Updated at: 28-11-2022 - By: Sienna Lewis

If you’re going to donate hair, there’s no reason you shouldn’t already know how to cut it. Reason being, wigs are in high demand all over the world to hide bald spots in both youngsters and adults. Radiation therapy, chemo, Trichotillomania, Alopecia, burns, and other medical disorders are common causes of this issue. It’s rewarding to know that you’ve helped someone when they really needed it.

A variety of groups use hair donations to make wigs for those in need. There are many different motivations for donating hair that people have in mind.

Many people want to lend a hand to others who are struggling. There are those that do it for their own motives. Donating hair is a simple process for whatsoever cause you may have.

Who’s Eligible to Donate?

Donations can be made by either a girl or a boy. And there is never a problem with that. Donating hair is problematic since there is no standard for what kind of hair can be accepted. It needs to vary in texture from curly to straight to thick to fine, and more. However, bleached or coloured hair is not acceptable to organizations. For some, gray hair is also an unacceptable trait. This means that only the young are eligible to donate their hair.

How to Cut Off a Hair Braid Properly to Donate to Charity - YouTube

Who Will Cut The Hair?

Don’t be shy about enlisting the help of anyone who claims to be familiar with the hair donation process. If you’d like, you can always stop by a local beauty parlor. Reduce the length of your hair or try a do-it-yourself method. Carefully observe the instructions provided by the charity receiving the contribution.

Some of them want their hair pulled back into a ponytail or braid. Separated hair is preferred by some.

This will ensure a clean, even shave. After the hair is completely dry, it should be stored in a plastic bag. Avoid damp areas or it may mildew and become useless.

How Long Is The Hair to Be Donated?

Donated hair should be of a suitable length for the group receiving it. However, eight inches is the bare minimal requirement. The average length of donated hair is twelve inches, which is why most people got theirs chopped at that length. You can contribute any length of braid or ponytail you like.

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1

Cleanse and dry hair completely. Keep your hair natural and free of conditioner and other styling aids. Collect your hair into a ponytail.

Step 2

Ponytails should be fastened at both the top and bottom, with an additional band placed halfway (or at regular intervals for longer hair). Get your hair cut higher than the elastic band around your head.

Step 3

Afterwards, place the hair inside a cardboard or heavy paper envelope for recycling. Please send in the Hair Donation Form you filled out. Get the exact amount of postage by having your envelope weighed.

Step 4

Send your letter to The Little Princess Trust, 22-25 Berrington Street, The Hannah Tarplee Building, Hereford, UK HR4 0B.

Hair we can use

  • We only accept healthy, beautiful hair donations.
  • Donations of 16-year-old hair are our biggest need “Longer than 16 inches
  • Maintaining a height of at least 12 inches is something we recommend to all of our growers ” (30cm)
  • Hair, of any gender or ethnicity, that has been well washed and dried (please do not send us wet hair – it will not dry properly and is not usable)
  • In pristine condition (no broken strands) with a hue of your choosing
  • You can wear your hair straight, wavy, or curly. Measurements of curly hair must be made in its natural, curly state to ensure compliance with length requirements.
  • Hair that has been permanently coloured; hair that has been bleached or highlighted (*if the dye is a natural color and the hair is in good condition overall).
  • Ponytail/s trimmed no more than 5 years ago, provided they are well-preserved. Learn more here.
  • Hair from both the UK and abroad is welcome. Click here for details on how to send money abroad.

Sorry, we cannot use hair that is…

  • length less than 7″/17cm.
  • Colored artificially (for example blue or purple).
  • Hair with a semi-permanent coloring treatment.
  • Hair coloured with henna.
  • Our wigs are not designed to accommodate dreadlocks. Individual strands of donated hair must be combined as part of the process leading up to the blending itself. Each and every strand of hair ought to be easily detachable with a comb.
  • Hairpieces that are attached to your natural hair. Learn more.
  • If you’re unable to give a strand of hair, don’t lose hope!
  • Visit this link to learn more about how you can help LPT.
  • Gray hair all the way through (donations with a few grays are fine, as they can be shaved out).
  • Damp or wet hair.

Cutting & donating your hair

  • Make sure your hair is clean and dry (we cannot accept wet hair – it does not dry in the post and will not be suitable if you have dried it after cutting on a radiator or other heat source).
  • Keep your hair natural and free of conditioner and other styling aids.
  • Make a ponytail out of your dry hair and bind it with an elastic band at each end and a second one midway down.
  • Get your hair cut higher than the elastic band around your head.
  • Wrap the severed ponytails in cardboard or a thick piece of paper.
  • Please send in the Hair Donation Form you filled out.

