Donate your ponytail to Think Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Have you been loath to visit the hairdresser during the corona crisis? If the result is a ponytail of at least 30 centimetres long, you can just whack if off and send it to Think Pink. It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so the foundation is asking for hair donations to make wigs for women receiving chemotherapy.

The Belgian chapter of breast cancer foundation Think Pink launched the Coupe D’Éclat campaign 12 years ago and have received 173,000 ponytails since. Anyone can donate their hair – kids, adults, women, men – no matter the colour or texture.

The only requirement is that it be 30 cm long when cut, clean and dry, and free of products. The hair can be cut at the salon or just at home (though you might want to visit the salon afterwards).

“Sixty percent of women report that the losing their hair is the most drastic and painful” part of their therapy, Heidi Vansevenant of Think Pink told VRT. Some women even consider not getting chemo because of it.

Grow it out

Quality wigs make a huge difference to women, as they look much more natural than synthetic wigs. “We thought in the beginning that this campaign would be temporary,” said Vansevenant, “but the envelopes of hair just keep coming in. Hair even comes in from other countries.”

Think Pink sells the hair to wigmakers, and the proceeds go into a fund that provides women with €200 who cannot afford a natural wig. The Coupe D’Éclat website details how to send in your hair and lists salons all over the country experienced in cutting and sending in hair for the campaign.

And if you’d like to donate but don’t quite have 30 centimetres, you can in fact send in a ponytail anytime of the year.

Photo ©AJ Watt/Getty Images