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FAQ
Hair Donor Questions
You can go anywhere to get your hair cut as long as the donation guidelines listed on our website are followed. Anyone can cut your hair! We encourage our donors to go to a salon they are already familiar with so they will be comfortable when making their donation.
We do not maintain a list of participating salons. If there is a participating salon in your area, they should have a Locks of Love decal in their window. If you have salons in your area that are part of a national chain, many times they participate. Also, you can try an online search, entering Locks of Love salon and your city and state.
Yes, we can accept donations of gray hair. Because we only provide hairpieces to children, we cannot use this hair in a hairpiece but will sell it to offset our manufacturing costs.
Yes, we can accept donations of colored hair.
Yes, we can accept donations of permed hair.
No, we cannot use bleached hair. The bleach causes the hair to dissolve as it goes through the manufacturing process. Note: Many times highlights are done with bleach.
Dreadlocks cannot be used in our children’s hairpieces. Part of the preparation to blend hair donations together involves combining individual strands of hair. All hair must be able to be combed to separate these individual hairs.
10 to 12 donated ponytails go into one hairpiece.
We cannot link donors with recipients. Because all applicants are minors, we must protect the children’s privacy.
Please check with your tax preparer. We cannot place a monetary value on a ponytail.
Yes, if you choose to send pictures please e-mail them to photos@locksoflove.org. All photos must be submitted electronically in order for use on our website.
We do update our donor gallery from time to time, but cannot guarantee that all the pictures we receive will be posted. We also use photos in our newsletters and post them around our office.
We work to thank all donors as quickly as possible. Because we rely on volunteers to help with this task, it may take up to 60 days to receive your acknowledgement.
If the person in need is a child and has applied to Locks of Love, it is sometimes possible. The family can contact the Case Manager for more information. Please remember our recipients must be under the age of 21.
No, our only location is in West Palm Beach, Florida. All donations will need to be mailed there.
Financial Donor Questions
$1,250 sponsors a Locks of Love child.
Recipient Questions
Yes, we help both boys and girls. The majority of children who apply for a hairpiece are girls.
Most of our recipients suffer from the autoimmune disease, alopecia areata. Others have experienced hair loss from radiation therapy and chemotherapy, severe burns or trauma, and various other genetic and dermatological conditions.
What is Alopecia?
The majority of our recipients live with alopecia, an auto-immune disorder that causes the hair follicles to shut down. This disease has varying degrees and affects 5.2 million people in the United States alone. Alopecia areata affects both sexes equally and may, but does not always, progress to significant hair loss. Currently, there is no known cause or cure for alopecia. The degrees of alopecia are as follows:
• Alopecia Areata Ophiasis-loss in bands along the scalp margin
• Alopecia Areata Sisaipho-loss of all scalp hair except along the scalp margins
• Alopecia Totalis – loss of all scalp hair, frequently including eyelashes and eyebrows.
• Alopecia Universalis – loss of all scalp and body hair
Cancer
Cancer constitutes the second highest percentage of our recipients. Every year approximately 2,200 children under age 20 are diagnosed with brain tumors. Radiation treatment for cancer can cause permanent hair loss. Chemotherapy may also cause hair loss to be long-term depending on the length of treatment needed.
Other causes of hair loss account for a small percentage of our recipients:
• Ectodermal Dysplasia – A disorder that affects the formation of the ectoderm resulting in extremely sparse hair
• Loose Anagen Syndrome – An abnormality where hair is thin and breaks at very short lengths
• Trichotillomania – an obsessive compulsive disorder of repetitive hair pulling
• Telogen Effluvium – Diffuse but excessive shedding of hair
• Trauma such as burns, accidents, dog attacks, etc.
Children under 6 years receive synthetic hairpieces because this age group experiences rapid growth in the size of their head. Children ages 6-21 with long term hair loss receive custom, vacuum-fit hair prosthetics. Each recipient also receives a “wig” to wear while waiting for the production of their prosthesis.
Yes. With children who need a more immediate solution, they can receive a synthetic wig which they can wear while their hair grows back!
Yes, we provide hairpieces to children under age 21 in the U.S. and Canada regardless of race, creed, or religion.
Applications are available on our website or can be mailed to you. We need a completed application along with a medical diagnosis, photo of the child, most recent tax return and two letters of recommendation.
This false post is just that, FALSE. LOL did not receive this phone call nor would anyone at our office have given this inaccurate information. Many people use our name to draw attention to themselves or their cause. IF there is an entity using our name and charging for hairpieces, it would be greatly appreciated if we could identify them and have this stopped.
NO! Our recipients receive their custom prostheses, FREE OF CHARGE. Additionally, we provide a regular FREE “wig” for them to wear during the production period.
