As a young lady, I would hate to add up all of the hours I spend on my hair. Washing, conditioning, blow-drying, straightening and styling consumes a large amount of time, day in and day out.
Yet women and men alike take great strides to ensure their hair is perfect.
A bad hair day is a terrible nightmare, but a great hair day instills confidence.
Styles change with the seasons. If only the fashion world would glorify straight and curly hair at the same time, then we all might be at ease.
Women spend hundreds of dollars every year to change hair color, texture and length. I go through countless bottles of products and will throw my money at anything that promises a sleeker look.
Hair is a prized possession.
But what would it take for women to give up all of their hair?
What if it made a critically ill child happy?
Several organizations accept natural human hair donations and use them to make wigs for children who undergo chemotherapy.
Children receive the wigs for a small fee or for free, depending on their financial needs. The recipients gain the confidence of a good hair day and, in a way, have their childhood given back to them.
The charities Locks of Love, Wigs for Kids, Pantene Beautiful Lengths and Angel Hair Foundation all provide wigs for children battling cancer and other diseases that often result in hair loss.
Many hair salons will help with hair donation. At the donation site, hair must be clean, dry and kept off the floor.
Colored and permed hair are accepted by some of the charities.
At half an inch a month, it takes about a year and eight months to grow the minimum 10 inches of hair required to donate to most of the charities.
I shook off my nerves, and made an appointment to cut off 10 inches of my hair.
Never having had hair shorter than shoulder-length, I underwent this drastic change knowing that my hair meant nothing compared to a child’s smile.
I took a deep breath when I sat down in the cushy salon chair and watched as the stylist undid the bun on top of my head.
I knew it would be months before I could wear it like that again. Then, she separated and secured my hair into pigtails.
While still occupied with small talk, the stylist took her sharp shears and began to cut away the hair just under my ear.
I felt the weight of my hair vanish and could hardly bring myself to look in the mirror.
She made her way to the other pigtail. I closed my eyes and tried to imagine what I looked like.
Moments earlier, I could have run my fingers through my hair down to my waist.
Now, it ended halfway down the nape of my neck.
In the moments after the final snip, I was in shock.
Then, I felt purely excited.
I was able to make a difference in a courageous child’s life using something I already had.
It doesn’t take a big commitment to be a hero.
People often think only the biggest contributions are meaningful, but it’s the small offerings that add up to the greatest impacts.
Abby Wolz is a health science freshman at UF. Her column appears on Thursdays. You can contact her at opinions@alligator.org.
