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With her long hair snuggly tied in a ponytail, Grays Ferry resident Lisa Parsley sat in a barber’s chair Sept. 16 inside Sampson & Delilah’s, 625 S. 23 St. Owner and stylist Linda Spiegel, scissors in hand, stood behind her.
"Are you ready?" Spiegel asked the 41-year-old.
"Go, go, go," Parsley responded.
As Spiegel snipped, Parsley parted with nearly 11 inches of her light-brown hair in a matter of seconds. Two days after making the cut, the retired nurse from the 2300 block of St. Albans Place mailed the severed strands to Locks of Love, a Lake Worth, Fla.,-based nonprofit that provides wigs to financially disadvantaged children under 18 who have endured hair loss as a result of medical conditions. Most suffer from alopecia areata, an illness without a known cause or cure, Locks of Love Communications Director Lauren Kukkamaa said.
A retired cardiac nurse and former victim of the autoimmune skin disease, Madonna Coffman founded Locks of Love in 1997. She has since recovered, but her teenage daughter, also stricken with the condition, has not, Kukkamaa said.
The hairpieces help give children and teens the courage to live a normal life. "The reason we do this is to rebuild confidence and self-esteem and to return them to normalcy as much as possible," Kukkamaa said. "We are focused on spreading awareness and finding children who need our services."
Like all nonprofits, Locks of Love relies solely on donors.
"I would encourage other people to [cut their locks] if they have long hair," Spiegel, from 25th and Christian streets, said. "It’s a great cause. The kids are feeling insecure. Hopefully, this can boost their self-esteem and make them a little happier."
Parsley wasn’t the least bit nervous about going under the scissors. "I was like, ‘take it,’" she recalled. "I really trust Linda. She is very good. She’s a long-hair expert."
More than 15,000
salons in the U.S. support Locks of Love. Requirements to give are listed on the charity’s Web site, the biggest being donated hair must be at least 10 inches. Individuals — not salons — are responsible for mailing locks to the organization.
Spiegel said she gives a free cut and style to all clients who participate "because it’s such a good cause and it helps out people when they could use a little bit of extra help."
A hairstylist for 20 years, she heard about Locks of Love from a client shortly after opening her salon almost three years ago. In her career, the beautician has cut 30 Locks of Love clients, including some men. A few years ago, Spiegel gave a teenage boy a buzz cut — slicing more than a foot off — for donation. The longest she ever trimmed for the program was 2 feet, which belonged to a long-hair enthusiast who decided to part with her mane for the cause, Spiegel recalled.
It was NBC "Today" news anchor Ann Curry who shed national light on Locks of Love when she cut her raven mane and unveiled a shorter ‘do March 1. In July, actress Diane Lane cut her hair on a live "Today" segment for a similar cause, Pantene Beautiful Lengths, a campaign that encourages women and men to grow, cut and donate their mane to make wigs for women who have lost their hair due to cancer treatments.
"In the last couple of months we’ve been very lucky to have media attention because then we receive even more donations," Kukkamaa said.
After seeing something about Locks of Love on TV a couple of years ago, Parsley decided to grow her hair for the cause. Midway through the process, she experienced a health crisis of her own. Stricken with endometriosis, Parsley was put on Lupron, which made some of her hair fall out, she said.
"Just that little bit of hair loss was enough to make me realize how incredibly traumatic this has to be for anybody, but especially young girls and teens. Mine was mild [compared to them]," she said.
Parsley made a personal pact "to get through and find the positive in the negative of illness": If her hair grew back, she would donate it to Locks of Love.
Even though she and husband Ed love her shorter, layered bob, Parsley’s growing her hair out for a second donation and is encouraging other women to support the cause, too.
"It feels great after you do it. Doing anything that can help somebody with a chronic illness get through it, no matter how small a gesture, makes you feel happy," Parsley said. "It’s very rewarding. A small thing means even that much more when you’re really ill."
For more on how to donate or request a hairpiece, visit www.locksoflove.org.
