There are several options for those who would like to donate their hair in Michigan. The most well-known organizations are
Locks of Love,
Pantene Beautiful Lengths
and
Wigs for Kids.
Locks of Love is probably the most well known. They are a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under the age of 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. The recipients do not receive the hair pieces for free, but are charged based on the income of their family. Locks of Love require each donation to be at least 10-inches and sent as a braid with an application form.
Pantene Beautiful Lengths distributes wigs for any women suffering from cancer (for
free). Each real-hair wig takes approximately three to four months to create, and requires about 6 ponytails. As Pantene Beautiful Length wigs are created, they are distributed for free through the American Cancer Society wig banks across the country. Pantene Beautiful Lengths requires only 8 inches for each donation.
Wigs for Kids is another organization that offers wigs to children for free, however they do require at least 12 inches of hair in order to donate.
Which Charity Should I Use?
As you can see there are several different charities to choose from. The following
are some questions to keep in mind when deciding which one to donate to.
- Are you able to donate 8, 10 or 12 inches?
- Do you want your donation to go specifically to a child, or to anyone who needs it?
- And lastly, do you want to donate to a charity that charges money for their hair pieces, or distributes them for free?
Where Should I Go?
The truth is you can go to any hair salon in Michigan and have your hair cut when donating to a charity.
There are no special licenses or regulations, and you can pretty much select any salon in Michigan to go to. I
have participated mostly in the Pantene Beautiful Lengths program due to the shorter
8-inch requirement, and the fact that they do not charge recipients for the hair pieces.
Stop by my salon if you happen to live nearby and I will be happy to help!