Keep cool with less hair

By Steph Slater, Contributing Writer

While most children are looking forward to keeping cool at the city pool or traveling on vacation, many children and others across the Gila Valley have found a new way to keep cool with short, fashionable bob haircuts.

Jaiden Barney, 9, left, and Shayna Robinson, 10, display their locks, which they grew for the Locks of Love program. Locks of Love accepts hair of any length to sell but requests lengths of either 8 or 10 inches to use for custom-made wigs. The wigs are mainly fit for children with partial to total hair loss due to a disease known as alopecia areata or for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Photo by Steph Slater

In mid-June, one 9-year-old girl decided to donate her locks to those in need. Although it took about a year, she finally grew out a long, blond ponytail of 12 inches for an organization known as “Locks of Love.”

“I was watching ‘Oprah’ with my Mom when I heard about it,” Jaiden Barney, 9, said.

Barney said she became very interested in donating her hair when she saw several women with very long hair have their ponytails cut live on the show. With the women’s backs to the audience, several beauticians with sharp shears in hand cut away at the locks of these women in unison. Although most of the hair donations came from grown women, Locks of Love’s Web site reported that 80 percent of its hair donations come from children.

“I hope my hair can help someone who doesn’t have any hair, and it doesn’t matter to me if it’s for someone with cancer or another disease,” Barney said.

Over the past two months, local salons, such as Alicia’s French Cut, EAC’s Academy of Cosmetology and Priority One have also seen an influx in children of all ages and adults donating their hair to Locks of Love or Pantene’s Beautiful Locks.

Both charities accept hair of any length to sell but request lengths of either 8 or 10 inches to use for custom-made wigs. The wigs are mainly fit for children with partial to total hair loss due to a disease known as alopecia areata or for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

“In one week, we were getting almost one customer a day who wanted to donate hair, and we’ve had at least a dozen over the past few months,” instructor Stacey Lunt of EAC’s Academy of Cosmetology said.

“We are getting several donators each month, and a few clients have been from the same family,” Alicia Ferrin of Alicia’s French Cut said.

Sisters, mothers and daughters have been donating their hair for those in need, according to Ferrin and Priority Ones’ Kerry Ryder. Some men and young boys are also getting on the spirit.

“We’ve seen quite a few customers wishing to donate their hair come in over the last two months, and some are still growing their hair for the cause,” Ryder said.

Locks of Love and Pantene Beautiful Locks prefer the length to be 12 inches or more of healthy, natural-colored hair for their clients. The hair is then passed down for little or no cost to children and some adults in need. Both nonprofit charities accept monetary donations from those not interested in giving up their hair.

“We currently have a mother and daughter who are growing out their hair for Locks of Love,” Ferrin said.

Although she did not donate her own hair, Kristen Barney was very much a part of her daughter’s donation.

“I was very proud of Jaiden for sticking with it, especially since it took so long. Most kids lose interest, but she didn’t give up,” Kristen said.

While she enjoyed seeing her daughter’s hair grow so long, Kristen said the proud smile on her daughter’s face made it even more worth it in the end.

“I think it turned into one of those life lessons of thinking about others and not quitting,” Kristen said.

For more information go to www.locksoflove.com or www.beautifullocks/pan tene.com.