When actress Diane Lane went on The Today Show and
chopped her long locks earlier this year, she wasn't doing it for
vanity's sake. Lane is at the forefront of a movement in the beauty
industry that aims to help those less fortunate - from the inside
out.
While many diseases are life-changing, the changes that occur on
the outside can be nearly as traumatic as the symptoms of the diseases.
The physical effects of disease can have a devastating effect on the
way men, women and children feel about themselves and their interactions
with friends and family.
Photo credit: Photorazzi.com
This is not a question of stereotypical beauty, but rather a way for
those with illness to feel confident and even redefine what beauty
is.
Several charities have set their sights on helping those afflicted
with illness find peace with their outsides as they heal their insides.
Beautiful Lengths
One such initiative is called Pantene Beautiful Lengths. The
initiative launched with Lane's television appearance on Today.
The goal is to encourage people to grow, cut and donate their hair
to provide high-quality human hair wigs for women who have lost their
hair in the battle against cancer. According to Pantene, this
is the first initiative of its type aimed at assisting adult women.
The company is kicking off the initiative with a $1-million donation
to cancer research.
For information on the charity or to learn how to donate, log on
to www.beautiful
lengths.org.
Locks of Love
When Madonna Coffman's 4-year-old daughter developed alopecia, an
autoimmune skin disease resulting in complete hair loss, Coffman decided
to do something about it.
Her daughter's struggle, and eventual recovery, inspired her to found
Locks of Love in 1997, a not-for-profit organization that provides
hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children who suffer from hair
loss.
Locks of Love provides children with custom-fitted hairpieces
made of donated human hair. While many of the children who receive
locks suffer from alopecia, (the disease affects more than 5-million
people in the United States), beneficiaries also include children
who have suffered severe burns or lost hair as a result of radiation
treatments.
For information or to learn how to donate to Locks of Love,
visit www.locksoflove.org
Tips on donating hair
