The big cut...

Today's post is not going to have anything to do with sugar, cupcakes or anything that contains butter! Instead it is a post to raise awareness about a cause I feel strongly about.

Yesterday was a big day! After 2 years of growing my hair out, I decided it was finally time to make "the cut". This is a picture of the ponytail that just a little over 24 hours ago was still attached to the back of my head! I was so nervous all day yesterday anticipating getting my hair cut. I have had short hair in the past but it has been quite a few years ago, so just knowing that the cut wasn't going to be just a "trim" this time but more of a drastic change had me a little uneasy.

But the reason behind why I decided to make the drastic "cut" is what is important and helped calm my nerves. I will be donating my hair to the Pantene Beatuful Lengths program. This is a campaign that encourages women and men to grow, cut and donate their healthy hair to make wigs for women who have lost their hair due to cancer treatments. Afterall, I am just lucky enough to be healthy and have a full head of hair. Being able to donate my hair is something that I feel honored to be able to do, in order to help other women suffering from cancer.

If you have never heard of the Pantene Beautiful Lengths program I encourage you to check it out here.

Does anyone want to see the before and after pics of my hair, well scroll on down...


So here is what my hair looked like just over 24 hours ago from the front...


and from the back.

I think this was the longest I have ever had my hair throughout my entire life! I was ready to let it go though, it was just getting to be too much to handle and style...and the blow drying time alone was way too time consuming! I am not a girl who likes to spend a lot of time primping my hair, the quicker the better for me...so short hair will be much easier to maintain during these hot and humid spring and summer months here in Mobile.

Are you ready for the "after" pics....

Not just yet...first I want to give you all some interesting facts about hair donation:

*Donated hair must be a minimum of 8 inches long (measure hair just above the elastic band of the ponytail to the ends)
*It takes at least 6 ponytails to make a Pantene Beautiful Lengths wig
*Creating a real-hair wig takes approximately 3 to 4 months
*For a realistic-looking wig that has consistent color throughout, donated ponytails must be processed and then dyed to the same shade

Here's my hair laying next to the 8-inch ruler on the Pantene hair donation paper work. I definitely got enough snipped! I told my stylist I'd rather her cut off more than enough hair than not enough. If your hair is not at least 8-inches then it cannot be used so I didn't want my hair to go to waste if it was too short. Turns out she ended up cutting about 10 1/2 inches...wow!

I'm going to miss this ponytail, but I am so glad it is going to such a worthy cause. I can't even imagine what it would be like to be a women suffering from cancer without hair. According to Pantene's website, 60 percent of women consider hair loss the most dreaded side effect they face when undergoing chemo therapy.

So now that you know a little bit about hair donation are you ready to see my new hairstyle?

Tada...10 1/2 inches shorter but I'm happy with how it turned out! I decided to go with a somewhat bobbed and angled look. It was weird shampooing my short hair for the first time this morning, there was hardly anything to run my fingers through...and it definitely doesn't fit in a ponytail now.

And the new view from the back.

So there you have it...my big adventure for the week! If you have never donated your hair, I highly recommend doing it just once, it is amazing how happy it will make you feel to know that you will be making a difference in the life of another woman.

If you have donated your hair before, send me a comment letting me know about your donating experience!