When most people get their hair cut they think nothing of leaving it on the barbershop or salon floor to be swept up and thrown away. What many people don't realize is that by having their hair selectively cut it can be recycled to raise the self esteem of children who have lost their hair due to medical treatment.
Chemotherapy is most often the cause of young cancer patients losing their hair.
Locks of Love, headquartered in Palm Springs, Fla., is using human hair that would often be discarded and fashioning it into vacuum-fitting hairpieces for children between the ages of 6 and 18. Most recipients are young girls. Becky Fragasse of Nashville is a breast cancer survivor now in her fourth year of recovery. The hairpieces require hair a minimum of 10 inches long. It should be bundled in a ponytail or a braid.