Measuring my hair

I'd like to share a rather personal story with you all today. A few years back, my very close family friend (second older sister even) Emily was diagnosed with cancer. My sister and I went to vist Em in hospital as she was undergoing her first rounds of chemotherapy and loosing her hair. I remember so clearly when she said to me, almost jokingly I guess (because she has this amazing sense of humour), that she'd love my hair. It may seem a bit strange, but I felt compelled to actually give Em my hair. I really wanted to. I think it was Em who told me that people can donate their hair to make wigs for women who have lost theirs through cancer treatment. 

The first thing I did that night was go home and Google all the ways in which I could donate my hair for wig making. I came across Pantene Beautiful Lengths, one of the campaigns which runs across Australia and New Zealand. Unfortunately as I was reading through the requirements for hair donations they said that they did not accept hair which has been chemically coloured (i.e. dyed). I was so devastated because I had just coloured my hair only a few months before. 

For me there was no question about whether or not I wanted to donate me hair. It was just something I wanted to see through to the end. So I began to grow my hair out. I first had to wait for all the colour to grow out. This took the longest time. I think it was 2 years before it was all out completely. Then it took another year to get my hair to a length that I was satidfied with. During these three years, I made sure I took good care of my hair. I used leave in conditioner, I rarely straightened or curled it and I made sure I went for semi regular trims every few months (even though you're supposed to go every 6-8weeks). 

My good friend Cindy also got involved with me and we finally arranged to get our hair cut for tomorrow. Which leads me to my something new for today. 

Today I measured my hair for the first time ever and to my great surprise, and delight, it measured a total length of 81cm :) Plenty of hair to donate. YAY!