Movin’ Together – Hair Care & Wigs For Kids

by Sara Vogt, Lauren Gooch - August 24, 2020

Invest in your hair. It is the crown you never take off! On this broadcast of Movin’ Together, we are focusing on having and sharing healthy hair.

There are many healthy ways of caring for our hair, such as choosing natural hair care products for us to use daily. Natural products, fewer chemicals, are better for us, our families, our communities, and our environment. Our hair is organic and needs nourishment the same way our bodies need healthy food choices to stay vibrant and vitalized.

Some of the benefits of using natural hair care products are listed below:
1) Gentle on the hair
2) Strengthens the hair
3) Improves hair growth
4) Safe for the environment
5) Void of cancer-causing cleansing agents
6) Contains antioxidants (like – vitamin E)
7) Often Allergy-free
8) Washing our hair daily without becoming too dry or too oily ( a plus during COVID19)

August is National Hair Loss Awareness Month. In this feature, Lauren donated 14” inches of her hair to Wigs for Kids (https://www.wigsforkids.org ), a nonprofit organization that provides wigs to children suffering from hair loss. Hair loss in children can result from a variety of causes, including chemotherapy treatments for cancer, alopecia, trichotillomania, burns, etc.

Since 1981, Wigs for Kids has been helping children look and feel like themselves again by providing wigs that are hand-tied, strand-by-strand, into a custom hairpiece that fits each individual child. The wigs are designed to withstand playtime, sports, and everyday life, so they won’t come off during activity.

Wigs for Kids runs entirely on hair donations and monetary donations, as they do NOT charge the recipients for the wigs. In addition to the wig, each recipient is also provided with hair products, a mannequin, brushes, towels, etc. to help them care for their wig. It costs about $1,800 to fund the whole process of creating one wig, along with 20-30 donated ponytails. Therefore, Wigs for Kids is very appreciative of any donations they receive. To learn more about donating financially, click here (https://www.wigsforkids.org/get-involved/financial-donations/ ). To learn more about donating your hair, you can view the requirements below, or check it out on their website here.

Guidelines for Measuring and Cutting Your Hair Donation

1. Make sure hair is a minimum of 12 inches for proper hair donation length. We encourage you wait and grow a longer ponytail (14+ inches) to have the most impact on a child in need.
2. • Pull curly hair straight for a more accurate measurement.
   • Start the measuring tape at the start of the ponytail.
   • Stop measuring where the ponytail starts to thin due to layers or split ends.
3. Hair must be clean and stored/packaged completely dry.
4. • Wet hair will mold in shipping and will be thrown away.
5. Hair cannot be permed, color-treated, or highlighted.
6. • Learn more about our hair donation requirements (https://www.wigsforkids.org/resources/donation-requirements/ )
   • Temporary coloring or highlights that wash out are acceptable but must be completely washed out before cutting. Gray hair is accepted.
7. Tie hair into at least four sections (six are even better) around the head for a more generous donation.
8. • Hair that is pulled into one ponytail or braid results in a loss of up to four inches of hair. To section ponytails:
   • • Make a center part
     • Starting from this center part, part the hair over the top of each ear. This will create four sections of hair
9. To create four ponytails:
10. • Tie the hair in front of each ear into ponytails, and then tie the hair behind each ear into ponytails.
    • Make sure each ponytail or braid is tightly secured. Hair that is loosely wrapped tends to become loose when shipped, making it unusable.
    • PLEASE be sure hair is tight and secured with several rubber bands 2-3 inches apart.
11. Cut hair above rubber band.
12. Seal all dry ponytails in a zip-lock bag
13. Place ziplock bag along with barcode and/or ID number in a sealed envelope addressed to:

Wigs For Kids — Hair Donations
24231 Center Ridge Road
Westlake, Ohio 44145

When Lauren gave us the details about donating her hair, she mentioned that it could not be dyed. That detail about not dying the hair caused Sara to reflect on why she stopped dying her hair over 20 years ago. Her pastor’s wife, Scotti Duis, was going through cancer treatment. Many have shaved their heads to support others going through cancer when those they love lose their hair, but Sara decided to stop dying her hair and encouraged Scotti to go dye-free too! Fewer chemicals are a better way to live at any time that we have the freedom to choose. Scotti decided not to color her hair, so she is still dye-free, AND thanks be to God, more importantly, twenty years later, she is cancer-free.

Sara is grateful for the Facebook page that supports and encourages women to enjoy their natural hair color! Women of all ages are deciding to let their crown of glory go grey! If you would like to see what the other 30,000 members of Going Grey Gracefully say about embracing their grey, please check it out!

Proverbs 16:31
Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.

Corinthians 11:15
But for a woman, if her hair is abundant, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given to her for a covering.
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*Please remember to fill out the online donation form and print out the barcode to include with your hair
*Packages not containing a hair donor form, barcode or ID number are understood to be anonymous donations.
*Please consider adding a small financial donation in with your hair to help Wigs For Kids with the hair processing or the cost of services and hair replacements averaging $1,800 yearly per child. Any amount helps us get closer to helping a child.
*If you would like to request a wig for a child, click here to learn more.
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