The View & Locks Of Love - What`s Up With That?

ok Dave, I will tell you why I said that WE all need to grow up.

Many people on the string were talking about the acts of LoL. How they pressure people to cut their hair, etc. etc.

I think WE all need to relax and realize that LoL does a lot of good for thousands if not millions of people out there. Not only thru the actual wigs but thru their support of people going thru this situation, families of these people and many more.

We need to stop worrying and bickering about what they do with the hair and start concentrating on doing something positive. Maybe we can all get involved. If not with LoL maybe with the American Cancer Society`s Look Good, Feel Good program. Or just with any worthwhile organization that you feel is doing SOMETHING to help out.

By growing up we will all help out instead of being childish and bickering and complaining. At least LoL is out there doing something. That`s what I meant. I did not intend to offend you and if I did, I apologize. I didn`t realize that people were so sensitive.

There exist two newspaper articles about locks of love I will present here:

The first is from People Magazine, the September 6, 1999 issue, in which the organization is featured. Here, it states that LoL had received over 20,000 ponytails, yet fabricated only 45 wigs. Each wig requires 12 ponytails. 45x12=540 total used ponytails as of that date. So what about the other 19,460+?

nobody there wants to answer.

Another article, from the Chicago Tribune, said that LoL receives roughly 800 donations of hair per week, and made 50 wigs in its first year of operation. A quick exercise in math reveals that 800/week=41,600/year. The article stated LoL made 50 wigs in its first year of operation and that about 100 were produced last year (and they plan to make 200 this year). A quick exercise in math reveals that 800/week=41,600/year, and 200 wigs at 12/wig=2,400/year used. 41,600-2,400=39,200 excess ponytails, also 2400/41,600=5.7% of donated hair goes into wigs for kids -- at most, 1 in 17 donations.

I wonder why they don`t try to gather hair from all this hair cuts that happen every day in the U.S.

Noone is asking if enough hair is available and how much is needed. Noone tries to get hair that is used for hair extensions. What happened with all of this hair? That may be douzen of tons.

For cancer patients I heard that the requests for help are to spend time, not hair. I can not understand why thousands of people appreciate hair donations from long hair beauties but doing nothing from their own. Everyone who appreciate this donations should better grow is own hair to te desired length and then spend it.

They need a douzen of ponytails to create one wig. And if the hair doesn`t match together?. How is the quantity that is really needed? To distroy long hair dreams from 100 or 1000 people to create one wig? Noone in the public seems to take care about the feelings of the donators and their friends. And social pressure is evident.

I never heard that such a nonsense ever happened before. I can only appreciate this religious organizations who preserve the long hair of their members.

wolfgang

Dear Wolfgang:

It would be nice to know how much it cost to make one wig for a child. How many people does it take to put a wig together and the process? How long does it take to make a wig? How many children are waiting for such a wig? Is there a difference in man`s hair or woman`s hair? Can you mix those textures from man and a woman hair? Is there certain textures or colors that are needed more? Is certain textures not acceptable to make a wig with? HOw many textures of hair do the human race have and would that be the reason that they can`t match hair that easily? For example would someone use my coarse thick hair that springs up with someone that has coarse thick straight hair? None of my friends have the same type of hair as I do nor vice a versa so that tells me that there are many many diffirent types of hair. Do they dye the hair or try to match it to the closest color. How long does hair preserve? What is the percentage of success in a perfect match? There is a million good questiions that we never get to know.

It is interesting to find out why the media feels that LOL needs all that publicity for more hair. I also wonder how great the hair`s condition has to be to be donated and if every ponytail is acceptable or too many of them are too damage to do anything with it.

At least your message is back up with newspaper articles and is very logical but what does the rest of the article say about LOL? Are they encouraging or discouraging people? We never seem to really get into the real facts to the reason why so much hair is not used or needed , you know. We go in circles and get nothing from it. WE have all sense one time or another all this anger against them but no real facts just guesses. Personally I have nothing against them except for the fact the message should be clear that if someone does donate hair it might not go to the child. It is their rights to be in business and it is our rights to say yes or no. There is no need to feel angry or whatever toward them. I am not saying that you Wolfgang is angry.

People have a right to donate and those participants should be advised before cutting that their hair might not be used. It would only be the fair thing to do. That is very important that the media and talk shows have to improve in providing all the facts. I have personally seen talk shows promote to donate to them but the real facts of their hair might not go to a child is never mentioned. One would think that something so important would be presented with tons of facts and reasons when they ask for hair for LOL.

