Last year, a friend of mine came to work with a new short hairstyle and I was shocked to see her long, full hair cut off.  However, she told me that she did it for a good cause: the hair was donated to a program run by Pantene called Beautiful Lengths.  Unlike Locks-for-Love, you only need at least 8 inches to donate (unlike their 12 inches) and all wigs are given to cancer patients for free (unfortunately Locks-for-Love sells their wigs to patients, not donates).  Her act of kindness inspired me to participate.  I’ve never been able to give blood as I’m extremely anxious of needles, and just having my blood drawn for tests has ended up with me passing out and laying for a half-hour with orange juice and crackers in hand.  But growing my already long hair out was something I could do.

For months I’ve been taking good care of my hair, trimming it as needed and keeping it in good condition.  There were plenty of times when I had “bad hair days” or was sick of wearing ponytails, or just really wanted to just get a big haircut.  But I reminded myself of those who didn’t have the luxury of having “bad hair days” at all anymore, and that put it all in perspective.  After all they would go through with their lives being turned upside down, chemo and/or radiation treatments, and the emotions that I could only imagine one would have when they would lose a physical part of themselves… I could completely handle dealing with just another pony tail.  After months of waiting, this weekend my Mom so lovingly helped me (she is a self-taught and fabulous cutter of hair!) reach my goal and made the big cut for me: a total of 9 inches.  It takes a total of at least 6 ponytails to make one wig, so I’m asking any of you to consider donating to the program as well.

I’m so excited to start the spring off with a new hairstyle, a new look and a fresh start.  After months of waiting, I can tell you that it was definitely worth it.  I hope that my inspiration from my friend transfers into inspiring some of you too.

Click here for more information on participating in the Pantene Beautiful Lengths program.