Locks of Hope Hair Donation Campaign

Nowadays visiting the hair salon at least once a week for a hair-do is quite a norm with some even changing their hairstyle once every two-three months from long to short and or from curly to rebonding straight.

But to those cancer patients, having their hair growing back is their only wish.  All cancer patients, in order to have a chance of survival, must go through a course of treatment called chemotherapy that not only kills the cancer cells, but also harms the normal rapid growing cells in the bone marrow, digestive tract and hair follicles.  Hence, one of the main side effects of chemotherapy is hair loss and not surprisingly this is one of the reasons some people actually refuse to go for chemotherapy as they fail to understand that hair will normally grow back within four to 12 months.  

While many would like to wear a wig which is the best choice or solution and again, the cost can be prohibitive too especially after spending so much for the medical/cancer treatment cost incurred.   

The Locks of Hope Hair Donation Campaign was recently launched to create a local platform that allow Malaysians to donate their hair through participating hair salons which will then be used to produce wigs to help ease the suffering of these chemo patients.



As mentioned by Dr. Saunthari Somasundaram, the NCSM President and Medical Director that wigs not only will help to ease existing chemo patient's discomfort but also encourage patients diagnosed with cancer to go for chemotherapy.
   

Photo Credits: Locks of  Hope FB

With the tagline "Look Great Feel Greater", the Locks of Hope Hair Donation Campaign is brought to Malaysians by MMIS Professional Hair Care in collaboration with its partners National Cancer Society of Malaysia ("NCSM") and Amber Chia Academy. 

Don't you think this is such a meaningful campaign?  And now let's look at what are the requirements for this hair donation.

Hair Donation Requirements

Donated hair must be a minimum of 8 inches long.

(Measure hair from just above the elastic band of the ponytail to the ends)

Hair should be freshly washed and completely dry, without any styling products.



Wavy/Curly hair is fine.

(You may straighten hair to measure)

Hair may be coloured with vegetable dyes, rinses and semi-permanent dyes.

It cannot be bleached, permanently coloured or chemically treated.

 Reason No. 1

It takes 8-15 ponytails to make a wig; in general, each ponytail comes from a different person and is a different colour. Even though some hair colours may look similar, including grey hair, each is completely unique.

Reason No. 2

For a realistic looking wig that has consistent colour throughout, donated ponytails must be processed and then dyed to the same shade. It is critical for each ponytail to absorb dyes at the same rate in order to create wigs of consistent, natural-looking colour.

Reason No. 3

 Grey hair, as well as some chemically-treated or permanently-coloured hair, does not absorb dye at the same rate as other types of hair. It is much harder to colour and, once coloured, fades more quickly.

Reason No. 4

Most permanently-coloured hair, once processed and re-coloured, is too fragile and breakable under the rigorous processing required during the production of a wig.

Once you have met all the above requirements, then move on to the following donation instructions.

 

 Hair Donation Instructions

 (You have 2 choices, you can either)

Go to a salon that has the Locks of Hope logo being displayed or normally stick on the glass door

and inform them that you wish to donate your hair and how long you would like to donate (minimum of 8 inches).  The hair stylist will then tell you if your hair is eligible to be donated, and if it is, they will help you to cut and send it to the proper organization.

(For the list of participating salons, please refer to the official website of Locks of Hope)

  

If you wish to cut and send the hair on your own, then you will have to ensure that your hair

• Must be clean shampooed and/or conditioned, without styling, hairspray or additional hair products.
• Gather hair at the nape of the neck.
• Create a ponytail with an elastic band just below where you want to cut your hair.
• Ensure the band is tight around the hair together after cutting.  If hair comes out of the band it will not be useable.  Use a second elastic band in the middle of the pony tail to help keep the hair together.
• Measure the length of the ponytail from the elastic band to the ends, make sure the hair is at least 8 inches long, donations less than 8 inches long will not be used. (see Hair Donation Requirements).
• Cut the hair just above the elastic band such that the elastic band remains on the pony tail after cutting and keeps the hair together.  Do not wash or style the pony tail in any way after it has been cut off.
• Place the ponytail, kept intact with the elastic band, in a zip-lock bag and seal tightly.  Please ensure the pony tail is completely dry before sending.
• Print out a copy of the release form from www.locksofhope.org.  Read and sign the release form once you have understood and agreed with what will happen to your hair.
• Send the ponytail and the original copy of the release form to any Locks of Hope Hair Donation Campaign partners.  List of Partners can be obtained from www.locksofhope.org.

Just as simple as that.  With this Locks of Hope Hair Donation Campaign, one can look great with their new hairstyle and at the same time help out those in need, isn't it meaningful. 

So hurry up for those who intend to have their  hair cut short, stop wondering and grab this opportunity to do something good, otherwise help to share this message out so that more people is aware of this campaign.

For more information on the Locks of Hope Hair Donation Campaign, please visit below site:

Locks of Hope Official Website: http://www.locksofhope.org/

Email Address for any enquiries: info@locksofhope.org