You mention to destroy long hair dreams from 100 or 1000 people to create one wig

Well Wolfgang the strange part is not everyone that grows long hair has a passion about their long hair. It is something tough to understand but many people feel that long hair that they spent growing for years doesn`t mean all that much. That why you will see one day a person with long hair decide for a change of pace to cut it really short and spend time growing it again. Or people who don`t want to be bother to style their hair and just put it in a ponytail like a girlfriend of mine who would prefer to chop it right off and right now her hair is longer than mine. She couldn`t understand why I was so upset and feel so nude because six inches of my hair is missing. I am having a tough time finding anyone around me with empathy you know. People who really have this passion about their long hair is rare eventhought some are walking around with long hair and not have a passion about it. Maybe that is why so many ponytails are donated.
It is only a tiny percentage of people who really are passionate about long hair. In other words many times not all the time people have no feelings in giving up their long hair. It is no big deal for lot of them and we only see a small percentage that cry. Noone is forcing people to cut their hair and social pressure is present in everytihng we do in life.

You say that you can appreciate religious organizations who preserve the long hair of their members.

I have a huge problem with that. Any religious group that strongly encourage women to grow their hair is as bad as the social pressure that you mention to cut it. People should be free to express themselve.

I agree completely with Wolfgang and Dave Decker. The issue here is social pressure and consumer confusion.

Please allow me to repeat my original opinions about this hotly debated topic:

HairBoutique.com is a major supporter of charity work. We put our money where our mouth is for the fight against breast cancer. We donate money to Avon for the cause (see our front page). We also support abused women shelters and send donations of cash and extra samples of hair care products. We helped a Girl Scout troop in Pa collect hair care samples to give to women trying to get their lives together and get ready for job interviews.

A key word here is cash. If Locks of Love is supporting families dealing with cancer that is great. Fantastic. I am all for that. I admire that and support any worthwhile charity that does not harm innocent people in the process.

But stop pushing this social pressure of "chop your hair off for charity" stuff. I am the first one to say that everyone should wear their hair like they want to. I am over 40 and hear all the time that I am too old to have hair three inches below my waist. Excuse me? Who has the right to tell me that? No one, that is who. Do they tell me? Yes they do.

I get emails from people who see my hair on HairBoutique.com and tell me that I am being selfish for not cutting my hair for Locks of Love. Well first of all, I have chemically processed hair and it would not be accepted by LOL. Second, I send quite a bit of personal and private money to the charities of my choice. I don`t think people should pressure others to donate to any charity. It should be a personal decision from the heart.

So the same is true with Locks of Love. If they have enough hair then make it clear that they will accept charitable donations of cash. Or how about charity in other ways? How about taking sick kids to treatment to give their parents a break? Or how about donating toys for the kids.

No one is saying anything about shutting them down. Or that they should stop. What I have been saying is very simple:

1. Make the public aware of what they are really doing with all the hair so the public can make informed, key word is informed, choices about whether to donate their hair or donate cash.

I have had letters from women horrified to discover that their hair was probably NOT going to be made into wigs but was going to be sold. Don`t you think those people have a right to know where their hair is going? I think so.

2. Stop manipulating public opinion to encourage people to chop off all their hair to help, when money works just as well.

I have watched little teenage girls in the emergency room of hospitals literally starving to death because society has pressured them to be thin.

My beef with LOL is that they do not clearly inform the public of what happens to all the hair and they do not ask for cash or make it clear that cash works just as well, if not better for many reason.

You know why? This is a marketing ploy. Some marketing guru somewhere decided that getting women to chop off their locks for love would be a hot grabber for the news media...and they were right. But enough is enough.

I am not saying to shut down LOL or that it is not a good cause or that people dealing with cancer don`t need support. In fact, if you are unsure about that, read all the press we did to support the family HairBoutique.com adopted to support them in their fight against cancer.

Honesty is the best policy. Tell the public the truth and stop the social pressure of donating your locks for love.

Best wishes,
Karen

PS. This is my personal opinion and does not reflect the common opinion of HairBoutique.com. Just want to be clear about that. :-)

Dear Diane,

I know that not all long haired women want to preserve their long hair forever, I also think that most of them don`t take care about my opinion. Everyone should have hair how he/she want it. I also would argue against social pressure on women to wear their hair long (this religious reference I only used why there is a wall against hair cut requests, maybe this was wrong, I am sure that I have problems with events that happen insite).

What makes me sad is that the hearth for a great gift is used in many cases only for publicity interests of LOL or their front soldiers (including Oprah, L. Povich and others). Also the appreciation for the gift is often much greater as the real usefulness can be. I wonder that people are able to appreciate a hair cut as a great gift also they don`t have any feelings for long hair.

I think an organization that calls itself a benefit one should not made people unhappy, and this happens in many cases if I count only my readings in the web.

wolfgang