Donate Your Hair to Locks of Love

My daughter was going to donate to Locks of Love, but now I am thinking of trying to discourage her. I have read that the company has taken in hundreds of thousands of donatations, and yet has made only 1400 wigs total (not per year) since the charity began. Last year, they apparently made over $300,000. by selling donated hair. This is a scandal and a real shame, using the good hearts of children for their personal gain. I am really appalled and hope you will address the truth about Locks of Love.

Yes, Locks of Love receives many donations each year, but can’t use them all. Many times the hair is not in good condition or all the pieces are not long enough. They sell the hair to wig manufacturers that cannot be used.

Locks of Love pays for the maufacturing of the hairpiece that is custom made for wach child according to the size of their head etc. This is an expensive process, and although they recive a ton of hair donations, financial donation are needed as well.

What else do they do they do with the money? Just like every other organization, it takes money to run it – advertising, staff, etc.

I hope you will rethink your discouragement. Locks of Love is a great organization

I donated my hair about 2 years ago in Miami. I’m going to donate again in the upcoming week or so, but the problem is finding a location that gives free haircuts for donors! (I live in California, so that Miami location is too far away!) The Locks of Love site no longer posts participating salons. I don’t know why, but it’s kind of a hassle having to call up different locations, rather than simply checking a list online… I’m not sure what the program really does with the hair but I assume only the best. I haven’t heard of the rumor above until now, so I think it’s a fairly legitimate charity. Plus, a free haircut is a great incentive, since it costs so much for people with longer hair to get a salon cut!

Even if they can not use the hair to make a wig for a child it will can help finance the program thru sales of unusable donations.
The better business bureau reports that Locks of Love meets their 20 Standards for Charity Accountability which covers finances, appeals, and governance of national charitable organizations..
They do not evaluate “worthiness” but I certainly think it is important … and if you if you planning on getting you hair cut anyway – why not donate!?!?

Check charities out before you donate… http://www.give.org/

do u no what..

this is very good for children because some of those kids out there are suffering and its good for the kds to help all of them.i cant wait unyil i do it because im excited that i can help someone else because thats what jesus would want righttt.. love always Paris

do u no what..

this is very good for children because some of those kids out there are suffering and its good for the kds to help all of them.i cant wait unyil i do it because im excited that i can help someone else because thats what jesus would want righttt.. love always Paris

Besides, shouldn’t about.com’s medical “reporter” Lisa Fayed know that the
organization is NOT for kids with cancer, but alopecia? Almost all kids with hair
loss due to cancer treatments are rejected by Locks of Love. Alopecia sufferers
deserve to have hair as well, but it’s only fair that donors (for whom donating
their hair is often a very personal gift, based on a connection to cancer in their
family) know where the hair is going?

I would like to add that some children with cancer do benefit from the Locks of Love organization. Long term chemotherapy can cause long term hair loss in children. Not to mention radiation treatments to the head can cause permanent hair loss.

It’s very sad that some people have to be so mean spirited without knowing all the facts.

I KNOW THIS IS ALL ABOUT HAIR DONATION, BUT I CUT MY HAIR LAST YEAR, ABOUT 24-INCHES IN LENGTH AND SO DID MY SISTERS – 19 IN. AND 26IN. BUT I WAS WONDERING IF THERE IS ANY PLACE THAT BUYS HAIR? I’M PLANNING TO CUT MY HAIR AGAIN, THIS YEAR, ABOUT 16IN. WHICH I’M WILLING TO DONATE. I’VE READ THESE COMMENTS AND NOW I’M HAVING SECOND THOUGHTS ABOUT DONATING MY HAIR JUST SO THESE PEOPLE COULD TURN AROUND AND SELL IT FOR MORE. ANYWAYS, IF YOU KNOW OF A PLACE THAT BUYS HAIR PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I APPRECIATE THAT.

THANKS
DM.

in october of 2008 i am going to donate my hair to locks for love because I think that it is a really sweet program

I strongly support Locks of Love and will continue to do so. I think people neglect to take into consideration the costs of running a large organization like LoL. I do not think they purposefully sell healthy, usable hair for financial gain. I believe that much of the hair that they receive is damaged and does not meet the criteria to make a piece, which has very strict guidelines.

