 "Photo: Photo Illustration by Joseph Herr / IC")
The simple things in life are too often taken for granted. Women are notorious for complaining about bad hair days, but how often do we forget that hair is a privilege? Hundreds of thousands of people are losing their hair in the battle against cancer. Camelot Salon wanted to make this fight less painful for cancer patients by collecting donated hair for wigs.
Tuesday, April 21 was a busy day for the salon, more than twenty women stopped by Camelot to donate hair for wigs. Soothing aromas and calming sounds filled the background to help calm any nervous donors. Donors were greeted by an enthusiastic and caring owner, Dianne Babiuch along with event organizer, Sarah Currier, a senior majoring in speech pathology. Currier has donated three times in the past, first during her junior year of high school, donating a total of fifteen inches of hair. “It is such a great feeling when you give your hair to someone who has lost it from cancer,” Currier said. “Some women actually reject having chemotherapy so they won’t lose their hair. So, if we can help one woman get a life-saving treatment with the prospect of having a wig, free of charge to her, it’s worth it,” she said. “When people donate, they tell other people who will then donate their hair and the cycle continues.” The event started at noon and by 3:30 p.m. 23 ponytails had been collected. The following day fifty three people donated, making a total of about 100 ponytails.
According to the American Cancer Society, in 2008 alone there were 1,437,180 new cancer cases, 692,000 of the new cases were women. Certain cancer treatments can cause patients to lose some or all of their hair. Some of the drugs used during chemotherapy to kill cancer cells damage hair follicles, which causes the hair to fall out. Cancer related hair loss most often occurs in clumps during washing or styling. Radiation therapy done on the head often results in hair loss. Hormonal and biological therapies can also cause hair loss or thinning. Trying to get the hair to grow back the same as before depends on the dose of radiation. Real-hair wigs for women who suffer from cancer related hair loss are usually only partially covered by insurance often leaving the wigs unaffordable.
The event was sponsored by the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association, an association for students interested in the study of communication sciences and disorders. It was founded in 1972 and has approximately 11,000 members and 120 of them from Toledo. Ten NSSLHA members from Toledo participated in the hair cut off. The hair collected will be sent to Beautiful Lengths, a Wisconsin based organization sponsored by Pantene, the Women’s Cancer Research Fund, and the Entertainment Industry Foundation, who will, along with the American Cancer Society, make the wigs and give them to patients.
Hair stylists at the Camelot Salon volunteered their time to cut and style the donating women’s hair. Dianne Babiuch has been a hair stylist for 35 years. For the past five years, she has been holding ‘cut-a-thons’ for people to donate their hair for cancer patients. Babiuch chose to help the cause in honor of friends, family, and clients who had cancer. “It is very important to be able to provide these women with wigs. Losing hair is one of the most traumatic events associated with having cancer,” Babiuch said. If asked again, she said she will definitely participate next year.
A few of the donors had to be turned down because their hair exceeded the maximum of five percent grey. Hair donations must be at least eight inches long, not bleached, permanently colored, or chemically treated. Also, the hair should be freshly washed with no styling products. These conditions are to guarantee realistic looking and durable wigs. The majority of people donating are white women although some men donate as well. Babiuch said she has never donated hair, herself, but loves being able to help others. “I find it amazing that all of these girls are here to donate their hair, and I am very proud of them because it is very, very difficult to do,” she said.
Cutting the hair for the wigs is a very exact process. The hair is gathered into ponytails a minimum of eight inches long. It is very important to make sure the measurement is correct to guarantee the satisfaction of both the collector and donator. The ponytails are stored in a zip top bag afterwards and the strands of hair are individually knotted on to a skull cap. This process takes around three to four months to complete. Six ponytails are needed to make one wig. The wigs made from the donated hair are supposed to give the collector a new found confidence.
People donating hair are usually nervous at first, but feel great afterwards knowing that they were able to share their hair. Most people seem to donate because they have known someone with cancer. Others donate because word of mouth. Donations can still be made by contacting the Charles Paul Salon located at 3344 Secor Road.
— For more information on how to donate hair, call 419-535-7451.
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