Long hair is lovely...but did any of you ever think that you could use your asset for a good cause? I'm sure many of you have heard of Locks of Love, but in case you haven't here is their website: http://www.locksoflove.org/

Locks of Love is an organization that collects donations of hair and uses them to make hairpieces for children who have lost hair due to disease and cannot afford the very expensive hairpieces that are commercially available. With some of the impressive measurements many of you recorded, you could easily donate 15 inches and still have plenty left over for yourselves!

I decided to donate my hair so I've been growing it out for about a year...but lately I've become attached to my long hair and my friends and family have been discouraging me to cut it because they like how I look with long hair. Still, although I'll drag out the process a little longer so that I can donate as much hair as possible, I am excited about the idea that I can make a big difference in someone else's life with very little effort on my part. I plan to cut at least 10 inches this spring and will have very short hair for awhile, but at least I know my hair will grow back and be long again in not too long. Not everyone has that luxury.

Just something to think about...

Locks of Love is not looked upon kindly by many people.  While the idea sounds good, if you dig a bit deeper it's certainly not all that it promises.  For one thing, Locks of Love has questionable accounting practices.  Even worse, they sell and dispose of much more of the hair they collect than they actually use.   And did you know that most doctors recommend synthetic wigs for children because they are much easier for a child to take care of?  I recommend you and anyone else considering donating hair to this misguided "charity" keep your lovely locks and make a monetary dontation to a *reputable* charity that is searching for a cure for any of the horrible diseases that can result, directly or indirectly, in baldness.  Please don't be fooled by Locks of Love.

I agree with Rapunzel, Locks of Love is not the best way to help children with hair loss.  Their accounting practices do not meet the BBB standards and their statistics (donated hair vs hairpieces made) do not "add up".  Personally I will donate cash to groups that are more up front with their bookkeeping.  I've also been making cute hats for kids to wear who have no hair.

I'll be keeping my hair on my head, and using my head to come up with better ways to help kids.

I've heard that most human hair for wigs comes from India- I don't know if that's true, but I am really suspicious of "Locks of Love" myself.  I have a family member who has struggled with cancer for years, and if I was going to donate anything, it would be money to cancer research or my time to a cancer center.  I also agree with Rapunzel- human hair wigs are more difficult to care for, and that synthetic wigs are probably a lot easier for people to care for.

If you have decided that you like your long hair, and your family is discouraging you from cutting it, you should research "Locks of Love" a little more before you take such a drastic step.  There are other ways that you can contribute and still have the satisfaction of helping people suffering with cancer.  I do, however, applaud your unselfishness...  

I had a friend who donated to Locks of Love, for a while I wanted to too. But then i did research on Locks of Love, out of every 100 ponytails they get 80 are thrown away.  Would you like to donate hair with these odds? I would seriously consider this.

Wow! I had no idea...thank you for teaching me more of the big picture...I will definitely have to reconsider!

I hope you reconsider your screen name too, LOL!  :)

I'm glad we helped your decide to keep your hair, I donate to The American Cancer Foundation and to The Childrens Disease Foudation, this helps more than any wig made out of my hair can.