Thursday, January 24, 2008

A hairy topic

I love this picture. They were hanging out together at the Cub Scout Pinewood Derby. Evan was telling Corinne stories and she was giggling. The static electricity was ferocious that day and you can see their hair standing on end. It got me to thinking about hair and how it is a big part of who each of us are. How hair can define you, and make you feel beautiful. And how not having it can make you feel different, and not complete...
If you've read some of my previous posts, I've been touched recently by a few stories of cancer that have really struck me. My heart aches for anyone that is affected by a serious illness. And to have that illness out there for all to see, to not be able to just get away from it when a bald head is obvious for the world, well... that's just the icing on a crappy cake.

I happen to have hair that is thick and grows extremely fast. It is currently past my bra strap and always in a ponytail. (please ignore the pasty and pimpled face. It was early. I hadn't even had a shower or coffee yet.) I was feeling bummed about how boring it's become again (a problem for me with the fast growth, is that I have to continually get it cut to keep it shaped), so I decided to go for a new cut with some funky color and donate my long pony to Locks of Love. You need 10 inches of hair for a wig, which I have, but they will accept 8 and 9 inches for other pieces. So even a few chunks of longish hair can help. Check out their site and see if it's something you'd be interested in doing, now or in the future.
And hey! Maybe having short hair again will save me from pulling it out when these adorable faces above create messes like the one below... (a few days ago. Thankfully, it all came up. But I saw a PRIME picture for the blog immediately!)

19 comments:

Type (little) a aka Michele said...

My cousin has been undergoing chemo, and lost all her hair. Most of the time she just wears a hat or goes au natural, but her kids have asked her to wear her wig when she's with them.

It is weird how much hair is part of our identity. I have very long blonde hair, and I'm not ready to do anything different to it. Which is so dumb, it's just hair.

kimmy said...

I've had a few friends donate their hair to Locks of Love (even some of my friends' children). They say it was one of the best things they've ever done!

Glad all the paint came out!

Kimmy

SydneyDawn said...

That sounds like a great cause. I would donate, but I can't get my hair to grow that long. It gets too stringy and gross.

I probably would have had a heart attack over the paint mess. I'm glad it all came up though.

Beck said...

My hair grows freakishly fast - but I've been dyeing it constantly since I was 13, so I'm out of the running, sadly. The Girl donated all of her hair last spring.

Don Mills Diva said...

It's so easy to take something as simple as hair for granted but it really does play a huge role in how we see ourselves...

Jamie said...

I saw the picture of them with their arms around each other and thought "how sweet are they!" then I scrolled down.. :) So funny.

Good for you on the locks of love. My sister did it, and it was great. My hair is a dry split mess, no one would want it.

Gina said...

I donated to locks of love once. It felt great!

Love that last photo... nice to have proof that we had reason in losing our heads (hair).

Debbie said...

What a fabulous idea, to donate your hair. When hair is a big part of your identity, can you imagine the loss of that piece of you, do to medical treatment? I can't. And I'm in no way a vain person.

Tonya said...

Those two are so cute! Locks of love is a great organization.

familymclean said...

Oh my gosh to the mess! And yay to getting you locks chopped for such a worthy cause. You look great even pre coffee, better than me anyway!

Kamis Khlopchyk said...

I have been pondering donating my hair to Locks of Love to but it has to grow some more to get 10 inches. Yay for you doing it!

And oy, glad that mess was able to be cleaned. That was a good one

:-)

carrie said...

Good for you!

Make sure you give us a pic of your new haircut when you're done!

painted maypole said...

can't wait to see your new do. locks of love is such a great organization.

Dana said...

I donated 13 inches about 2 years ago. It was great. After I did it, TUCKER did it! I can't tell you how proud I was of my SON for growing his beautiful hair out to help others. He even endured a Halloween of being called Spidergirl! That didn't sway him....he kept on growing until he had 10 inches. It was great!

Phoenix said...

Wait, is that paint? Paint is horrible to get up.

Oh and no worries, I wouldn't delete you. :)

Kristi said...

Kudos to you for donating your hair. LOL is such a great organization. My hair is extremely thin, and so is my daughter's (poor kid), so I don't see us every being in a position to donate. Luckily, there are good-hearted people like you in the world to do it!

Alex Elliot said...

That's wonderful that you did that! One of my friends is growing her hair out to be able to do it. Between my highlights and my grays, they won't take my hair.

Christina said...

I've always wanted to donate to Locks of Love, but never have been able to get my hair long enough. It's like it stops growing when it gets past my shoulders.

And wow, what a picture. I'm glad the paint came out!

the dragonfly said...

I've given my hair to Locks of Love five times. My hair is thick and curly and it grows very fast...so essentially as soon as it's long enough I cut it all off again. I just cannot imagine being a little girl told she's not going to have any hair...

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