Whair should I donate my hair?

July 1, 2006 9:00 AM

Are there any reputable hair donation places?

I'm a guy who in a few weeks will have a good foot or so of hair cut off, and I'm looking to do something productive with it. I've heard of "Locks of Love", which supposedly makes wigs for children with cancer, but in searching for them on the net I found a lot of negative things about them and ther business practices.

So where to send it, then? I won't need the hair, and if it can benefit someone, that's great. But I don't want to get ripped off by a shady charity organization.

posted by barnacles to clothing, beauty, & fashion (7 comments total)

mr_crash_davis donated his coif to Wigs for Kids.
posted by Smart Dalek at 11:37 AM on July 1, 2006

Not to start an argument here, but the Wikipedia article you cite isn't all that negative. The main "complaint" is that Locks of Love sells some of the donated hair to raise funds instead of using the hair to make children's wigs. But (per the article) a lot of the hair people donate is unsuitable for making wigs anyway.
posted by La Cieca at 12:04 PM on July 1, 2006

Locks of Love sells some of the donated hair to raise funds instead of using the hair to make children's wigs

Who buys hair that is unsuitable for wigs, and what do they do with it?
posted by Shoeburyness at 12:41 PM on July 1, 2006

According to here, it's hair extensions.
posted by artifarce at 1:09 PM on July 1, 2006

Locks of Love doesn't provide wigs for children with cancer, they donate wigs for children with conditions that cause long-term hair loss, such as alopecia areata. (As sad as it is when a kid loses his or hair through chemo, it does grow back.) Where does this Locks of Love makes wigs for kids with cancer meme come from?
posted by desuetude at 4:20 PM on July 1, 2006

Who buys hair that is unsuitable for wigs, and what do they do with it?

The personal care product industry does buy hair for product testing, though I don't know if they would in this context. Factoid brought to you by some industry dude who came to visit a college chemistry class. True fact, they had a standing deal to buy their kind of basic, neutral hair from some French nunnery because the sisters never used any product in their hair except the most simple soap they made themselves.
posted by nanojath at 11:15 PM on July 1, 2006

Mrs. Plinth donated her hair to Wigs for Kids as well.
posted by plinth at 8:07 PM on July 2, 2006