The salons and stylists that do participate do not screen donors for eligibility. They are educated on the how to cut hair to LoL specifics and properly package and ship the hair.

I think if a person’s hair doesn’t fir the criteria and gets sold to a wig manufacturer, she or he should still feel great pride in knowing that they still helped a child out. They made a contribution to help keep such a great org functional.

Hi! Check the Better Business Bureau URL. LoL meets 19 out of 20 charity standards. There is no info on #13 – which is:
13. Accurately report the charity’s expenses, including any joint cost allocations, in its financial statements. For example, audited or unaudited statements which inaccurately claim zero fund raising expenses or otherwise understate the amount a charity spends on fund raising, and/or overstate the amount it spends on programs will not meet this standard.

Also, check the 2007 total income. It’s over 2 million dollars.

Yes, the LoL appears to be good in the service they provide but how MANY children actually receive wigs?

Sorry, but I wouldn’t donate to this charity.

Oops – forgot to include the URL:
http://charityreports.bbb.org/public/Report.aspx?CharityID=1839

Hey, im a 16 year old guy from WV, and i have about 20 inches of blonde hair. i didnt like what Rebecca at the top said about discouraging. maybe shes never gone through a cancer treatment, and where that is a very very tough time for people of all ages, so much as a hair piece could get them on the track to feeling better about themselves.. and if cutting my hair off and giving it to those kids, i would be happy as ever. i saw a guy on the very familiar show, who wants to be a millionaire about 2 or 3 years ago, and was inspired. so from then on, i didnt cut my hair but one small trim [to help it grow faster] and now the day has come where i will go donate it. [hints to why im on this site right now] Even if ALL the hair isnt used, its still the thought that counts. its not a scam, its not a hack, who would use hair, and a organization to help children that was in cancer treatments, to make money? Thats a bit twisted. I believe in these companies and orgs, and i AM going to donate what i can to those children in need. I encourage all that want to do it, GO FOR IT! hair grows back, and its just a really awesome thing to do, to help kids that dream of having hair. I kno sounds weird right? Having hair is a dream? maybe not for some of us, but it is SOMEONES dream. We often take that for granted that the hair on our heads isnt a blessing. Rebecca, i dont know why you would ever discourage the donation of hair prosthetics to childeren undergoing cancer treatment, etc, because the companys make a profit, but i really hope you change your mind and i hope no one is effected by your opinion. If so much as cutting my hair and donating it would help out one other kid in the world, that is a wonderful thing, and im happy, and very proud to say, today [Friday August 15, 2008] i will be next in line to help. :] – Dakota Sumpter, 16, WV.

I think that locks of love is a good thing, because i feel bad for any child that cant have their hair, because i know how much it would kill me not to have my hair. i love it so much and it pains me to see any kid without their hair.

I donated my hair to Locks of Love in June. They state very clearly all of the requirements for the hair that they receive. They also state that any unusable hair will be sold to offset costs. I do not believe that they are being deceitful in any way as they clearly display this information (the fact that it may be sold if unusable) on their donation website. I believe that this is still a very charitable and reputable charity and suggest that people carefully read the requirements before donating if they wish to ensure their donation will be used in the way that the intend it. Even if your hair is sold, as stated by statements above, the money is put towards the expenses incurred to make these gifts for very deserving children.

I can see everyone’s point. And I believe I will definitely contradict myself, however, I can see both sides of this lovely spectrum.

I believe, if you want to donate, you should! And if you don’t, that is also your choice.
But instead of trying to make others not want to donate, why don’t we try and find another avenue.

I am trying to find somewhere to donate my hair. I don’t care that much for what I read about LoL, Wigs for kids (regarding the BBB). I have questions for them and may sound like I don’t want to donate, but here goes:
-How much money does it take to run this type of entity and of this particular size?
-If they are making thousands of dollars selling the unsuitable hair, what operating costs are there if they aren’t processing the wigs?!or that many?
And what’s up with Wigs4kids (that only helps those in MI) No offense to those from MI, just kind of hurts that if I would donate to them, only their kids would get help. Is it because you are on a smaller scale and can only assist those in your area?

