Preface: This post has nothing to do with food, crafts, or tea. It has everything to do with HAIR! Hopefully you will forgive my off-topic post. I gotta break the rules sometimes, right?
I have been wanting to donate my hair for a couple of years now. Why you ask? Well I have numerous reasons. First off, it’s for a great cause; Locks of Love turns donated hair into wigs for children suffering from hair loss and can’t afford a wig. Second of all, I don’t volunteer as much as I would like or have extra money lying around to give to charity, so it seems like a good deed I can do at this stage in my life. Lastly, and certainly not least, I experienced the emotions of losing your hair through my mom, and having a nice wig made the process much more bearable for her. That and some really cute hats. The silver lining to her hair loss was a head full of curly hair when it grew back. After years of stick straight hair, she was so happy to have curls.
When I first decided I wanted to donate my hair, I found out that you weren’t allowed to have bleach in your hair. I have been pretty blonde in various stages of my life, so that hair needed to grow out before I could even think about donating it. The past few years I have been abstaining from the bleach and have only colored my hair on occasion. I talked with my stylist about when she thought it would be long enough to cut ten whole inches off without having a pixie cut. She thought by November or December of 2011, my hair would be ready. I was all for it until I realized the middle of winter is not quite the time to chop off the long hair that is keeping your neck warm. I decided to wait until March, just in time for Spring. I curled my long locks all of December because I was getting a little nostalgic about losing my long hair. I got over that extra effort fast and by mid-February, I was mentally prepared for the 10 inch haircut.
I walked down to my salon, Renaissance, and told Jen that today was the day. She has cut off hair to donate before so she knew the routine. Here is what my hair looked like before:
She braided my hair in pigtails and then it was time for the big chop. I was a little worried I was going to scream or cry, but I managed to contain myself and only had a silent freak out. After, I just stared at my disconnected braids while she trimmed what was left of my hair.
I asked her for an a-line cut with some fun layers. She did exactly what I wanted!
And it takes a whole 4 minutes to blowdry in the morning. I just can’t get over how great that is.
My hair looked pretty weird just sitting on my counter in a plastic bag, so I decided it was time to mail it in.
The same week I chopped my hair off was the same week I started my new career in Real Estate. Let’s see where this fresh start takes me!
10 Responses
Absolutely love it, Caitlin! You look gorgeous! Such a great cause to be a part of!
thanks Christine! I always think of your braids getting stolen out of your car lol.
Love it! The short cut looks really great on you. I had a cut like this when I first moved to new york. Its a good cut to start something new with. I’m inspired by your donation. I want to do it too. My hair is so long, it’s getting ridiculously witchy!
and yours is virgin hair! you should do it!
your hair looks really cute! and I’m glad you were able to donate
Hey Caitlin! Just saw you had a blog. So cute!
How nice of you to donate your hair! So sorry about your mom.
Your new haircut is really cute. Nice that it only takes a few minutes to do it in the morning. Perfect summer ‘do!
Thanks Natalie! glad you found my blog…looks like I need to check yours out too! Hope all is well with you are having fun wedding planning!
looks fantastic! awesome that you donated!
Style looks great on you!!! My daughter Beth and a group of her friends did the same thing a few years ago in honor of her aunt! She had the same stylish cut!
Love the new look! Very sophisticated yet trendy. Wonderful way to give back with your hair donation.
Melissa’s Mom