# Locks of Love



## Carlota59 (Jul 22, 2012)

http://www.bbb.org/charity-reviews/national/children-and-youth/locks-of-love-in-west-palm-beach-fl-1839


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## milkybean (Mar 19, 2008)

So does this mean it's OK to donate hair to them now?


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## ellairiesmom (Mar 20, 2008)

Hmmm...I didn't know it wasn't ok before??? DD1 just donated 12 inches 2 weeks ago...

What's the scoop on them?


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## rhianna813 (Apr 3, 2009)

The only thing negative I've heard is that sometimes they sell the hair you donate instead of using it for wigs. This is because as a non profit organization they need money to run the org, create the wigs, etc&#8230; Although I later heard the only hair they sell is any hair they cannot use because it's colour treated, too short, etc&#8230;


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## FloridaBorn (Nov 28, 2009)

I'm on a long hair forum on another website and us longhairs get asked constantly if we're growing our hair to donate to Locks of Love. Everyone thinks they give wigs to children with cancer. If you read the FAQ section on their website they SELL wigs to kids and adults with alopecia. It may be reduced price, etc, but it's not free. Any hair they receive that is gray, curly, or color treated gets sold.

A better charity to donate hair to is Pantene Beautiful Lengths.


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## jayell79 (Jun 18, 2007)

That and they are a fishy non profit, really huge operating costs & high ceo pay = not a lot of money actually going towards the cause.


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## mamatochubchub (Jan 28, 2005)

When I was in the process of selling my first harvest of hair in 2000, I spoke with many hair fetishists at the time who advised my hair would fetch the best price on an ebay auction (that was long ago before the newer hairtrading sites).

Many of those fellows told me, separately, that most donations to locks of love to not meet wig standards, that most wigs are made from asian hair which is bleached and dyed (and cheap), and that locks of love auctions off most of the hair which is donated to them, the nicest of which is bought by fetishists (for not much money).

(edited to change the word 'email' to 'ebay'...twas a typo)


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## ellairiesmom (Mar 20, 2008)

Interesting info. I did read their site before donating & knew that hair could be sold to help with their overal mission. I also knew it wasn't for cancer.

Wish I had known about Pantene Beautiful Lengths though!!! Total bummer. In June/July when it's time to do it again for summer, we will DEF go that route.

All things considered, the experience was amazing for my 4 year old & I know the overall lesson/concept of charity and helping others really struck a chord with her...


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## kythe (Dec 20, 2007)

Thanks for the information. My daughter donated her hair to locks of love once. I had heard mixed things about it, but it was the only organization I knew about. She's growing her hair out again now, so I will look into Pantene Beautiful Lengths this time.


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## honeybee80 (May 24, 2005)

Children with Hairloss is another great company to donate to...I've donated hair twice to them now.


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## A&A (Apr 5, 2004)

Beautiful Lengths is a better charity.


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## Banana731 (Aug 4, 2006)

Thanks for the tips! I have a long braid in a baggy waiting to be donated, I was hesitant after hearing about some of the issues with locks of love. I will check out the other two mentioned here.


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## elus0814 (Sep 21, 2009)

I've done hair donations three times. Twice to wigs for kids and once to pantene. Locks of love charges for wigs, pays those who do admin work for them quite a bit, spends tons on advertising, charges families for the wigs (up to, if I remember correctly, $1000) on an income based sliding scale, uses a very small percentage of hair that is donated for wigs, and sells the rest (sometimes to people with hair fetishes). One article quoted the ceo as saying that they get too much hair and cash donations would be better for them. On top of all this the number of wigs sold at their reduced rate is less than 50 per year. They receive over 100,000 donations and make 50 wigs. Each wig can take up to 15 donations but even at 15 each that means only 750 out of 100,000+ goes to it's intended purpose - less than 1%. Between cash donations and selling hair donations they have millions of dollars on hand, as a non profit their financial information is available to the public. With so much money why are they charging families for the wigs and why can't they make more of them? I don't know how they've turned into such a big charity.


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