Locks of Love: Your Hair Can Help

Long hair getting you down? If you happen to be in Florida, make a kid happy by giving them your hair!

Locks of Love, a charity organisation in Lake Worth, Florida, will take your donated locks and process the hair, turning them into hairpieces for children suffering from medical hair loss, but who are unable to afford the expensive wigs.

They accept clean, unbleached or chemically undamaged hair at a minimum length of 10 inches (25cm) and bundled in a ponytail or braid.

Even hair cut years ago is usable if it is stored in a ponytail.

Donated hair that arrives in the Locks of Love office are sorted for length and then shipped to the manufacturer, who puts the hair by hand through a hackle. This removes the short, unusable hair, leaving the desired full-length hair for use.

Each hairpiece requires six to 10 ponytails, costing between €3,000 and €5,000 for the cost of processing.

Any unused hair is sold at fair market value to offset the cost of manufacturing.

Once the hair is processed, it is sent to a factory in Indonesia.

A foam head block is prepared from a mould of the child’s head and also sent to the factory. From this, a surgical silicone skullcap is made, coloured to match the child’s skin tone.

Each piece of hair is injected with a special needle into the silicone cap, about 150,000 times for one hairpiece. The hair is then sealed into the base with another layer of silicone. This step takes the longest, taking up to six to eight weeks.

Once ready, it is sent to the child’s home, where it can be worn in for a day or two. The child can then go to a hairdresser who will cut in a complimentary style.

The majority of all hair donated comes from children wanting to help other children. The hairpieces are vital in restoring self-esteem in children suffering from hair loss, so that they can face the world with confidence.