I 
spend a lot of my floor time at the Salon convincing clients-in a bid to give them more contemporary looks- to part with more than the mere 1/10 of an inch they are willing to. Most want newer fresher styles with only a powder trim!!! I then tell them, albeit smilingly, that I am but a humble hair designer, not a magician! So, when a girl with the warmest pair of large twinkling brown eyes and one of the healthiest heads of long glossy hair walks in with one of my regulars, Sneha, and requests me to cut from her hair, a length, close to 22 inches, I found myself in a position of surprise. You actually want to cut off THAT much, I asked, to which she brightly replied, "yes I do"
Always more than game to cut any length of hair, I was still curious to know what it was that had prompted her make that decision.
It wasn't an impulsive act, I learned, on conversing with her, as she had given it a 6 month thought-she wasn't a page three regular or a member of the celebrati either, so it wasn't being done for effect, or to create a sensation- it wasn't about vanity too, for while she wanted the final outcome to look good, she didn't seem overly concerned about it.
" I want to donate my hair to the Hair for Hope cancer foundation" she said matter of factly.
"The hope for hair foundation, she offered as an explanation to my subsequent queries, made wigs out of the hair sent to them, these were then given to women who, post chemotherapy sessions, have lost their locks, and who, while wanting to wear a wig couldn't afford one" She then continued chatting to her friend while instructing me as to how to go about the initial snip, so she could parcel the hair without it becoming an untidy mass of knotted strands. The young mother of two then stood up, as I, in keeping with the procedure she had outlined, plaited her hair, bound it with a rubber band at the beginning of the plait and at the tail end of it, before going snip, snip, snip! In a matter of moments, The flowing mane was in the clasp of my palm, a detached plaited lifeless mass, that was ironically, about to begin its life affirming journey to the head of another.
I shaped what was remaining of the young lady's' hair into an A line sway bob, which, I was glad to note, suited her perfectly. The pics she gamely posed for, and which were put into a collage by the oh so clever Poulomi Saha, are testament to that!
Thanks Sumitra Nair, way to go! meeting you was an inspiration and I am happy you chose me to do this for you! Our Salon, will now, free of charge, cut the hair of anyone who wants to donate it for a charitable cause. 
Always more than game to cut any length of hair, I was still curious to know what it was that had prompted her make that decision.
It wasn't an impulsive act, I learned, on conversing with her, as she had given it a 6 month thought-she wasn't a page three regular or a member of the celebrati either, so it wasn't being done for effect, or to create a sensation- it wasn't about vanity too, for while she wanted the final outcome to look good, she didn't seem overly concerned about it.
" I want to donate my hair to the Hair for Hope cancer foundation" she said matter of factly.
"The hope for hair foundation, she offered as an explanation to my subsequent queries, made wigs out of the hair sent to them, these were then given to women who, post chemotherapy sessions, have lost their locks, and who, while wanting to wear a wig couldn't afford one" She then continued chatting to her friend while instructing me as to how to go about the initial snip, so she could parcel the hair without it becoming an untidy mass of knotted strands. The young mother of two then stood up, as I, in keeping with the procedure she had outlined, plaited her hair, bound it with a rubber band at the beginning of the plait and at the tail end of it, before going snip, snip, snip! In a matter of moments, The flowing mane was in the clasp of my palm, a detached plaited lifeless mass, that was ironically, about to begin its life affirming journey to the head of another.
I shaped what was remaining of the young lady's' hair into an A line sway bob, which, I was glad to note, suited her perfectly. The pics she gamely posed for, and which were put into a collage by the oh so clever Poulomi Saha, are testament to that!
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