Donating Hair for Wigs

One of my nieces is a vibrant young woman in her 20s, who wants to make a difference in the world.  She intentionally grew her hair to her waist – a process that took years – so that she could donate it.

In her own words:

“I donated my hair to make wigs for people with medical hair loss.

On the day of my hairdresser appointment, I was excited about getting a short new haircut. Afterwards though, I did have some pangs, especially when people lamented the loss of my long hair. I really didn’t expect it as they knew I’d donated my hair for a worthy cause. My way of coping with that was to point out that women don’t need long hair to be beautiful.

It gives me great satisfaction to know that my donation helped someone in need.”

How To Donate Your Hair

My niece found a hairdresser through the Sustainable Salons website. Once she typed in her postcode, the site directed her to a nearby hairdresser.

Sustainable Salons is a social enterprise that works with organisations like the Australian Alopecia Areata Foundation or the Cancer Council to make real hair wigs,  as well as fundraise for people who’ve lost their hair.

Preparing Hair for Donation

After the hairdresser had washed and dried her hair without using any styling products, she then:

• Divided hair into small ponytails around the head and tied them with elastic hair ties. The ties were approximately 2cm down from where the hair was to be cut.
• Plaited the full length of the ponytail and secured it with another elastic tie at the bottom.
• Measured the ponytail between the two elastic ties and made sure it was at least 20cm long.
• Cut the hair 2cm above the elastic, then kept the plait flat and dry.
• Sealed it into a snap lock bag and posted it to:

Sustainable Salons – Ponytails
GPO Box 322
Sydney NSW 2001

You don’t have to see a hairdresser to donate your hair. If you’d prefer, you can prepare your hair and mail it yourself. Detailed instructions on how to do it are available on the Sustainable Salons website.

What Happens Next?

Once they’re received, ponytails are sorted and graded by hand, according to the colour, hair type and length.

Then, they’re sent to wigmakers and charitable organisations like Australia Alopecia Areata Foundation (AAAF) where they’re turned into charitable wigs for children or to fund life-changing programs.

How is Hair Made into Wigs?

The ponytails are brushed carefully to remove any knots. The hair is then separated into small strands, and a collection of strands is sewn onto a super-thin cloth strip known as a weft. These wefts are sewn onto the sides and back of a wig cap.

It takes at least 10 to 12 ponytails to make one wig. Donations need to be 20cm or longer as length is lost when the hair is sewn into the wig cap.

The difference a wig can make to someone in need can’t be underestimated. As my lovely niece said: “Donating my hair was a small gesture really. I wanted to do more than just send a financial donation. I wanted to give a piece of myself.”