BRITTANY YEAROUT
News Assistant
The HAWC turned into a hair salon Monday and Tuesday nights when 25 students donated their hair to Locks of Love, a non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to children who are suffering from long-term medical hair loss.
The process of providing a child a hair prosthesis takes between four and six months; however, it helps the child restore self-esteem and confidence, encouraging them to face the world, according to cancer survivor and Associate Dean of Students for Housing and Community Living Stacy Rothberg.
“When a child has to deal with being different because you have cancer or a disease, you are dealing with it internally, but you also have an external mark,” Rothberg said. “Being able to have Locks of Love and have custom-fitted wig makes a real strong impact for kids; it gives them the ability to feel like a normal kid.”
This was the fourth year of Locks of Love on campus and was sponsored by Student Programming Board, Housing and Community Living and The Salon at Malibu Creek. There was one professional hairstylist from The Salon at Malibu Creek and two Pepperdine hairstylists.
Professional hairstylist Michael Ahmeti has been donating his time to Locks of Love for three years.
“I want to give out to society as much as I can and this is one way I can do it,” Ahmeti said. “From my experience of clients, you can change the look of somebody just by a nice haircut and a nice color. So with a child that has no hair and then you put a wig on him, it will change the child’s whole life and boost his ego.”
Locks of Love accepts a minimum hair length of 10 inches and they need hair from men and women, young and old, all colors and races.
Freshmen Heather Bruce donated 22 inches of hair, the longest amount in Pepperdine history.
“I have never cut my hair, only trimmed it,” Bruce said. “I decided to do this because of starting college and it’s a change. I’m donating it because I want to be able to give to someone else.”
Cashier’s office supervisor Linda Hood was another donor who grew out her hair for the sole purpose of giving to Locks of Love.
“To just think about all these people whose heads of hairs are together, combining to create a wig for this person to make the quality of life for them better and improve their life is just fantastic,” Hood said.
Each hairpiece requires six to ten ponytails. Hair that is short, gray or unsuitable for children will be separated from the ponytails and sold at market value.
For some students, cutting their hair was a hard decision, but Rothberg said once they realized that they were going to make a kid feel better about himself it was worth it.
“This is a very simple tangible way that you can give back and as a cancer survivor I just realized that this was easy and why didn’t I think about this sooner,” Rothberg said.
Ahmeti said he was upset with the students who just walked by without donating, but overall the coordinators were happy with the turnout.
“Our society is so hung up on image and you really get attached to your hair because it’s a sign of beauty. And I think for Pepperdine students men or women to give up their hair it just shows that they are willing to make a sacrifice and be able to help out a kid in need,” Rothberg said.
It is not too late for other students to donate their hair, students can visit the Locks of Love Web site at www.locksoflove.org for more information.
03-29-2006