I Donated My Hair

Here’s how you can do it too.

I donated my hair to the Rapunzel Foundation, an Irish charity making ‘Freedom Hair’ for alopecia patients.

Founder Anna Furlong is a hairdresser in the town of New Ross in Co. Wexford, Ireland. She founded the Rapunzel Foundation after learning that alopecia patients have no government support, nor does their hair (in a lot of cases) grow back. Freedom Hair is designed to allow alopecia sufferers to swim, do gymnastics and live their lives they way they want to.

The Rapunzel Foundation requires 14 inches of hair or more. The hair must be virgin hair (not dyed) and one length. My hair was perfect for this as I had been growing the length over the two years of lockdown without darkening the door of a hairdresser, so it was long and pretty much layer free. I had also stopped dying my hair in 2018 and cut the last of the dyed hair out in late 2019/early 2020, so my hair was entirely my own colour.

Here are the steps for donating your hair:

1. Measure hair and ensure you have the required length for your chosen charity. (See below).
2. Hair must be freshly washed and dried.
3. Split ends must be trimmed.
4. Hair must be put into a ponytail and secured with a hairband. Some charities require this ponytail to be plaited while others require bands to be placed down the ponytail to secure the hair together — please check the requirements of your chosen charity.
5. Hair must then be cut above the hair band.
6. The hair must be wrapped in tissue and placed in a zipped plastic bag before being placed into a heavyweight or padded envelope.
7. Post the hair to your chosen charity — ensure to add a return address for both your thank you card, but also in case the hair gets lost or doesn’t reach its destination for any reason. It is recommended to get the package weighed to ensure correct postage, and if possible, sent by registered post to allow you to track the delivery.

The charities will not provide updates on whether or not your hair is used to create a wig or who receives any wig created. This is due to the volume of donations but also to respect the privacy of patients that they work with. Some will provide thank…