None the less, I still want to donate, and want to feel secure that when I donate it will go to a child that needs it. It doesn’t matter to me whether the child has cancer or something else, they need it physically and emotionally.

SOMEONE HELP ME FIND A PLACE TO DONATE

Does anyone else have any answers as to where I could donate besides any of these places?

http://www.matteroftrust.org/programs/hairmatsinfo.html#salons

I have donated my hair twice to Locks of Love and am looking to do it again soon. However I was doing some online research and was really disappointed by what I discovered about Locks of Love. Here’s a good NY Times article to read if you’re considering hair donation. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/06/fashion/06locks.html

links
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If your cuting your hair at the same time you could donate your hair plus your not going to do nothing with it than troughing it away. Also it comes from your heartto donate you don’t need to ask for something back.

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Hi!
.

I’m very, very sorry, but Locks of Love is a scam…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locks_of_love

i’ve been donating my hair 3times now…i started donating in 2005, 2006, and 2008 at the participating salon. But i never recv anything from locks of love saying they recv my hair. im happy to donate my hair to help out the kids and i’m blessed to have nice hair. i would like to know what happen to my donated hair.

I agree Arlene. I have donated before and I too never received anything that says if the hair was received or used. I donate because I want to give children a bit of something that even in a small way will help them through a hard time. I can understand how self concious people are and would like to think in a small way I am helping.

From LOL Website http://www.locksoflove.org/donate.html : “If you wish to receive our personalized thank-you card, please fill out the hair donation form, or write your name and address on a full size separate sheet of paper and include inside the envelope. We cannot acknowledge donors who do not send their name and address according to these instructions.”
“To serve as receipt of your donation, a thank-you card is sent to each donor within 90 days from the date we receive your donation. Donor information must be clearly written on the hair donation form or on a full size separate sheet of paper and included with the donation. ”
“If you don’t receive a thank-you, it doesn’t mean that we didn’t receive your package! If 3 months has gone by and you have not yet received your thank-you, please e-mail volunteer@locksoflove.org and we will send another card. ”
“NEW!!! If you would like immediate recognition for your donation, you can fill out the Locks of Love Certificate of Appreciation (PDF) with your name and date and print!”

God bless you DAKOTA, nice young man willing to donate his hair to help children. I’m glad to see your positive attitude. I’ll be sending in my 10″ ponytail this week. We’re blessed our hair does grow back!!

i am a hair donater. me and my best friends Kelsi Shay and Kyra Jones are helping me on a science project. i have been wanting to donate my hair since i was 5, so our moms and dads thought about this idea.Thank you so much for your time. Melody Jones and Kelsi Shay and and Kyra Jones.

HI me,melody, and kelsi are praying for you wishes and hopesto you.LOVE YA the girls that ROCK

HI me,melody, and kelsi are praying for you wishes and hopesto you.LOVE YA the girls that ROCK

I am 13 almost 14 and this summer I am going to donate my hair to Lock Of Love. I look so bad with short hair but a little girl who has to face eveyone with a bald head is way worse than looking bad with short hair for me it will grow back think of others DONATE

I have donated to locks of love before. However, looking at all of these comments and doing more research about the company profits and the fact the they only SOLD 113 wigs in an entire year… it has me thinking a second time. Does anyone know of a better group to send my hair to? I plan to cut it in the next month. Thanks!

