Hair donation - mission accomplished

Last Friday saw the completion of a two-year mission: to grow my hair long enough to donate to a wig program for cancer patients.

This is the second time I've done this and it will be my last. Now, sadly, there is more and more grey hair. It normally takes me about two years to grow it long enough to donate. There is a lot more grey in it these days and since it is fine to start with, the grey is particularly brittle and weak - in other words, not so good for donating, since they process the hell out of it when they make wigs. So... another two years from now, there would just be too much grey to make it suitable for donating.

I decided that it's been five years of prepping, growing and donating and so, my service to humanity is done (at least in that regard). I went to see my stylist of about 7 years - Dave A. Richards of Deva Dave Salon and Boutique (www.devadave.com) and told him he could put some colour in it.

In case you're wondering, hair for donations should be all natural - no colour, perm or other chemical treatment.

For the first time in half a decade, I had colour put in my hair! Deva Dave was about halfway through the highlighting process when it finally dawned on me to ask, "Umm.... sweetheart, what colour are we putting in?"

"Blonde!" He said.

"Er... what shade?" I asked.

"Oh don't worry! It'll be fabulous!" He said, with his usual glamorous flair.

And with that, I settled back and trusted he would be right. I realized that he'd kept me talking and laughing so hard that I was oblivious to the fact that he hadn't even run some ideas past me, most likely knowing that if he'd asked me, I'd never have opted for such a dramatic change as the result was! It's definitely blonde! It's been a few days and I'm starting to get used to it... And yes, he was right... As colour goes, he is a pro.

Here we are after all was said and done...

(He got it all lovely and straight... I'll never be able to do that, I'm sure!)

Today I mailed the 9-inch pony tail to the wig maker.

Now I just have to learn how to deal with this mess of blond-ish curls on top of my head!

If you're interested in more information on hair donations in Canada, check out the Canadian Cancer Society website.