of bad things about Locks for Love. Supposedly very few of the donations are actually given to children with hair loss diseases; the majority of the hair is sold at a profit. Also, children with cancer don't get the wigs, because according to LOL guidelines it has to be permanent hair loss and they say that after chemo, hair grows back.

I'll be back with some links for you to read to decide for yourself.

ETA: HisSpicy has some good links, some of those are ones I'd had in mind from seeing them previously. Here are more:

http://www.give.org/reports/care2_dyn.asp?733

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locks_of_Love

The Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance report, valid through November 2005, states that at the time the report was published Locks of Love did not meet all sixteen of its "Standards for Charity Accountability."

The report states that Locks of Love failed to meet Standard 11, which requires a charity to "[m]ake available to all, on request, complete annual financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles." Instead, Locks of Love submitted a compilation report prepared by an independent accountant. As a result, the WGA was unable to verify LoL's compliance with Standard 14, which requires that a charity "[h]ave a board-approved annual budget for its current fiscal year, outlining projected expenses for major program activities, fund raising, and administration." The report acknowledges that Locks of Love did meet the remaining fifteen Standards that were in effect at that time.

According to the latest report available on the Charity Navigator site (Fiscal Year Ended 11/04), Locks of Love scored an overall rating of 68.11 out of 70 (“four stars”).

[HisSpicy]

Here is a link to a long hair community on livejournal that has lots of links/discussion on the Locks of Love issue. I haven't read through them all- but you can use it to help you decide for yourself.
http://www.livejournal.com/tools/memories.bml?user=longhair&keyword=Locks+of+Love&filter=all

[PG-rated]

I looked through their info on the BBB website, and most of it is pretty good, actually. Their budget proportions are fine - 10% for admin and under 1% for fundraising are both below generally accepted maximums for non-profits. And $48,000 is a very reasonable salary for a CEO of an organization of that size. It's not good that their finances aren't completely transparent, but that's far from making them a scam, as some people in that LJ community were claiming.

Personally, I think if you're already planning to cut your hair off, why not donate it for a good cause? Why does it matter if it's being sold instead of made into a wig? You weren't doing anything with it, anyway, and it still helps children. Of course, if there are organizations out there that meet higher standards, then I'd support those first.

Edited for clarity

[clammyinsf]

i did this a few years ago. my hairdresser suggested it and all she did was but my hair in a rubber band and chop, chop! i sent the bound mane off and got an acknowledgement about a month later. great cause :)

[KK812]

My sisters both did this a few months ago. I wanted to but they will not accept color treated hair. The locks of love founder and her daughter were on the today show a month or two ago, and ann curry and a little boy both cut their hair for locks of love. Not that I'm a huge fan of the today show, but I doubt that they would endorse LOL if it were a scam. IDK, to me, if they help any kids, it's a good organization. I don't even see a problem with them selling some of the hair to offset the costs of manufacturing.

ETA: Just checked their requirements-it said hair CAN be colored but not bleach-but arent highights the same as bleach? IDK :p

[Kimberland30]

Great information ladies, I appreciate it. I'll read up on them to see if I want to donate, but I figure even if it doesn't go straightly to wigs for children, I'd feel better than having my hair put in the trash, KWIM?

ETA: Just checked their requirements-it said hair CAN be colored but not bleach-but arent highights the same as bleach? IDK :p

I read that too. My hair is highlighted, but only the top layers which are too short to meet the minimum 10". The hair I'm going to be donating is at the bottom of my scalp, where the longest hair is because of my layers.

I don't know if my salon directly participates in the LoL program, but if not, thank you Mrs. M for posting their website with the application so I can do it on my own. I also read that salons will have a sticker posted where they will cut your hair for free if they donate it to LoL. I don't recall seeing one at my hair salon, but I'll ask when I make my appointment.

DH is going to be shocked when I get my hair cut. I've been growing it out for YEARS and it's the longest it's been since I was PG with my son...who is now 14. I've wanted to do this for a while, and when DH's cousin brought up donating it, I made sure I grew it out long enough to give it away.

I'll post some before and after pictures of my hair. It's going to be strange going back to "short" hair again. Just in time for summer! :)

[SaphirimalMei]

I chop and donate every year on my birthday. I don't really have a style to my hair, so it just goes into a pony and they lop it off, and even it up :p I also read that salons will have a sticker posted where they will cut your hair for free if they donate it to LoL. The Great Clips locations in my town do this. I just walk in, tell em I'm donating my hair, they chop the hair, give me the form, I tip the person, and I'm on my way with a sack full of hair. Good luck with your new Summertime Do! :D

[greenbunny]

One of the links HisSpicy posted lists other organizations who do similar work.

Even if you decide that you do feel LOL is acceptable to you, you might want to see if there is an organization local to you that also qualifies. (I prefer to do my charitable work "at home" for smaller groups, whenever possible.)

http://community.livejournal.com/longhair/568090.html

[lawyergirl25]

I've been thinking about chopping my hair and this sounds like a good reason to do it. I found this organization with participating salons here in Ohio: Wigs for Kids - Hair Donation (http://www.wigsforkids.org/Hair-Donations/Donate-your-Hair-to-Wigs-for-Kids/Hair-Donation-Information/). Anyone heard good/bad things about the group?

[Phen]

I've done this twice; once with the post-wedding choppy-chop and once when I cut my hair short prior to starting chemo. The hairdresser suggested the donation both times and it really made me feel good. My hair was definitely colored, but it wasn't damaged so we didn't worry that it would be unusable to LOL.

~ Phen

[MurphysLaw]

Kim - I think it's awesome you're considering donating to LoL!! I did a major chop in December (about 13") and donated. I didn't think I was going to do a post baby chop or I wouldn't have cut 4" off just a month before that!! Mine was colored though, not highlighted(which is okay) and I just pulled it into a low pony and we chopped it right off. Also, my SIL cut it - she's not a participating member of LoL, so I sent it in myself.