I am donating my hair to either
Wigs 4 Kids
http://www.wigs4kids.org/
or
Pantene Beautiful Lengths
http://www.beautifullengths.com/en_US/
I have never had long hair before. I started growing it out 2 1/2 years ago when my aunt died of cancer. The research that I have done has convinced me that Locks of Love is not deserving of my donation. Look at their books. They are a registered non profit and their books are available for you to see. They took in $2M last year and made 113 wigs. Not a very effective non profit. That equates to $17,699.12 per wig. I called a wig maker in California
http://www.wilshirewigs.com/
and was told that if I sent them my hair they could make me a wig for $1000. Maybe I’ll start my own “non-profit”. I will be actively dissuading people from donating hair to LoL.
Jim

Several years ago, I was going to donate my hair to LOL. Well, I decided to take a look at LOL’s website, and learned that (and this may have changed since then) they only provided wigs for children with alopecia, because they viewed hair loss due to chemotherapy as “temporary condition” that would resolve itself when treatment was over. Of course, this angered me. How could these supposedly compassionate people deny a wig to a child who is very sick and possibly dying, while providing wigs to healthy children whose hair loss is -not- linked to a potentially fatal disease? Luckily, shortly after reading this, I learned about Pantene’s Beautiful Lengths. I sent them three pounds of hair, and felt great about doing so.

I have read every single one of the comments associated to this comment and I an simply amazed and appalled! My mother is a hairdresser and participates in the Locks of Love program and we have never heard a bad thing about the program. I am just about ready to donate my hair and have EVERY intention of sending it to LoL. I have a few questions for some of you: Does the company that employs you make a profit each year? Do they pay you a salary every week? Do you even have a job that makes as much of a difference in someone’s life as LoL does? Why is it a bad thing if this company is showing a profit? That could mean a lot of things … they received more hair donations than anticipated, they received a lot of “bad” hair donations that had to be sold, there were less children’s requesting wigs – God willing! I would rather see a company like this, who is making a difference in peoples lives, showing a profit than these pharmaceutical and insurance companies (and I’m in the medical field) who are raping us! Now, to those of you who seem to be bothered by the fact that these wigs dont go to cancer patients: Is cancer really the only horrible disease plaguing our country? Are you that shallow that you think children who suffer from alopecia don’t deserve a wig just as much just because they aren’t dying. Why is it not OK that this company primarily supports alopecia patients when there are companies out there that only support cancer patients? Let’s face it – there is tons of support and attention to cancer. How often do you hear about those that suffer from alopecia? Somebody needs to help them and recognize their needs!! (FYI – I am not anti-cancer; my mother just recently went into remission from cancer. I just think this is ridiculous!)

Last, but certainly not least … even if it is true that LoL only provided 113 wigs last year (or whatever year that was) … that is 113 children that suffered less embarrassment through their childhood. And to that I say KUDOS to Locks of Love!

I think that it is really cool that you are talking up Locks Of Love. The reason that i think that this is cool is because this year at my county’s relay for life I will be donating my hair for the 2nd time!

I think it depends on who you want your hair to go to. Locks of Love may sell your hair if they can’t use it, and use the money to cover costs of making their hairpieces. They generally make permanent hairpieces for children with alopecia or other permanent hair loss, although they do sometimes make temporary hairpieces for cancer patients. Locks of Love isn’t the only charity out there to donate your hair to, so don’t be discouraged from donating your hair just because you disagree with what they do, or because you want your hair to go to a cancer patient.

I’m 10 years old and from kidergarden, I remember having long hair down to my elbows. And, it was kind of fun having that much hair! So now I think about not having any at all. So, I’m going to grow my hair down to maybe about the middle of my forearm and get it cut, then donate it!

I am considering donating my hair to LOL only because it was the only organization I knew about until today. As I looked on the internet for more inforamtion I can across World of Wigs and they make custom real hair wigs starting price…$2100 ~ this is a lot of money. It also takes any where from 10 – 20 ponytails to make 1 wig. So remember when you give to a non-profit your money doesn’t always go directly to the receipients but to help raise awareness, to help raise more money, to keep the lights on etc. If you give…Give with a Cheerful Heart.

It all sounds great, give your hair, even if they cannt give a good account of where the hair or money goes… yea, right. Really how many wigs went to the hurting kids? That is the bottom line. There are other super org, that do right by all the hair they recieve, and not afraid to show where it all went. check them out.

wendy- why do you say Locks of Love is a SCAM and then leave a link to Wikipedia that mentions nothing of this alleged “scam”? You should be ashamed of yourself for trying to deter folks from doing something charitable.

hairdresser’s daughter- nice post. Way to go.

