Hair donated to Locks of Love

Expressions of disbelief filled College of Eastern Utah’s cosmetology department on March 8 when seven community members cut off at least 10 inches of their hair to be donated to Locks of Love.
The idea came from Jessica Juliano who represented Carbon High School’s FCCLA. The high school junior not only organized the event, but participated by shedding 10 inches of her own hair while her parents Pam and Joe watched.
Locks of Love is a non-profit organization located in Florida that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children 18 years and younger suffering from long-term medical hair loss. “We meet a unique need for children by using donated hair to create the highest quality hair prosthetics,” is a quote from its web site.
Most of the children helped by Locks of Love have lost their hair due to a medical condition called alopecia areata, which has no known cause or cure. The prostheses Locks of Love provides helps to restore self-esteem and confidence, enabling the children to face the world and their peers, writes its organizers.
Locks of Love accepts a minimum of 10-inches of hair length and can be from men, women, young and old, and all colors and races. They say that the majority of hair donated comes from children who wish to help other children. CEU cosmetology frequently has patrons donate their hair to the national organization.
CEU’s cosmetology program, under the direction of Debbie Prichard and Linda Davis, participated in the Locks of Love program for several years.
“After a participant gets their hair cut off for the charity, they are given free haircuts,” Prichard said.
While most of the participants hair is cut by students, some had friends and boy friends cut off their long hair and then had the cosmetology students give them a new shorter hair style.