Last Friday I donated 8 inches of my hair. I knew I was going to be cutting my hair to a boyish cut anyway, so it made sense to give the rest to someone who really needs it.

I was a little worried because I knew Locks for Love only takes 10 inches at a minimum. And unfortunately I did not have that much hair.  Luckily, my hairdresser at Austin’s told me I could donate to another program called Beautiful Length’s because I had 8 inches worth.

Sponsored by Pantene Pro-V, Beautiful Lengths uses hair donated by others to make free wigs for women who have lost their hair during cancer treatment. The hair is taken by Pantene, then sent to global wig producer, HairUWear (think Jessica Simpson and Ken Paves). After the wigs are made, HairUWear distributes them through the American Cancer Society.

After I got my hair cut, I joined the Million Inch Chain created by Hilary Swank. She decided to donate her hair on Oprah, in hopes that 1 million inches of hair would be donated to Pantene’s Beautiful Length’s cause.

Donating hair is a really easy way to help others. I am so glad I was able to do it. And hey, if you’ve got extremely long hair, than 8 inches will seem like nothing!