I personally am sick of reding LOL bashing all over the internet. I am sick and TIRED OF IT.

Locks of Love is not a scam. And anyone who tries to discredit it should be ashamed of themselves for doing their best to cripple a charity that is doing good for children.

Just because they don’t donate every single strand of hair to children of need…and just because they sell many of the locks to offset costs of their charitable donations….doesn’t make them a scam. I mean, what are you THINKING when you post such a comment?

Sorry, but I am just so sick of the bashing.

Does anyone here donate to any charities at all? Have you checked your favorite charity on the Charity Navigator?? Locks of Love is a four star charity. Hello!!!!!! That is awesome. Four star is great! Just to compare, Red Cross is a TWO star charity. Check out your fav….I think you will be surprised.

But to say they are a scam is such a mean thing to do. Bad PR for the charity that is totally unmerited.

They do not pretend to donate every strand to a child. Their website is quite clear about their intentions. A charity is not a scam if it does exactly what it says it will do.

The CEO makes $55,000 a year. If you know anything, anything, anything at all about charities or American corporations in general…that is NOTHING. The Red Cross CEO and the United Way CEO makes over half a mill. WHAT? Yeah!!! I still donate to them though. Because they do so much good, it is still worth it. Habitat for Humanity CEO? quarter mill. World Wildlife? $400,000. Unicef? $362,000.
So if the CEO of Locks of Love is scamming, she sure ain’t doing a good job of scamming! LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The bottom line is that LOL is a four star charity. They provide wigs to children who need them and who can’t afford them. Period. End of discussion! Isn’t that enough for you? It is good. Don’t let uninformed, google-knowledge internet bashers folks who jump to conclusions make your mind up for you. If you want to donate to them…AS I DO….do so safely knowing your hair will be on the head of someone somewhere that really really needs it.

This is a good charity that costs nothing but a stamp for you to participate in. In a recession, I say that is a wonderful thing.

I am donating my hair this year. I have been growing it out for years to do this. I have read every internet bash, and can think for myself and still think this is a good charity, despite the mis-informed, incomprehensible bashing.

This is a good charity..don’t be deterred.

You really said it perfectly Susan!

I am bringing my 5-year-old daughter today to donate to Locks of Love.

A child in need is a child in need, PERIOD. And we want to help! It’s too bad that not everyone feels this way.

Last Year I had an accident, it forced me to relook at my life a little differently, then I watched a show about children with Cancer -they had it worse than I did. I made a decison to Grow my hair out…2 weeks before my cut a very good friend was diagnosed with Breast Cancer ,Last Friday I donated 12 inches of hair…I hope a child smile when they place it on there head.

Hello my daughter has donated her hair for the 1st time in 14 years she has autism and has received help as well I was real nervous for her be cause she LOVES her hair but loves to help other more, but I think we might be a half inch short on the length I cut off I hope they will still except it from her because she is sooo excited to help thanks to all others for you donations God Bless

I am 53 years old and have more hair than I deserve at my age. Grew it out for a woman that said she liked long hair on a man… well, she’s gone and I still have all this hair. Having read all the comments about LoL on this website, pro and con, I think Dakota (comment posted 8/15 08–line 9) defined the philosophy and attitude of LoL very succinctly. “it’s the thought that counts”.Alrighty then. I “thought about” donating my hair to LoL, but I got over it. Does that count?

Lol is a great thing to do. did you ever think that as a child grows there head grows too so they need bigger wigs so that takes more hair pieces. I am going (for the 4th time) along with my 10 year old (her first) on monday to donate my hair again. I do this every 2 and 1/2 years. my daughter onced asked me why i do this every couple years its because im a mom i told her. We were all kids once we know how it was to be bullied dont let these kids be bullied help them out. Let them feel special, They get to pick out the color and lenght they want. There innocent children.