Child Hair Cut: Hair Donation to Charity Locks of Love- Jade 2016 - YouTube

Important information

  • However, we are unable to provide any images depicting the wig being placed on the child.
  • There won’t be any photos of a wig produced from your hair.
  • A good long hair cut is fine, you don’t need a full beard shave.
  • Prior to getting your hair trimmed, give it some serious thought to make sure you really want to do it.
  • If you are under the age of sixteen, you will need your parent’s or legal guardian’s consent to get a haircut.
  • Our wig makers will make the final call on whether or not to use your hair.

Why Should You Donate Hair?

When Paul was consulting a woman in his private practice who was about to undergo chemotherapy for cancer, he started the donation program. At the end of the appointment, with tears in her eyes, her daughter, whose 40 inches of lovely blonde hair was her crown and pride, asked me if she might cut her hair to give to her mother for her wig.

Even though everyone in the room was crying, “when I witnessed the giving heart of this daughter to offer what she considered golden for the mother she loved, I was moved beyond the tears we were all sobbing at that moment,” he says. That’s where the inspiration for the Wigs for Kids Ponytail Donation Program came from.

Your decision to cut your hair could have a profound impact on the life of a kid or an adult who is experiencing hair loss. Loss of hair, whether from a serious illness or from less dire causes, may have a devastating effect on one’s confidence, yet wigs that are convincingly realistic in appearance can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Briefly put, you can expect your hair to grow back, but the memory of helping another person will last a lifetime.

How to Help If You Can’t Donate Hair

If you are unable to contribute your locks directly, please do not feel excluded. You can still contribute even if your hair doesn’t grow long enough because of things like frequent dyeing or processing. “There are two other very important parts of what it takes to continue to provide free hairpieces, products, and styling tools to the hundreds upon hundreds of children across the country in need of hair from all the causes of hair loss like alopecia, cancer, trichotillomania, burns, and other medical causes,” Paul explains. Funding and administrative support for the initiatives benefiting children and their families are the other two necessities.Making a financial contribution to these groups is a fantastic way to get involved. Paul explains that while hair donations are much appreciated, they only cover around 30% of the price of excellent manufacture, which has continued to climb. You can get involved on a more personal level with the group of your choice by taking on a volunteer position there.If you work in the hair industry or own a salon, you can help these organizations tremendously by forming partnerships with them. The “correct harvesting of the hair to collect the longest hair possible and preparing it to be transported to Wigs for Kids headquarters” is crucial, says Paul. That’s why we started the Salon Certification Program, complete with online tutorials and a social media campaign to urge people to “go the extra inches” to give the kids the hair they want, he says.

Some things to keep in mind:

 It takes time

Patiently letting your hair grow out is a process. When you break down how fast hair grows (around half an inch each month), the average person’s hair will be 6 inches long after a year. It can be time consuming, especially because the standard length of hair for donation is 8 inches. Yet, you shouldn’t let that deter you. Even if your hair grows at a slower rate, or if it seems to be taking an extremely long time, try not to give up hope! Take the initiative and resolve to achieve your objective. You can see that it had been at least five years since Goose last had her hair cut in the photo below. Not that it necessarily takes that long, but that’s how things worked out. She could have gotten away with cutting it much shorter the first time around, and she certainly didn’t need to let it grow quite so long again before she hacked it off again, but she opted to do it anyway so that she’d retain some length after the second chopping.

It’s personal

Many individuals feel compelled to weigh in on whether or not you should give the money you save from your planned haircut, and how much you should cut. Still, the ultimate say-so in what you do with your donated hair and where you choose to do it rests squarely in your own hands.

1 person can make a difference

It’s impossible to predict the results of a hair donation. Over the years, as my daughters have donated their hair, I have received many e-mails from people who were inspired to grow and cut their own hair, or who were on the fence about cutting their hair before being inspired by our daughters. In this way, you may make an even greater impact by supporting someone who may be suffering from a chronic illness and in need of a wig, and by inspiring others to give as well. In my investigation, depending on the organization, it can take anywhere from 8-30 ponytails to construct one hair piece. Wow! There are a lot of ponytails there. Therefore, it is preferable that as many people as possible be inspired by your actions.

