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Can someone tell me what's wrong witrh locks of love? - Page 2

post #21 of 66
6/29/05 at 4:17pm
This is very interesting. I have donated before but didn't research the company. I figured that they did a good deed... And my hair was very strong and healthy, so I hope it got used! And my neice who is 7 or 8 wanted to cut her hair but waited until it would be long enough to donate and then got a shorter cut than usual so that it would be long enough. It was the *cutest* haircut for her ever, so I hope she cuts it like that again!

Anyway, has LoL tried to explain these things for themselves? Have they ever been investigated? Seems like a great story for 20/20 or some other "news" mag show. The explanations given here really make sense to me (the unusable hair, etc), but I don't know if that's enough to acct for their really bad financial "numbers".

I try to give people the benefit of the doubt and to hear this really stinks! I think it's neat, though, that they don't advertise at all, it's just a word-of-mouth, common knowledge thing. Makes me wish they were more "sound" in the business end of things.

So what do they do w/ all their profits from selling the unused hair? Do they donate it or anything? I guess not or it would be listed.... "stuffing pockets" of the man in charge is what is implied here on this thread. Am I right? This is a big bummer for me to hear this!

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post #22 of 66
6/29/05 at 4:19pm
I agree with what Adina said. I also don't know enough about LoL to be opposed to them or to support them, but if they do recieve 2000 donations every week, how many of those are usable? I'd guess that most of them are color-treated, permed, split-endy, damaged, etc, and therefore wouldn't be usable for a wig. Of those 2000 donations, how many of those are actually healthy enough for a wig? (Especially when you consider that the longer hair gets, the more unheatlhy it is, just because it's older.)

I can say that if I were to get a wig, I wouldn't want one made from yukky permed, bleached, brittle hair.

Just because they receive the hair doesn't mean they'd be able to use it.
post #23 of 66
6/29/05 at 7:04pm
This is a huge bummer to hear....I've donated too as has Dh (and he's had a heck of a time growing his hair back in ).....I just thought they were on the up and up.....but apparently you have to research everything now adays....what happened to honesty?????
post #24 of 66
6/29/05 at 7:17pm
I would just like to reiterate, as well, that I have never heard anyone who works with bald kids (alopecia or cancer) say that these kids actually want human hair wigs. Human hair wigs are itchy, hot and hard to care for. The kids usually wear hats or scarves.

If donated hair is unusable for LoL to make wigs, then it would also be unusable for people to buy off auctions like eBay for making hairpieces. And a lot of the hair is apparently sold for just that purpose. People think they're donating to make a wig for some sick little kid and their hair ends up on the head of a rich person or a model? : Crappy.

(Want an EW! moment? I hear that human hair, like unusable donations to LoL, is often used to make protein shake mixes. I don't wanna know why or how.)

I don't care what anybody does with their hair, especially if they're gonna get it cut anyway (and hey, scoring a free haircut, that's pretty sweet). But I get kinda cheesed that so many people are sure their hair is going to go straight to the head of some thrilled little kid.

And on a purely personal note, as someone who is very attached to her long hair I dislike the cultural associations orgs like LoL seem to make: that hair is something that's most valuable when it's chopped off.
post #25 of 66
6/29/05 at 7:39pm
Hey! I didn't get a free hair cut! :
post #26 of 66
6/29/05 at 8:08pm
Kristin, I hear what you are saying. And until I visited the sites you posted, I had no idea people were so pushy about LoL and long hair.

Love your sig by the way!
post #27 of 66
6/29/05 at 8:33pm
Quote:
(Want an EW! moment? I hear that human hair, like unusable donations to LoL, is often used to make protein shake mixes. I don't wanna know why or how.)

Can I just say :Puke :Puke :Puke
post #28 of 66
6/29/05 at 10:17pm
I think the main thing about them is not how many wigs are or are not made compared to how much hair they get but that their ture admin costs push 50% and they are sitting on a $1million nest egg that resulted directly from money donated directly to them and the sale of hair donated to them. Who knows, maybe they are saving it up to build some massive building to somehow benefit kids with cancer or some such thing, but you would think that if that were the case they would have a capital campaign going for it so they could get as many donations as possible. Anyway, like I said before, their financials look very fishy to me.
post #29 of 66
6/30/05 at 1:01am
Wow .....I didn't know that. And I was planning on donating my hair again.
post #30 of 66
6/30/05 at 10:40am
Hi all! Also, and sorry I don't have a direct link, I've been looking at LoL stuff for awhile on and off here, the wigs for the children are NOT free. They have to pay based on a sliding scale system. And really, if they have a million dollars sitting around, why oh why do they need to charge for this??