I am ashamed to read all the terrible things said about LOL. My grandmother just died of cancer the first day of may this year. She was a hair dresser and cut hair for locks of love for many years I will cut my hair tomorrow in memory of her. She recieved radiation and chemo and lost her hair several times. Her wig was beautiful and she loved it. Even if they do not use ever peace they are a good organization. God bless them for the work they do.

We have established that LOL’s wigs go mostly to children with alopecia, scalp burns, etc.

They are not “given” to the child. The child’s family pays for it. From LOL’s website “We provide hairpieces and repairs free of charge or on a sliding scale based on the financial need of those responsible for the children. $1,000 sponsors a Locks of Love child. This pays for the total cost of providing one cranial prosthesis. Retail cost of the hairpieces is between $3,500 and $6,000.”

LOL donates lots of money to research into the causes and treatments of alopecia. So theoretically if you send your ponytail and it’s not usable, they will sell it and may donate the money to research.

“Yes, we are always in need of hair. We forecast our need because our recipients can reapply for a new hairpiece every 18 months. One recipient could receive up to 8 hairpieces. Because these hairpieces are custom made, they cannot be reused.”

To sum it up, they give, or sell at a reduced cost, hairpieces to people who would never be able to grow their own. If you have a specific place you want to donate your hair to, do it. Google it, there are many. Pantene Beautiful Lengths says it gives women with cancer FREE wigs. Who’s to say that a child with alopecia is more or less deserving of a chance than a woman with cancer? It’s up to you. Donate where YOU see fit!

In 2002 alone Locks of Love had raised over $150,000 by selling donated hair and had received another $213,000 in charitable contributions and grants, but provided only 113 human-hair wigs.

IN 1997 MY MOM WAS DIAGNOSE WITH CANCER, IT WAS VERY HARD FOR THE FAMILY SEEING MY MOM GO THRU THAT HAIR LOST PROCESS. NOW IN 2009 MY SISTER WAS DIAGNOSE OF BREAST CANCER, IT’S VERY HARD GOING THRU THIS AGAIN. MY 3 KIDS ARE VERY WORRY ABOUT THIS THIS DISEAS. I WANT TO SHOW MY KIDS ANOTHER LESSSON, THAT WE CAN HELP ANY BODY IT DOESN’T MATTER WHO. TOMORROW I WILL BE SENDING MY 12 INCHES OF HAIR. GOD BLESS ALL THIS PEOPLE THAT IS INVOLVED OF HELPING OTHER.

you have to remember EVERONE needs hair to feel good about themselves and all you are going to do is throw it in the trash, so why worry if someone else is going to make money. They also have to pay for the hair to be donated and make wigs.

My 6 year old daughter heard about the LOL program on the internet. Tomorrow she is going to go donate her 12 inches of hair. I tried talking her out of it because I love her long hair but she will have no part of it. After looking into the LOL program I am really proud of her for standing her ground and I will be there when she gets her hair cut tomorrow.

I am hoping my hair is good enough to donate to Locks of Love, regardless if they sell the hair, or use it as a wig I am sure it is still helping someone’s child that would like to have hair, in one way, or another. It is still for a great cause.

Me and my daughter(9yrs)have been letting our hair grow out for at least four years. Expect for the one or two trims to keep our hair healthy, our hair rarely saw a pair of siccors,a can of hairspray, and never a box of hair color.There is between the two of us about 48″ of hair to be given(or not according to some)to childern with cancer. It just feels good to know that I maybe helping a inoccent child. We don’t have much so while we can we’ll continue donating.

I am writing to find out how my nephew can turn his hair over to you then have a wig made for his grandmother. Is this at all possible?
Markie Hoffman

I understand that you may feel it is a scam. They use the other pieces of hair that is not used for wigs and sell it to help with the cost of making the wigs and some hair can not be used due to damage and being over processed.

