Thursday, November 18, 2010

My Hair Cut for Cancer

A few years ago, my aunt had cancer. At the time, we lived so far apart that I felt there was little I could do to support her.

I remember her talking about losing her hair, and thinking how fortunate she was that she could purchase a wig.

And then I realized what I could do.

I could donate my hair.

Last year, I decided that I would donate again. I start growing it, and growing it, and growing it, and today, we finally did the cut!


Here's my before shot. We did the cut at my cousin Laurel's fabulous salon:


And here I am after the cut! Almost 10 inches!
We gathered the hair in ponytails and snipped them off, elastics still intact.


After that, I was treated to a fabulous makeover!
Heather did my cut, and Laurel did my colour.


My ponytails were put in a baggie, and mailed to Pantene Beautiful Lengths.


I'm so grateful for this experience. I didn't know if it would be as profound the second time around, but it really was.

As I cared for my hair over the past few months, I realized that it wasn't my hair anymore - I was just taking care of it until I could pass it on to someone else.

In the past few weeks, I started praying for the woman who would get my hair. I don't know anything about her - her age, her looks, her background, her family - but I do know that she's going to be scared, and I know she's going to need faith and hope to get her through.

It takes 6 donations to make one wig, so my hair will join forces with the hair of 5 other women. I thought about those women, how different we all might be, how similar. I imagined having lattes with them and hearing the stories behind their hair donations.


So here I am, with my new look!

Laurel, Me, Heather

Many thanks to Laurel Richards Hair for doing my cut and making me feel fantastic! Laurel and her crew do an annual Cut for Cancer day each June. Be sure to look them up if you're close to Ajax, Ontario.

Pantene Beautiful Lengths collects ponytails and makes them into wigs for women who can't afford them both in Canada and in the States. If you're interested in donating your hair, please consult their site for all the details.

And a special thanks to my family for supporting me in this project. Gerald took a video, and I'll be posting that on the weekend. I'll also be making a page on my website and a gallery on facebook, so I'll let you know when all that is available for viewing.

And now, I just have to get used to using less shampoo!



4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your new "do" looks great Allison! And I'm sure the woman who gets your hair will be so happy she'll start singing just like you do!! Keep up the good work!

Amy Greer
Greer Family Singers

Anonymous said...

Allison, thanks for sharing. What a journey - a beautiful journey in every aspect. You look incredible and somewhere, another woman will look beautiful because of your willingness to share.
Susan

marianne gast said...

Both your action and your new look are beutiful!

Cynthia Broschat said...

Allison,
Thank you for sharing your beautiful, heartfull story with us, and for inspiring us all to go that one step further to be there for others. I look forward to seeing the video your husband filmed and meanwhile ponder how I, too, can be of such beautiful service. Thank you and bless you,
Cynthia