Donating my hair to charity

I had been growing my hair for years, ever since I last had a bob in about 2006 I think! I always wanted my hair to be long enough to cover my boobs at the front, something about Daryl Hannah in Splash being able to keep her modesty hidden that way was ingrained in me. After years of growth I finally made it but towards the end of last year it was starting to irritate me. It got caught on everything, it was in the way in bed and took ages to wash and dry.

By the way, if you are trying to grow your hair, mine really started to grow quicker when I managed to cut my hair washing down from every two days to every three days - just a little tip for you there.

So a couple of months ago I started toying with the idea of a long bob or lob as it is also known. Shorter hair seemed to be the way the fashion world was heading and for once I was ahead of the game. Cheryl Fernandez-Versini and Kim Kardashian copied me don't you know!? :)

In the build up to getting the chop, I mentioned it to a lady at work and she told me about hair donation. I didn't really know anything about it and I didn't think I had enough to give away. But I did some research into it and came across Little Princess Trust - a charity to provide real hair wigs to children suffering hair loss. The minimum length they could use was 7 inches and I think I had almost 8 chopped off in the end. All you have to do is mention it to your hair dresser, then they tie it in a pony tail and cut that off so its all tied together ready to be donated.

Getting scared, on the day of the cut

My pony tail

I was so nervious on the day, but excited at the same time. Once that ponytail was cut off, there was no turning back. After my hair being finished and styled how I wanted it - centre parting, deliberate grown out fringe and longer hair at the front, slightly shorter at the back with slight layering, I took my hair home in a bag and posted it to the charity. At the post office the cashier asked me what was in my parcel (nosey bugger!) and I think he had a bit of a shock when I replied hair! He said "not your hair though?" and I was like "yep!". When he took the parcel and saw the address he realised what I had done, but it was a funny situation.

It took me a while to get used to my new do. In fact for the first couple of days I said to my boyfriend - I think I hate my hair cut. But I worked on styling it and my preferred style is the wavy look I've shown above. I used my Babyliss curling wand to create loose waves and use a texturising spray. I'm still not too keen on it straight, mainly because it flicks out at the back of my neck rather than staying straight. I think next time I'll either get more off at the back or get it slightly more layered.

A couple of weeks after my cut the charity emailed me a certificate, so hopefully they've been able to make use of my hair for a child who has had cancer treatment or alopecia.

If you are thinking in following in my (or Cheryl or Kim's footsteps) then I would thoroughly recommend considering donating. Don't worry about the condition of your hair either as it will still have to go through a treatment process in order for it to be used alongside someone elses hair to contribute to a wig. So even if you think your hair is in bad condition they will be able to make use of it.