My hair is at classic length (just past my behind, barely touches my thighs) and I have heard SO many people say "when you cut it, donate it to locks of love!", or "Oh, you should go cut your hair and donate it!" and it really makes me upset, because 1)who says I'm ever gonna cut it?? and 2)its MY hair, I took 10 years to grow it, and now that person is making me look like a mean old greedy monster because I won't give it up. I never ask them to give up something they've spent 10 years of their lives on. It really gives me the heebie jeebies when they pick up my hair in their hands when they do this. Like get OUTTA my space and leave my hair alone!
post #31 of 66
6/30/05 at 12:33pm
Being a long hair myself, I don't know how many times people have told me I need to "update my look" or some other variant and that I should "donate my hair to the poor cancer kids." <= I kid you not! That's what I've been told!

And when I refuse, I get the huge guilt trips of "but think of those poor kids." I do think of them. Instead of my hair, I crochet or knit a cap - but I need to find a place to donate those to! :LOL

My SIL has alopecia and I've offered to cut my hair for her so that she would have at least a "pony tail" out the back of her baseball cap. Nope. Even though she's completely bald, she'd rather do fake wigs and caps.
post #32 of 66
6/30/05 at 12:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by StarMama
... I have heard SO many people say "when you cut it, donate it to locks of love!", or "Oh, you should go cut your hair and donate it!" and it really makes me upset, because 1)who says I'm ever gonna cut it?? and 2)its MY hair, I took 10 years to grow it, and now that person is making me look like a mean old greedy monster because I won't give it up. I never ask them to give up something they've spent 10 years of their lives on...
This is exactly how I feel. I have long thick hair to the top of my rear and whenever I wear it down, I always (I mean always) get a comment along the lines of "When are you going to donate it?"
The implication that I am a selfish person is offensive.


(In the interests of full disclosure, I am a longtime member of the longhaircommunity and have some very strong, negative opinions of LoL.)
post #33 of 66
4/29/06 at 12:46am
That's sad to hear. My sister shaved her head (!!!) and donated to them.
post #34 of 66
4/30/06 at 12:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by StarMama
I never ask them to give up something they've spent 10 years of their lives on. It really gives me the heebie jeebies when they pick up my hair in their hands when they do this. Like get OUTTA my space and leave my hair alone!
You should say, "I'm sure they'd never accept it, because it's full of lice," and see how quickly they take their hands off.
post #35 of 66
4/30/06 at 2:06am
Here is another link that basically recaps what everyone is saying.

http://www.squidoo.com/locksoflove/

When my h ubby and Icut our hair, we give it to the bordies outside to make nests out of.
post #36 of 66
4/30/06 at 2:18am
Wow- I had know idea. I had been planning to cut my hair when I finish losing weight and donate it.

Anyone got any other ideas?
I know I can donate it to the birds, but as I have three shedding dogs who get brushed outside almost daily, I think the birds around here are already pretty comfy.
post #37 of 66
4/30/06 at 6:41am
I cut 15" off after dd was born because I had a really hard time caring for it at that point. It is now just past my shoulders and although I am disturbed by this news, I hope they were able to use it for something good...I had never blowdried or dyed my hair and it was very healthy. Now I miss it but until I read this thread I felt like I had done something good...sigh...another 10 years or so and it wil be back where it was!
post #38 of 66
4/30/06 at 10:42am
anyone know if wigs for kids has the same issues?
post #39 of 66
4/30/06 at 1:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rico'sAlice
Wow- I had know idea. I had been planning to cut my hair when I finish losing weight and donate it.

Anyone got any other ideas?
You could always find somewhere to sell it and donate the money to your fave charity.
post #40 of 66
4/30/06 at 7:47pm
I donated my hair a few months ago....I had no idea.
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Mothering › Mothering Discussion Forums › Natural Family Living › Activism and News › Can someone tell me what's wrong witrh locks of love?