A few weeks ago, I went to get my hair cut.

I wanted about two inches off. I can’t stand it when my hair gets really long because it’s hard to manage.

It gets tangled easily, it’s hard to wash in the shower and it takes a lot longer to comb when I wake up in the morning.

But when I got my hair cut that day, something made me change my view of long hair.

There was an 11-year-old girl there who was also getting her hair cut.

She had beautiful, long, dark hair that reached almost down to her hips. She was getting about 10 inches off.

Her mother, father and baby sister were all there watching; her mother seemed particularly proud of her daughter, snapping photos of the process.

This little girl was cutting the 10 inches off of to donate to Locks of Love and I thought, “Wow. What a generous thing for this little girl to do.”

Locks of Love is a not-for-profit organization that takes 10-inch donations of hair or more and turns them into wigs for children suffering from longterm hair loss because of cancer.

Now, I’ve thought about donating to Locks of Love for a while.

But my problem is that I always get to the point where I can’t stand the long, easy-to-tangle hair.

I’ve seen girls and women with long hair alike, and it was actually kind of ironic: Both of my roommates last year had amazingly long hair that reached about down to their waists; one of them had actually donated to Locks of Love.

If they can do it, why can’t I?

Hair grows, on average, about half an inch every month.

So that means in order to grow 10 inches of hair, I’d have to wait one year and eight months before I got it cut again.

I think the longest I’ve ever gone without cutting my hair has been about eight months.

It’s also helpful to get your hair trimmed every once in a while, too.

The more you get your hair trimmed, the faster it will grow. Vitamins B, C, E, Beta Carotene, and Magnesium have also been known to make hair grow faster.

It’s also best to avoid using a straightener or hot oil treatments on your hair if you want it to grow faster.

Some rules Locks of Love stipulate are that you can’t donate colored, bleached, permed or dreadlock hair.

Locks of Love accepts gray hair, and curly hair can be pulled straight in order to measure 10 inches.

All hair must be bound in a ponytail in order to be accepted.

It’s going to be a tough process, but I’m going to challenge myself to try to give to Locks of Love again.

And I want to take this time to urge anyone else who’s ever thought about donating to Locks of Love to try it, too.

It’s a small way to contribute to charity.

I know if I were in the position of needing a wig, I would be thankful for those who donated to help me.

Sam Sottosanto is a junior journalism

major and can be reached at

581-7942 or DENopinions@gmail.com

While the state’s budget crisis has played a role in various cuts around campus, students seeking employment within the university haven’t felt the impact – for the most part.

(more…)