Youngster loses five ponytails for a good cause
Published: September 28, 2006
A bottle of shampoo will go a long way for Kelsey Middleton now that she’s modelling a much shorter haircut.
The nine-year-old decided to lose part of her long thick hair, contributing five 14-inch ponytails after a visit to Great Clips For Hair in Courtenay.
Why lose her hair?
“So kids can have wigs who don’t have hair. I got the idea from Cops for Cancer,” the soft-spoken Puntlege Park Elementary School fourth-grader said.
“When the first (ponytail) was cut I was kind of happy, but at the same time I was nervous.”
With support from her mom Christine, who was there recording the haircut on a digital camera, Kelsey had second thoughts about the hair loss momentarily.
“Jokingly, I said I didn’t want to have my hair cut anymore … then I laughed.”
The ponytails are being donated to Locks for Love, which is a well-established non-profit organization dedicated to collecting donated hair for children’s wigs.
This group provides custom-made and fitted wigs to children who suffer from long-term medical hair loss, such as kids undergoing chemotherapy for cancer.
“Kelsey was especially excited to know she’d be helping other children,” said proud mom.
Hair the length provided by Kelsey is ideal for wig making. Shorthaired boy’s wigs are made from shorter lengths separated from longer ponytails or braids.
While her hair is short now, Kelsey said she’s back to growing it long so she can contribute hair in another year.
What was the reaction from classmates and family?
“My friends, they thought I looked cute. My teacher from last year said, ‘Oh, Kelsey, you look so cute.’ My dad didn’t recognize me.”
Once her father did recognize the new-look Kelsey, she said his comment was, “Good job … it looks fantastic.”
Kelsey’s hairdresser bagged the five ponytails and has since shipped it to Vancouver where the wig makers will put it to good use.
While chemotherapy is the best-known reason for children’s hair loss, it does not cause a permanent loss of hair. After the treatment is over, hair almost always grows back within three to six months.
Locks of Love notes that most of the children they help say wigs are a great boost to the children’s self-esteem.
The Canadian Cancer Society helps people living with cancer find wigs and other types of headwear when they experience hair loss as a result of cancer treatment. However, they do not collect it.
If you are thinking about donating your hair, the following conditions apply to hair donations:
• Hair must be clean and dry and not swept off the floor.
• Hair must be a minimum length (this length varies based on a specific hair donation program’s requirements).
• Hair should not be chemically treated (bleach, colour or perm).
• Hair should be bundled in a ponytail at both ends or a braid.
Since it takes approximately 12 donations of unprocessed hair and costs about $1,200 to craft a single hand-sewn wig for a child, for Kelsey it is not possible to find out or meet the person who receives a wig made with her hair.
Besides Locks for Love, there are two British Columbia-based companies accepting donations of human hair for the manufacture of wigs for cancer patients.
Eva and Company Wigs on West Broadway in Vancouver will accept hair via Canada Post, with the minimum requirement being eight inches. Do not braid the hair.
Burnaby-based Havana Technical Hair Design also accepts hair through the mail. Again, do not braid the hair, which must be a minimum of nine inches in length.
Kelsey is not the only local youngster who has donated her hair, losing it to the clippers for a worthy cause.
Besides raising more than $1,000, Aleasha Wiebe will lose her hair Thursday during a pancake breakfast at Thrifty Foods as part of a visit with the Tour de Rock Cops for Cancer riders.
The ride features two local police officers, Comox Valley RCMP Const. Cara Gillis and 19 Wing MP Cpl. Ralph Dickmeis.
Black Creek’s Ashleigh Von Kampen donated her thick mane of hair, too. The sixth-grader had it cut today at Horse Feathers at the Miracle Beach Landing.
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