Katie Collins is 7 years old. And like many little girls her age, she loves long hair. That’s why her mom, Vicky, was so surprised when she wanted to cut most of hers off.
“She came home all excited, saying she wanted to donate her hair, and told me about the website for Locks of Love,” she says.
Locks of Love is a charitable organization Katie heard about from a girl at school. The group makes wigs for kids who have lost their hair due to cancer treatments, using donated hair at least 10 inches long. Katie’s hair was long enough to make the cut, and her heart was big enough to make her willing.
“I just thought about the other kids who didn’t have any hair right now, and it made me want to help them,” she says.
Realizing Katie was serious about the donation, Vicky called her neighbor Dayton Mast, who owns L’Image Salon in town, to make an appointment.
But when she brought Katie and her 5-year-old sister Libby to the salon, something unexpected happened. Libby, who was going to have her hair trimmed, decided she wanted to donate her hair, too.
“Libby has the classic long, golden curls, and when she said she wanted to donate it at the salon, I thought, ‘Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.’ Everybody tried to talk her out of it, but she was adamant,” Vicky says.
“When they were getting it cut, they were so excited. It helped that the guy who cut their hair was so sweet about it. It was just a love fest while we were there.”
When the cutting and styling were over, both girls left with the knowledge they were helping others, along with a new haircut they love.
“I think it looks better now,” Katie says of her hair.
Not that she plans to keep it short. She’s already eager to grow it out so she can make another donation.
“I think it’s still a good idea to do it, because I know there’s gonna be another kid who doesn’t have any hair,” she says.
Vicky, meanwhile, is still amazed her girls came up with the idea on their own.
“I’d never heard of Locks of Love, so it definitely wasn’t me pushing this. I wondered if they knew what they were doing. Turns out they knew best.”
Want to donate your hair? Visit locksoflove.org to find local salons that will cut your hair for free.