Do your homework

Many organizations accept hair donations today (more on that in a minute). Even your hair has value. After getting your hair trimmed, you can style it anyway you like. It’s an individual choice, like I said. Inquire with friends and family, do some research online, etc. if you’re considering donating your hair. Give it to a cause you care about. You are trusting the organization to accomplish what it says it will do since, let’s be honest, you will never know who gets your hair or see the wig it helps build. I’m not advocating blindly sending information anywhere; rather, you should consider where it will be most useful.

It’s about giving

The question “What’s in it for me?” appears to be the prevailing one in today’s society. However, that’s not always the case. Cutting off your hair to donate it is a selfless act in more ways than one. Except for the satisfaction of helping another person, there is no benefit to you. The greatest reward of all comes from the knowledge that you have helped another human being, and that your action has a positive impact on the world. It’s crucial that you refrain from passing judgment on other people. One’s freedom of choice should include the option to cut one’s hair for financial gain. The same holds true if someone gets a haircut but doesn’t want to donate their hair.

Places you can donate

You’ll find a brief summary of the few groups I know of that collect hair specifically for wigs below. Donation is an act of personal decision, so keep that in mind. If you want to join a certain group, but aren’t sure what length or kind of hair they prefer, check their website to see what rules they have in place. To go to the group’s website, simply click on the name.

While the American Cancer Society can’t take hair donations, they do recommend the organizations that come in at #1 and #2 on our list.

Hairpieces for Children.org

Children and teenagers under the age of 18 who have had medical hair loss are eligible to receive a custom-made wig from this company. No dyes, bleaches, or highlights are allowed, and you must have at least 12 inches of natural hair. For further details, please visit their website.

COVID-19 Has Caused Hair Donation Rates to Rise | Allure

Pantene Beautiful Lengths creates wigs for cancer patients who have lost their hair. Eight inches or more of natural, untreated hair is required.

Because medical conditions can cause hair loss in young people, they provide wigs and other hair replacement options for those under 21. Within their parameters, they require hair to be at least 8 inches in length and unbleached or unhighlighted. Hair must be pulled back into a ponytail or braided.

And although though I’m aware that there have been some recent negative media reports about the Locks of Love group, I’m still going to list it. As before, your decision as to which organization to support is entirely up to you. They also produce wigs for young people under 21 years old who have permanent medical hair loss. They need a minimum of 10 inches of natural, unprocessed hair.

The Childhood Leukemia Foundation offers one-of-a-kind wigs created from real human hair. Further, they need a length of unprocessed hair that is at least ten inches long.

As one of our UK readers recently reported, her daughter had made a donation to the Little Princess Trust, which provides wigs to children in the UK who lose their hair as a result of cancer treatment.

Donating is greatly appreciated, and I encourage you to look into other options.

If you’d rather aid folks in your own state or region than on a national scale, there are regional options available.

FAQs

Why donate?

Reason being, wigs are necessary for both children and adults who have had temporary or permanent hair loss as a result of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, alopecia, trichotillomania, burns, and other medical conditions. And because it’s rewarding to know that your assistance has made a difference to someone else’s life.

Who can donate?

The gender of the baby is irrelevant. Also, the texture of your hair (straight, wavy, fine, thick, etc.) is generally unimportant. However, most groups won’t accept coloured or bleached hair, and many others won’t take grey locks, limiting participation mostly to the young. Be sure to research the regulations of each company, though.

How much hair has to be cut off to donate?

Again, it varies every group, but I found that the smallest donation was 8 inches and the largest was at least 12 inches. The length of the ponytail or braid that is donated is completely up to the donor.

Who can cut your hair?

Based on my research and experience, I believe you can have your hair cut by anyone. To get it shaved off, you can visit a barbershop or, if you’d like, you can shave it off yourself. Basically, all you have to do is adhere to the rules established by the charity that accepts the money. If you want your hair trimmed evenly, some stylists prefer to work with it in a single ponytail or braid, while others would rather work with it in various pieces. Don’t forget to make sure the hair is totally dry before putting it in a sealed bag to mail. If it rains, the hair will mildew and become unusable.

Conclusion

It feels like a life-altering choice to learn how to trim hair for donation. It’s a kind gesture that can actually make a difference. It’s a boon for groups who collect hair for charity. In the end, it will help those who need it most to have their lives transformed. Read how many lives are saved by organ donation and what is automatic blood donation to learn more about the donation process. I appreciate you taking the time to read this! Hold tight until we meet again!