​Hair and How To Donate Your Own Newly Cut Locks to Benefit Cancer Victims

Last year my son had reached the point where he knew it was time to cut his hair and gather it for donation into the system where it could be transformed into a wig for cancer patients who had lost their hair to chemo and radiation treatments.  I’m not kidding, he was both distraught at giving up his hair like Sampson was, and he was also ecstatic at giving his locks to someone who would need and appreciate the hair.
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It takes anywhere from eight to fifteen ponytails and it needs to be a substantial length to create the foremost real-hair wig.  The cancer treatments affect, both, men and women, as well as children, but it is the women who require the wigs most.  It is a simple act of kindness and generosity, and one that changes fortunes of a patient undergoing treatment. Hair is somehow sacred to us and harder to give up than you might think. That helps define the donation and how patients gratefully receive such a gift.   

If you check around, you will find ways to donate your hair and in particular, Procter & Gamble Canada, who is partnering with the Canadian Cancer Society, has launched the Pantene Beautiful Lengths campaign which has been underway since 2007. We all know Canadians are generous and collectively have donated more than 70,000 ponytails which have been made into wigs; the result being felt in incredible ways, helping many cancer stricken women find their confidence and self-worth again.

Pantene Beautiful Lengths accepts hair donations, creating real-hair wigs and distributes them to Canadian Cancer Society wig banks across Canada. This program works incredibly well because there is no cost to the Cancer Society or to the individuals who need and receive these wigs. If you are in any way considering a new hair style and cutting an amount of hair that will provide ponytails, you need to consider the Pantene Beautiful Lengths program as a generous and satisfying way to support someone on a cancer journey.  
If you’re thinking about donating your hair, here’s how it works:
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Please call us at Shear Convenience for advice and an overview of what you need to do.  We will cut your hair perfectly once you have prepared your hair as follows: 
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• Hair must be a minimum 8 inches in length;
• Hair must be clean, dry and protected, not swept off the floor;
• Hair should be natural, not be chemically treated (bleach, colour or perm);
• Hair cannot be more than 5% gray;
• Making the cut:  In case we are not performing the snipping);
• You need to clean, shampoo and/or condition hair, without any styling, hairspray or additional hair products;
• Gather hair at the nape of the neck and gather to make a ponytail, keep gathered with an elastic band;
• Ensure the band is tight to keep the hair together after cutting. In spite of the effort that goes into the donation, it won’t be included if it comes out of the band.  Think of adding a second band in the middle to guarantee hair does not come out, but keep that first band just below where you are planning to cut;

​Before you cut, take a measurement from the line you are cutting (immediately below the elastic band), to the ends of the hair, make sure it is long enough, otherwise wait a bit longer before cutting your hair for donation.  Measure the length of the ponytail from the elastic band to the tips, making sure it’s at least 8 inches long. Donations shorter than 8 inches will be wasted unfortunately as it cannot be used; it’s too short to make a wig.  
We will cut the hair just above the elastic band so that the elastic band remains on the ponytail after cutting and keeps cut hair together, then we will style your new short hair as you request. We will not treat the ponytails in any way.  Your hair will be zip-locked to stay clean, dry and fresh and will be sent in your name in a padded or plastic envelope to its destination for wig creation.