Ready for more than a trim, and want to do good with your new ‘do?
Here’s everything you gotta know about how to donate hair.
But many people experience dramatic hair loss that strips them of this luxury.
This was difficult forSuzanne Chimera to stomach as a long-time employee at Manny Roberts Hair Replacement in New York.
The expense is a burden, adding insult to injury.
They saw their donation make a difference.
Suzanne Chimera is a cosmetologist and the co-founder of Hair We Share, an organization which collects donated hair to make wigs for those struggling with medical hair loss.
Hair We Share, for example, cannot accept hair thats been bleached.
The reason is that bleached hair compromises the interior of the hair, Chimera says.
Required length likewise varies by organization but in general, its significant.
This is because it takes a lot of hairsometimes up to five or six donationsto make one wig.
When we make a wig, the hair is folded for sewing, Chimera exlains.
Each hair becomes two hairs in a wig [which shortens it].
Split ends should be trimmed in advance to best determine the donated length.
This is so it stays in the direction of growth, she says.
If the hairs are reversed from the direction of growth, the cuticles tangle and it becomes unusable.
Suzanne Chimera is a cosmetologist and the co-founder of Hair We Share, an organization which collects donated hair to make wigs for those struggling with medical hair loss.
Instead, the hair should be divided into several ponytails or braids.
The more ponytails, the more length we get, says Chimera.
Much of the rest of the hair will be too short.
For reference, four ponytails, or braids, is a good number.
And if youre anxious about messing up, most salons are prepped for pro donation cuts.
It costs us $145 [per wig] from received to recipient, says Chimera.
Before 2019, she says, the company was able to make up the difference with fundraising events.
Now, however, hair donations exceed fundraising efforts by thousands of dollars.
Giving money can help to offset such disparities and ensure charities like Hair We Share thrive.
After all, these charitable products require a significant labor of love.
It takes 50 hours to make one wig, says Chimera.
Where to donate your hair
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