Friday, November 21, 2014

Embracing Locks of Love

Over the last 9 years that I've been a hairdresser I've had a ritual of letting go. I collect hair for Locks of Love or Pantene Great Lengths and when I need to change the energy in my life I mail all the hair off to one of these organizations. I've mailed the hair when I've had an unhappy or difficult client, when I'm trying to deal with a break up, especially trying to heal after my divorce, there were many shipments as I made baby steps in healing. I sent a bundle when I moved from Portland to La Jolla...I use it to let go.. I use it to move forward...

 I feel like hair holds energy. If hair grows on average 1/2 an inch/month that's only about 6 inches a year. Locks of Love requires 10 inches for the wigs it makes for children. Pantene Beautiful Lengths requires 8 inches for the wigs it makes for adults. That means the hair that has been cut off has been through all of life's ups and downs for a year, usually more like 3 years. I find people donate when it is a time for them to let go or transition into a new phase in their lives. I see it especially around the time of a new baby, after a wedding, career transition, helping a friend through cancer, transitioning into first adult job, graduating college, and some people do this in cycles every few years getting the big cut. It's freeing to shed this hair. It's scary to give away what can be a cover we hide behind. Hair is very powerful..In the Bible when Delilah cuts Samson's hair he became powerless. When people cut their dreads some believe there is a shift in energy.

 This time I don't feel like I am letting go, but rather I am embracing this new chapter in my life. I have found a place to live that feels like where I am supposed to be. Sunny, warm but not hot, by the ocean and by rocks, with people who live active full lives, and I'm building community in my new home. The transition of moving is always hard, but feeling like this is where I belong and that I'm at the beginning of something wonderful is a very good feeling. I don't have all the answers or know exactly where I will be, but I love being a hairdresser and I love San Diego. I'm happy to be on this path seeing where it will go.


much love to
 my mom and dad
 my sisters who are always a phone call away
my cousin Clara who's hair is in this shipment
 my roommate Ricky who's hair is in this shipment
my friend Cristine
 my bff's Jessica Cochran and Christine Eggers
my new friends Kori, Kelly, and Ann
and all the people who have supported and shaped my life along the way

3 comments:

  1. My daughter is in the spirit of giving this holiday season. She needs a haircut and wants to find a hair stylist/cutting person. How can my daughter get her hair donated to those larger organizations for chemotherapy patients who've lost hair?
    http://jackbryanthairstudio.com/

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  2. Hi Jack, that is so awesome that your daughter wants to donate. Locks of Love donates to children with long term hair loss not undergoing chemo as that is short term. This is a great organization because the wigs are very high quality and help underprivileged kids who have lost their hair due to things like fire, alopecia, longterm illness. The other organization that I've helped a client with is Pantene Great Lengths. I went to the hospital with a friend/client who was about to start chemo. She ended up losing her hair, but before this process the hospital invited us to come and choose 1 wig for her out of cabinets full of wigs. The Pantene Great Lengths wig was the best quality. It was human hair, colored nicely, kept long so it was easy for me, her hairdresser, to recolor and cut it to fit her needs. Both organizations are great. I'm attaching the donation requirements http://www.locksoflove.org/donate.html http://pantene.com/en-us/brandexperience/make-the-cut

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  3. I recommend putting the hair in 4-5 ponytails to get the most usable hair and keep it easy for the cut. LOL has to be 10 inches, Pantene 8 inches. So, if the hair in front of the ears is too short leave it out of the ponytail it will be better to work with during the cut. I like 2 ponytails at the nape of the neck parted in the middle, one ponytail on each side of the head if the hair is long enough. If it's a guy and he's cutting his hair short, I'll do the same 4 ponytails then take the top in a horseshoe section (basically a top knot ponytail) and cut.

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