# Selling your hair **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [February 17, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-your-hair/529371 "2010-02-17T18:25:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-your-hair/529371/1 "2010-02-17T18:25:09Z")
[http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/234/can-i-make-money-selling-my-hair-to-a-wigmaker](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/234/can-i-make-money-selling-my-hair-to-a-wigmaker) Even if you can’t sell it, you can still donate it to help cancer survivors coping with hair loss. A friend of mine has donated to this organization several times and thinks very highly of it: [http://www.locksoflove.org/](http://www.locksoflove.org/) ---
**Author:** ![Lestrade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Lestrade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lestrade)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-your-hair/529371/2 "2010-02-17T18:29:32Z")
In today’s [column](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/234/can-i-make-money-selling-my-hair-to-a-wigmaker)\*, Cecil said that wig makers don’t buy human hair that’s been treated as shampoo companies recommend. I’ve no argument with that, I’d just like to mention [Locks of Love](http://www.locksoflove.org/), a non-profit that provides hairpieces to children under age 21 suffering from long-term medical hair loss. It’s a worthy cause and I’ve known both donors and recipients. (I worked with an undergrad and had no idea until she told me.) [sub]\* Read “today” as May 5, 1978, of course.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![rootbeer277](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@rootbeer277](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rootbeer277)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-your-hair/529371/3 "2010-02-17T18:48:26Z")
While Locks of Love may be the most high-profile and well-known hair donation charity, there is a lot of public misinformation about them. The vast majority of their recipients are not cancer patients, and they do not provide the wigs for free (they charge a fee based on the family’s income). There are other human-hair wig charities to look at, with different goals and patients in mind. Squidoo has a good list of some of the better ones, and they have a page about the controversies and misconceptions about Locks of Love. [http://www.squidoo.com/donateyourhair/63531692-Donate-To](http://www.squidoo.com/donateyourhair/63531692-Donate-To) [http://www.squidoo.com/locksoflove](http://www.squidoo.com/locksoflove) ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-your-hair/529371/4 "2010-02-17T18:52:12Z")
\ Two threads on the same subject merged. \ ---
**Author:** ![lvehko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/0ea827/32.png) [@lvehko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lvehko)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-your-hair/529371/5 "2010-02-17T19:35:34Z")
Cecil has now given hope to the hygenically challeged – when someone bitches at you for having dirty hair, just tell them you’re keeping it that way so you can sell it. ---
**Author:** ![Lestrade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Lestrade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lestrade)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-your-hair/529371/6 "2010-02-17T20:38:21Z")
As long as you don’t get too lax and end up with dreadlocks. “Hair farming”, well, you could say that it’s organic and dolphin-friendly. I wonder if you could become certified kosher… ---
**Author:** ![signal11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@signal11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/signal11)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-your-hair/529371/7 "2010-02-17T22:32:08Z")
And in an ironic turn of events, the highest quality human hair wigs come from China. However, the market for high quality, healthy human hair is shrinking in China as even the rural poor are starting to cotton onto modern, western hair washing practices. Oddly enough, I have it from pretty good authority from wig makers/hair buyers who have made forays into South Asia that Indian hair just isn’t as suitable for wig making as Chinese/NE Asian hair. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-your-hair/529371/8 "2010-02-18T22:06:06Z")
For the Canadians in the audience, I just did a quick google and see that The Canadian Cancer Society offers some advice and organizations for [donations](http://www.cancer.ca/Canada-wide/Support%20Services/Hair%20donations.aspx?sc_lang=en). ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-your-hair/529371/9 "2010-02-19T02:39:29Z")
> [@rootbeer277](#): > > While Locks of Love may be the most high-profile and well-known hair donation charity, there is a lot of public misinformation about them. The vast majority of their recipients are not cancer patients, and they do not provide the wigs for free (they charge a fee based on the family’s income). There are other human-hair wig charities to look at, with different goals and patients in mind. Squidoo has a good list of some of the better ones, and they have a page about the controversies and misconceptions about Locks of Love. > > [http://www.squidoo.com/donateyourhair/63531692-Donate-To](http://www.squidoo.com/donateyourhair/63531692-Donate-To) > [http://www.squidoo.com/locksoflove](http://www.squidoo.com/locksoflove) Yeah, but it also sounds like a lot of the hair they receive is unusable. ---
**Author:** ![Lestrade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Lestrade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lestrade)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-your-hair/529371/10 "2010-02-19T14:54:36Z")
That’s interesting, one of **rootbeer277** ’s links leads to a site that charges $20 for hair [classified ads](http://www.hairwork.com/bidhere.htm) to sell your hair. One forehead slap and [google search](http://www.google.com/search?q=%22sell%20your%20hair%22&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:unofficial&client=iceweasel-a) later we see that there’s a fair market for American hair. A lot of the buyers ads request videos of the hair cutting. Is there a non-squicky explanation for that request? ---
**Author:** ![signal11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@signal11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/signal11)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-your-hair/529371/11 "2010-02-19T16:46:46Z")
> [@Lestrade](#): > > That’s interesting, one of **rootbeer277** ’s links leads to a site that charges $20 for hair [classified ads](http://www.hairwork.com/bidhere.htm) to sell your hair. One forehead slap and [google search](http://www.google.com/search?q=%22sell%20your%20hair%22&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:unofficial&client=iceweasel-a) later we see that there’s a fair market for American hair. > > A lot of the buyers ads request videos of the hair cutting. Is there a non-squicky explanation for that request? Nope. There’s an entire genre of erotica of women getting their heads shaved. I found this on a “new” hard drive I bought from Best Buy. ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Edwards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e47c2d/32.png) [@Joe\_Edwards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Edwards)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-your-hair/529371/12 "2010-02-19T16:54:30Z")
If washed hair is not suitable for wigmaking, then what do these charities that collect hair for children with cancer do with the donated locks? ---
**Author:** ![eternallyverdant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eternallyverdant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eternallyverdant)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-your-hair/529371/13 "2010-02-21T04:38:14Z")
I’d have to disagree with the column and say that you can turn a good profit for your hair. There’s a website that I came across called [The Hair Trader](http://www.thehairtrader.com) where you can sell your locks. Apparently people have received as much as $2500 for longish head of hair… along with video of the cutting. I’m somewhat inclined to think that the entire website might exist solely for the benefit of some pervy but insanely rich person. If all else fails, this might be how I buy textbooks next year. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-your-hair/529371/15 "2013-01-20T14:05:55Z")
Spam reported.