I donate my hair every two to three years. I have been doing this for some time now and will continue as long as I have color in my hair. This is the least I can do to give a child a little comfort when they are suffering in other ways. I have had many friends that have donated at least once and are happy they did.

im a hairdresser and by word of mouth have been involved in giving free haircuts to those who want to donate to lol. i was under the assumption, as many were, that lol makes wigs for children with hair loss from cancer.i am glad to be more informed so i can pass accurate info on to my clients if asked. i do feel fortunate to be able to help any child in need (cancer or not). from a profession stance i have to put it out there, in defense of lol, that when i collect hair for donation, it is only a drop in the bucket for what it would take to make a wig. so please keep donating. it takes alot of hair to make a wig…give with a greatful heart!

Have any of you negetive people here ever lost your hair??? I have, at the age of 32 I was diagnosed with cancer. I went through months of chemo, lost 100% of all body hair. Do you really know what it is like for any woman, man or child to lose their hair? I am not a vain person but it sucked walking around without hair. In regards for who the peices are made for…does it really matter whether it was cancer or some other disease? Either way these children DO NOT have hair!!!Think about going through your whole life without hair, better yet shave your head and expierence it for your self. I guarantee your outlook would be much different. Ok, now when people donate hair..we all know that many people don’t have the most healthy hair. Not all of my hair is the healthiest but, I am going to donate it anyway. I will keep growing it and donating it because I don’t care what disease took a childs hair. If they sell what they can’t use for money, I really don’t care as long as it goes to something good. If you are worried about THEIR financial gain then sell your hair your self. But, if you are going to cut your hair then why not donate it rather than throw it away?

Locks of Love uses deceptive advertising in their approach to obtaining hair and into return selling the majority to wig companies. Children ravaged by cancer which also robs them of their hair are promoted as the recipients of wigs made from hair donations Locks of Love receives for FREE. Locks of Love is a SCAM. When a 13 year old nephew was diagnosed with leukemia and lost his hair due to the cancer, Locks of Love refused to help this boy. NEVER, NEVER donate your hair to Locks of Love.

I have twice donated my hair to Locks of Love. I plan to grow out my hair and donate it repeatedly in the future. But for the time being, I will not donate my hair to Locks of Love because they do not meet the Better Business Bureau’s (BBB) requirements to be classified as a charity. (This is mentioned in a previous comment.) I am currently researching other options and making sure charities that I find meet BBB’s standards. For example, from this research, I have found the following about Wigs for Kids from bbb.org:

Wigs for Kids (WFK) does not meet the following Standard for Charity Accountability.

Standard 8: Program Service Expense Ratio – Spend at least 65% of its total expenses on program activities.

* WFK does not meet this Standard because according to the organization’s reviewed financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2006, the organization spent $109,950 or 60% of its total expenses ($182,829) on program service activities.

Wigs for Kids (WFK) meets the remaining 19Standards for Charity Accountability.

Also, for Children with Hair Loss, Inc., they have the following on BBB.org:
Despite written BBB Wise Giving Alliance requests in the past year, this organization either has not responded to Alliance requests for information or has declined to be evaluated in relation to the Alliance’s Standards for Charity Accountability. While participation in the Alliance’s charity review efforts is voluntary, the Alliance believes that failure to participate may demonstrate a lack of commitment to transparency. Without the requested information, the Alliance cannot determine if this charity adheres to the Standards for Charity Accountability. A charity’s willing disclosure of information beyond that typically included in its financial statements and government filings is, in the Alliance’s view, an expression of openness that strengthens public trust in the charitable sector.
The BBB Wise Giving Alliance reports on national charities and determines if they meet 20 voluntary standards on matters such as charity finances, appeals, and governance. The Alliance does not evaluate the worthiness of the charitable program.

Does anyone know of charities which accept hair donations and meet all 20 standards of BBB? I am looking for a charity to donate to. If you know of the charity, please provide their information from BBB.org and the url link to their website. Thanks!

can u please send your addres because i am thinking of donating my daughters hair thanks

i cut my hair today and it’s over 11in and im donating my hair to these kids, and even if it is a scam, its just hair! you cut it off in the first place, what are you going to do with it…at least try to do something! (it’s my first time donating) and i feel good about myself!

My daughter has mild alopecia. When it started at age 4 her bald spots were very noticeable and children would talk about them. We faced the fact that she might go completely bald and wondered how that would impact her socially and emotionally. We were blessed that her alopecia has improved over time.

