New Hair and Donation - February 2015

My family and I have long disagreed about my hair; I have always preferred it shorter, while they want me to keep it as long as possible. We had settled into an uneasy truce, where I would usually grow it out long enough to donate, then chop it off and start over again.

But when my hubby got diagnosed, all that changed. He requested that I not cut my hair, and how could I deny someone just diagnosed with cancer at 37. The way I looked at it, since he didn't get to have hair, he could have mine for the duration of his course.

So, for the past 3 years, I have been growing out my hair. And let me tell you, it has driven me nuts! I hate when it gets caught in your neckline, and it's even worse when it gets caught in your bra. But my limit in the past had always been when those things happened while my hair was up in a high ponytail. Yet this time I didn't have that option. So we came to the agreement that I could get periodic trims and layers and I would just have to learn to live with it.

In addition to that, with everything that was going on, my hair wound up thinning significantly. I still don't have a firm diagnosis, but it is most likely a combination of stress and diet. That just made my desire to chop off all my hair worse.

Just recently, the hubby said that if I had enough hair to donate that also wouldn't leave the rest too short I could make the cut. Let me tell you, I pulled out my ruler as fast as I could! I found that Children with Hair Loss will accept color-treated hair that is 8 inches or longer, so I made the appointment for the only Saturday the kiddo didn't have a swim meet, Valentine's Day.

I have found a great hair stylist in Nicole at Best Kept Secret Hair Salon in Ambler, PA. She does great things with hair, really helps work through my ideas during consults, and has even gotten the kiddo to talk. :) I showed her some pictures I had found of some fun hair colors that I thought would still be work appropriate, and she started in on the plan.

You can see the after results below. We went with purple, pink, and blue Peek-A-Boo highlights on a medium brown base and a great shag haircut. And I was able to send off 8-9 inches to help a worthy cause.

Have you ever donated your hair? I'm loving the fun colors. What color do you think I should do next?