donate hair
to Locks of Love
Young women
donate hair
to Locks of Love
By linda denicola
Staff Writer
PHOTOS BY FARRAH MAFFAI Elyse Bernstein receives moral support from her friend, Christine Luhrs, as she has her hair cut by Gloria Hruszczak at Mainly Hair, Freehold, and donates it to Locks of Love.
Going for a haircut is pretty routine for most people, but having at least 10 inches cut off can be traumatic. Two best friends, Christine Luhrs and Elyse Bernstein, together had 21.5 inches cut and it was all for a very good cause.
Luhrs, 24, and Bernstein, 24, both of Manalapan, had their long brown hair cut at Mainly Hair on W. Main Street in Freehold last month and will donate the hair to Locks of Love, an organization that makes human hair wigs for children who have lost their hair for one reason or another.
Christine had 11.5 inches cut off, and Elyse had 10 inches cut.
Getting her hair cut is not something that Elyse has done very often. She likes long hair, but she did it at Christine’s request because she remembers when her friend had brain surgery and had half of her head shaved.
Salon owner Gloria Hruszczak measures Christine Luhrs’ hair to make sure she cuts the mandatory 10 inches for Locks of Love.
"It was all Christine’s idea, and I’m going along with her," Bernstein said. "Christine said her hair was getting long and she wanted to do this. I haven’t cut my hair in a long time. I always wanted long hair, but now that I’m getting older and becoming a professional, I need shorter hair."
Bernstein is in graduate school studying to be an elementary school teacher. Although she wanted a more put-together look, she said, "It’s really hard for me. I’m horrible at getting my hair cut, but I’m going to do it. We’ve been talking about this for awhile."
After the haircut, Luhrs acknowledged that it was a bigger deal for Bernstein because she has always had long hair.
"Her hair is still shoulder length now; mine is shorter," Luhrs said.
Luhrs said she remembers how it felt to go to her high school graduation missing half of the hair on her head. She said she had heard about Locks of Love twice, once when she was in fourth grade and had brain surgery and again at the end of her senior year in high school when she had a second brain surgery.
"Both times I had to have half my head shaved. I have thick hair, so I was able to hide it by combing some hair over it, but it gave me an idea of what it would be like living your life like that and not able to fix yourself up for a special occasion. I wore a lot of head bands," Luhrs said.
The two women met in the fourth grade at the Lafayette Mills School in Manalapan.
They went through high school together and, although they attended different colleges, remained in touch.
"We live at each other’s houses and spend holidays together. She comes to my house for Christmas and I go to her house for Hanukkah, We’re at each other’s family events," Luhrs said. "We’ve both had health problems and visited each other in the hospital."
Luhrs has finished college and works as an occupational therapist for Trinitas Children’s Therapy Services, Cranford, Union County. Trinitas provides school-based therapy services.
This summer, Luhrs is working for the Colts Neck K-8 school district.
Locks of Love is a not-for-profit organization that provides hair pieces to financially disadvantaged children under the age of 18 who have medical hair loss. The custom-fitted hair pieces are provided free of charge or on a sliding scale to children whose families meet the guidelines.
Donors provide the hair, volunteers staff the office and the manufacturer hand-assembles each piece, which requires about four months.
According to the Locks of Love Internet Web site, the organization, which began in 1997, has helped more than 1,000 children since its first year of operation. Thousands of bundles of donated hair arrive from around the country as a result of national publicity the organization received in newspapers, magazines and television programs. Most donors mail a note and a photo with their bundle of hair.
Children comprise more than 80 percent of the donors, making this a charity where children have the opportunity to help children.
Locks of Love provides its recipients with a custom vacuum-fitted hairpiece made entirely from donated human hair. The vacuum fit is designed for children who have experienced a total loss of scalp hair and does not required the use of tape or glue.
Most of the recipients suffer from an auto-immune condition called alopecia areata, for which there is no known cause or cure. Others have suffered severe burns or endured radiation treatment to the brain stem, in addition to many other dermatological conditions that result in permanent hair loss.
Donated hair is evaluated for its usefulness according to the following guidelines: the hair must be at least 10 inches in length and be bundled in a ponytail or braid. It must be free of hair damaged by chemical processing.
The hair must be clean and dry, placed in a plastic bag and mailed in a padded envelope to Locks of Love, 2925 10th Ave., N. Suite 102, Lake Worth, FL 33461.
Information on the organization can be found on the Web at locksforlove.com or by calling (561) 963-1677.
Luhrs said she usually has short hair, but grew it out so that she could donate it.
"Locks of Love needs 10 inches to make a wig, but they will accept hair that’s shorter so they can sell it and use the money to make other wigs. I was growing my hair for almost two years to be able to donate the 11 inches.
"We donated to Locks of Love, but there’s another organization called Wigs for Kids that is solely for kids with cancer," Luhrs explained. "I would encourage other people to donate their hair, especially if they are going to get it cut anyway."
Wigs for Kids is also a not-for-profit organization that provides hair replacement solutions for children. A statement on the organization’s Internet Web site said, "We welcome donations of any kind and continuously search for children we may assist in situations of hair loss. Our main purpose is to help children look themselves — alleviating additional stress due to lack of understanding among their peers."
There are salons that cut donated hair free of charge. For more information, visit the Internet Web site at [email protected].