Saturday, January 19, 2008

Starbucks and a haircut

I've been growing my hair for three and a half years. I haven't had hair this long since I was in my thirties. In fact it was never this long even then. But the organization that takes donated hair to make wigs for children with cancer, requires twelve inches. Two other sisters in my community have donated braids in the past... it seemed like a great idea.

Mine is going to an organization called Wigs for Kids out of Ohio. They are not the only non-profit that accepts donated hair, but they do accept gray hair... which mine obviously is. Locks of Love is another one, but they've received a lot of bad press over the fact that they actually sell much of the hair they receive, supposedly to cover "overhead" costs. Well overhead costs abound in any non-profit organization, and the actual making of a wig requires a lot more hair than you'd think. Wigs for Kids suggests about twenty to thirty ponytails go into each wig and the production cost is about $1,500.

My braid comes to thirteen inches, and I believe it's part of the reason I've had so many headaches lately... all that weight pulling on my head. I remember getting hair cuts in the past that relieved my headache problems then, so why not now?

This morning I woke up with another splitting killer and could not drag my sorry butt out of the bed in time for Morning Prayer. When I finally stumbled into the shower at 9:00 I was still feeling the effects. I hoped all that steam would help. It didn't. Caffeine didn't either. At ten o'clock I called the hairdresser. I walked in at 10:45 and out again at 11:20, shorn like the proverbial sheep. Yes!! Next stop: Starbucks, for a real dose of caffeine. I feel lightheaded and wired... a good combination. Yep, I feel better already :)

5 comments:

merryn said...

Wow! Who knew you had so much hair hidden under your veil? It is great that it will go to such a good cause (both the kids and hopefully solving your headache problem).

Anonymous said...

Is that picture from your barnet?

Claire Joy said...

okay, anon... you're using a word I don't understand. I even googled "barnet" and came up with a "Borough of London."

But to answer your question: this is my hair... the braid I'm sending to Wigs for Kids. I scanned it on my flatbed scanner after I got home from the hairdresser.

Anonymous said...

Courtesy of urbandictionary.com:

big bushy hair like a pillow on the back of your head

Don't ask me how I know these things. I just do.

What a selfless act! Part of the reason I don't grow my hair(s) out anymore is I get migraines for all the weight.

Claire Joy said...

I"ve never had big bushy hair like a pillow. You mean like Rosanne Rosannadana? Yuk.