Four-year-old Kenlie Parks-Walburn hopped into a barber chair at the Touch of Class salon Thursday morning, eager for a haircut.
Kenlie had her first haircut on her first birthday anniversary, when her grandmother trimmed her hair to the nape of her neck. Since that time, scissors have not touched Kenlie’s long tresses.
Recently, however, she decided she wanted to make a donation to Locks of Love. The Florida-based nonprofit organization provides hairpieces to children under the age of 18 who suffer from hair loss caused by medical conditions, such as cancer, serious burns, alopecia areata, ectodermal dysplasia and other diseases.
“I’m going to give it to a little girl who doesn’t have no hair,” Kenlie said as she waited for the trim to begin.
With 27 inches of thick blonde mane flowing from the crown of Kenlie’s head to the tips of her hair, the child had plenty of hair to spare.
“You helped a good cause,” cosmetologist Lindsay Kehres told her, after cutting off a 12-inch pony tail. Kenlie still had enough hair to reach the middle of her back.
Kenlie has had a headful of hair since the day she was born, according to her mother, Paula Parks.
“It was black and stood up two inches tall,” said Paula Parks. “She had the Don King look.”
Parks worried that her daughter would regret her decision when the cutting was over. To Kenlie, the hair had become something of a toy, or at least an accessory to playtime personae.
“It’s her ‘princess’ hair,” Parks said. “In the bathtub, it’s her mermaid hair.”
Parks needn’t have worried.
As Kehres finished trimming Kenlie’s haircut into a smooth style that fell over her shoulders, the girl watched in the mirror. She smiled.
“I love it,” Kenlie said.
Kenlie’s pony tail will be combined with others to make vacuum-fitted child-sized hairpieces. Because only the longest hairs in the pony tails are used, six to 10 pony tails are needed to make one hairpiece, which takes about four months to produce.
Donated hair must be 10 inches or longer, clean and dry, bundled in a pony tail or braid, and free from chemical damage.
Hairpieces are custom-made at a minimum cost of $3,500. They are provided to children at no charge or on a sliding scale, based on financial need. Applications for hairpieces can be picked up at participating salons or by calling (561) 963-1677.
A list of participating salons is available on www.locksoflove.org.
lvong (anonymous) says...
It is heart warming to hear about these stories of people actually giving their hair for others. Hairstyles are important to a lot of younger kids and there are many ways to help. Visit http://www.latest-hairstyles.com/arti... for other donations and http://www.latest-hairstyles.com for more info.
June 22, 2007 at 7:58 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )