I Have Yet To Donate My Hair…Until Now

When I considered whether to donate my hair, I was immediately accosted by a plethora of Google results on why people would never, or should never, donate their hair. Apparently this is a rather contentious cause that warrants further research.

Turns out there are several organizations whose reputations are less than stellar when it comes to actually delivering a final product to a person in need. I won’t mention them here, but I will highlight one organization that stood out to me for the work they’re doing.

First, how did I get here?

Along the way I was made aware of the real reason these guys, The Longhairs, exist. They don’t just help guys grow long hair, but they attach a purpose to it: growing their hair for kids who can’t.

Through what has become a beautiful charity partnership, The Longhairs has helped Children With Hair Loss provide over 600 hair replacements to kids who endure medically-related hair loss in 2023 alone—all this at no cost to the families of the child recipients. That’s unheard of.

To give a substantial hair donation takes years. We’re talking three, four, even FIVE YEARS of growth. That’s a long ass time haha. I’ve wanted to cut it, wishing for the days of feeling the breeze on my scalp, but I have persevered.

The strongest force pulling me toward the goal of donating my hair has been those kids. I had the pleasure of rubbing elbows with some of them at the Children With Hair Loss Charity Ball in early November, which has steeled my resolve even further.

At this event I got to hear from several teenage girls about what it’s like to lose your hair in the throes of adolescence, when the pressures of high school are already hard enough.

I got to hear from kids even younger, and their parents, about the fear they experienced when unexpected hair loss could have meant any number of different things. It’s a very scary feeling.

But I also got to hear about what it meant to them to receive a hair replacement. The confidence and sense of self it returns to them. They way it made them feel like themselves again.

Now say that again! If you’ve been on the fence, or mulling the idea of donating your hair, I hope my story of purpose and new-found compassion for this cause has helped.

Please consider joining me at The Great Cut, where we will attempt to break the Guinness World Records title for the most hair donated to charity—and make a difference for kids who can’t grow hair.