This was sent to me by one of my best customers who has turned into a good friend over the years.  She is as appalled by this as I am.  I say we boycott Matrix, LOL!  Apparently we can add them to the list of companies that have been snowed by Locks of Love (and I'm sure have figured out that short hair requires many more styling products and salon visits).  I've removed the entry information because I refuse to contribute to this nonsense in any way.

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Matrix is searching for people with long locks and big hearts to donate a minimum of 10 inches of hair to Locks of Love. Locks of Love is a non-profit organization that provides hair pieces to financially disadvantaged children under the age of 18 who suffer from alopecia areata, a highly unpredictable autoimmune skin disease that causes the hair follicles to shut down resulting in the loss of hair on the scalp and elsewhere on the body. The organization creates custom-fitted prosthetic hair pieces that help restore lost self-esteem and confidence, enabling these children to face the world and their peers.

If you meet the required qualifications for the search, you'll be entered in the Search for Rapunzel Contest. One winner will receive a trip for 2 to NYC, tickets, and a backstage tour of the Tony Award-Winning musical, Hairspray. In addition, the winner will receive a makeover from Matrix that will appear on Main Floor, the nationally syndicated beauty and fashion television program. See below for contest guidelines.

Participants should be at least 13 years of age, minors will need their parents' or legal guardians' permission. Hair should measure a minimum of 10 inches from base of ponytail to end of ponytail and cannot be chemically damaged. Weaves or extensions are not suitable.

<ENTRY INFO DELETED>

2003© CondéNet, Inc.

What is Matrix?

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Matrix is a salon brand of hair products.

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The problem is they sell the hair elsewhere, throw a lot of it away and have questionable accounting practices.  They only *seem* like they are doing the right thing.

[quote author=Rapunzel The problem is they sell the hair elsewhere, throw a lot of it away and have questionable accounting practices.  They only *seem* like they are doing the right thing. [/quote]

Good to know!

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They don't provide annual financial statements, so it is hard to say.  They claim to have a small staff.  The bigger issue for me, is the fact that only a very small percentage of the donated hair is actually used in the hairpieces for kids.  Most of the hair donated is sold.  Now granted, they need cash to cover salaries and the cost of making these hairpieces, but from what I can calculate from the numbers they provide, they have a HUGE cash overflow.

I think the hair salons and now Matrix are "supporting" LoL because it "looks" like a good charity for them to support when in reality, by encouraging people to cut their hair, that person has just entered the "I need to have my hair done every 6 weeks" world, which benefits the salons and hair product industry.

I don't doubt that the children that receive the hairpieces from LoL are very appreciative.  I don't see any problem with someone who had planned on cutting their hair donating it to such a cause.  But I don't appreciate the methods that are sometimes used (shaming long haired people into cutting) or the lack of responsible financial accounting of their operations.  I will not be donating money or hair to these people.

I thought you meant the movie for a moment and got scared - one of my fav movies!

M