When A Good Cause Gives Me The Push I Need

This is Me. This is the ME that most people in my life have known for nearly 20 years. I have had roughly the exact same hairstyle since I was a sophomore in High School. My hair is naturally curly, which unlike most folks with curly hair, I love. My hair has always been something I have been rather proud of. By in large it is the one feature I can usually count on people noticing and commenting on. My entire life, I have left it unaltered, all natural.



Over the years, my hair has changed bit by bit. Especially after giving birth to Sugar Bear, I noticed a texture change and a darkening of color. I also found that over the years, I tended to get as lazy as ever, and simply just pulled my hair back into a low pony or a high bun. Oh a whole, I rarely take the time to actually style my hair. I shower at night, pull it all up in a bun, and upon awakening I'll just throw the sides up in a barrette and go.



Since last September, I have been very dissatisfied with my hair. I wanted something different, but change makes me anxious, so I found every reason to just wait....and do nothing. NOTHING!

A few months later, Lis Garrett posted about her intention to donate her hair to Locks of Love along with her daughter sometime this year. She encouraged her readers to consider it as well.
I had been interesting in this particular organization for several years but hadn't seriously considered it based on the fact that my hair was layered. You need at least 10 inches to donate, and my shorted layer was no where near that in the past.
Taking Lis' suggestion, I looked into the process a bit more. Here is a snippet from their website:

Locks of Love is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the United States and Canada under age 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. We meet a unique need for children by using donated hair to create the highest quality hair prosthetics. Most of the children helped by Locks of Love have lost their hair due to a medical condition called alopecia areata, which has no known cause or cure. The prostheses we provide help to restore their self-esteem and their confidence, enabling them to face the world and their peers.

Sometime in May, I made the decision to donate my hair. Given my change induced anxiety, it took me another month and a half to make the appointment. In June, Lis made the cut, and started a Flickr Group called Bloggers for Locks of Love. The excitement started to build and I am thrilled to be a part of this great project.



Tuesday I took the plunge. Not only did I cut my hair shorter than it has been since I was 13 years old, I had it highlighted for the first time in my life. WOW! Talk about change. What do you think?







One of my biggest worries revolved around the fact that I despise having hair falling in my face. I wanted to be sure that I would be able to pull it up out of my face whenever I wanted. I am so pleased with this hairstyle because I can easily put the sides up as well.





It appears that I may still be able to get ready in 5-10 minutes also. A few squirts of water, some curling cream, and I'm ready to go. WOO HOO! Why did I wait so long?
I guess sometimes....I just need a shove.