The New York Times article stated that Locks of Love has 6 full-time staff members. It does not surprise me at all that they need this many people to run the organization. Salary and benefits for the staff are probably around $400,000. They would have all kinds of other expenses for offices, publicity, etc. in addition to the wigs. I agree with the person who said it takes lots of those ponytails to make a wig!

I don’t understand why folks are getting their gander up so much over a few people trying to provide a counterpoint regarding LoL. I don’t think people are saying that they won’t ever donate their hair… what they are saying is that they don’t agree that LoL is an efficient charity. Clearly, this charity takes in a lot of money, and some folks feel that it does not necessarily provide a service equal to what it takes in. Of course, there are a million ways to justify the cost of running the charity, and LoL has done a great job propagating itself as the “go-to” for hair donations. Just try finding other charities through a google search, and you’ll see… LoL is at the top of every listing. They have a mission, and they clearly state that they don’t help cancer patients because cancer isn’t a “long-term” hair loss disorder. Since they’re obviously so good at getting hair donations, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to donate one’s hair to another charity.

Shame on you folks that denigrate the people that provide checks and balances on a very successful (albeit seemingly shady) organization. You’re probably the same people that call anyone who questions the government “anti-American”. Educating oneself is a privilege some of you need to exercise more frequently.

To those of you that actually do some research into the matter and have learned a thing or two, congratulations and thank you.

As for me, I’ll be donating my hair (16inches +) to a charity with a little more transparency, and a low PR budget.

Last year my 5 uear old daughter made the dicision on her own to donate her hair to locks of love so a little girl somewhere who didnt have any hair could have hair. even though i was very pleased with her choice I was also a little saddened for this was her first real haircut and we did not get to save any of her long beautiful hair for her book. In doing this my daughter was told she would get a thank you card. she is now 6 years old and still talks about how locks of love LIED to her because she still has yet to recieve any acknowledgement of her wonderful decision.

I see lots of emotional comments here. Don’t judge others for their decisions. Don’t assume anything. DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Help others. Made certain your donation benefits those you wish to help. There are choices to be made. Some even sell their own locks and donate that money to their favorite charity.

Locks of love is an organization for people who want to give HAIR for a good cause. i don’t think somebody would lie about that, if they would they are total IDIOTS

SELL your hair…DONATE the MONEY to a charity! Plus its tax deductable…if you care about that.

It’s funny that the person claiming that LOL is a scam sighted Wikipedia as its source of scam-info. Wikipedia is the number one site students in High School and College are told NOT to visit because of it’s unreliability. Of all the scams I’ve seen out there LOL hardly qualifies as a situation that is taking advantage of others for their large monetary gain. I plan on making my donation of hair very soon to LOL without concern that a CEO is going to retire in the Caribbean from the profits of my donation.

According to the NY Times article Pantene has given out more wigs in a YEAR than LoL has in a decade… sad.

I believe that the Locks of Love organization is awesome! I’m finally going to go and donate my hair tomorrow about 10-12 inches. I’ve been waiting for a long time to do this. Just think of this way…hair grows back…kids with a long-term disease may never get the chance to have their own hair so why not donate yours. You never know when your very own child or someone else you know may need it too!! SO GET OUT THERE AND DONATE YOUR HAIR!!! GOD BLESS!!

Hi, I was thinking of donating to LoL, and after doing more research, I am probably going to donate to either Sofia’s Hair for Health (seemingly, a very pure and sweet organization) or Pantene Beautiful Lengths (Pantene already makes insane amounts of money, so this branch of the business seems like it also has a pure focus). Also, LoL requires at lest 10 inches of hair, while these 2 require less.

Wherever you donate, I think donating is definitely a wonderful thing to do to help others, so just choose an organization and feel great about it. Apparently, it does take at least 6 donations to make a wig, so let’s keep doing it!

I’m wondering if there is a “locks of love ” equivalent in Canada, I’d kinda like to keep it in my own country if possible…..not that cancer knows or cares what country it’s in