Monday Postcard #26 – Why I Decided to Donate My Hair
If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram or looked closely on last week’s Monday Postcard picture, you will have noticed that I have a new haircut. While I did think I needed a new style, my main motivation for cutting my hair was that I had planned to donate it. In April 2017, I friend of ours told us that he was planning to grow his hair to donate them. His mother had been undergoing cancer treatment and he wanted to have a wig made for her. My hair was already shoulder length at this point in time. I thought if he can do it with really short hair, it is actually a really small thing I can do as well. I would like to share the process with you here, maybe I can inspire you to donate as well 🙂
How Long Should Your Hair Be?
It depends on the organisation to which you are going to make the donation. When I narrowed down two organisations in Austria, one of them asked for 40 cm (about 16″) and one for more than 27 cm (about 11″). The reason for really long hair is that eight to ten cm will be lost during the production of a wig: before the wig is made, the hair will be cut a bit to get rid of split ends and some part is needed to keep the final wig together. Die Haarspender, the organisation to which I made the donation, makes wigs for little girls who underwent cancer treatment or lost their hair due to other diseases. A big wish of those girls is to have long hair again.
What If I Dyed My Hair?
Most organisations accept dyed hair if it has not been dyed in different colours over a short period of time. Of course, it is better if your hair has not been dyed. But I would get in touch with the organisation and enquire.
Where Can I Donate My Hair?
You can go to your hairdresser of trust and then send the plait to the respective organisation. In Austria, there are some partner hairdressers giving you a discount if you donate your hair.
How Do I Donate My Hair?
It is important that you do not send loose hair – it has to be in a (braided) plait – obviously, because imagine sending loose hair via mail. Furthermore, you need to cut the plait off BEFORE your hair is being washed. I think the reason is also obvious – sending wet hair is probably not a good idea 😉 My hairdresser also measured the length of my hair again before cutting it to make sure that it was long enough. I was able to send a 35 cm plait.
It was actually really easy and I ended up with a new look I really like. I hope that my donation will end up in one or more beautiful wigs for the little ladies!