our soon to be shorn brewer, Anthony!
Join us in the Boundary Bay Brewery Beer Garden on Saturday, May 22nd for some seriously hair raising fun! We’re putting together a big Locks of Love party and wooing you down to the beer garden with awesome beer and some sweet BBQ…but we’re really hoping you’ll get inspired to donate YOUR hair…right along side our brewers Anthony and Steve! Anthony’s been growing his hair for years now and his long locks have become a familiar sight around the brewery. But, on May 22nd, he’ll be cutting it all off for Locks of Love! As will Steve, our brewer who SERIOUSLY hasn’t cut his hair since 1986 (minus a few splint end trims here and there!). Don’t let them go it alone – join in on the hair cutting fun!
Locks of Love is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the United States and Canada under age 21 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. They meet a unique need for children by using donated hair to create the highest quality hair prosthetics. The mission of Locks of Love is to return a sense of self, confidence and normalcy to children suffering from hair loss by utilizing donated ponytails to provide the highest quality hair prosthetics to children. The children receive hair prostheses free of charge or on a sliding scale, based on financial need. Recipients are financially disadvantaged children, age 21 and under, suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis.
Steve, our brewer with locks from 1986!
The children who receive these hairpieces have lost more than their hair; they suffer from a loss of self. Many children have been teased by classmates and/or embarrassed by the attention they receive because of their hair loss. They often will withdraw from normal childhood activities such as swimming, going to the mall or even playing with their friends. While wearing a hairpiece is certainly not a cure for these children, it can help restore some of the normalcy to their everyday lives that most of us take for granted. It is the Locks of Love goal to help provide a foundation on which they can begin to rebuild their self-esteem.
Most of the children being helped by Locks of Love suffer from an autoimmune disorder called alopecia areata, which causes the hair follicles to shut down. In addition to the loss of scalp hair, many also lose their eyelashes, eyebrows and all body hair. This hair loss is permanent in most cases, and there is no known cause or cure. Other recipients have been victim to severe burns, endured radiation treatment to the brain stem as a treatment for cancer, or suffer from any number of skin disorders that cause permanent hair loss. There are several problems facing children who suffer long-term medical hair loss. Most wigs sold by retailers are made to fit adult heads, and are much too big for children to wear. They often require the use of tape or glue to keep them from falling off, and these adhesives can burn or irritate the scalp. Often, the styles of adult wigs are not age-appropriate and synthetic wigs can mat and frizz with excessive styling.
The hair prosthetics Locks of Love provides are custom-made from donated ponytails for each child’s head. They retail between $3,500 to $6,000. The hairpiece forms a vacuum seal, like a suction cup, and does not require the use of tape or glue. Only the wearer of the hairpiece may remove it, by breaking the vacuum seal at the temples. Children can dismiss insecurities about classmates pulling off their hairpiece, or losing it at recess. They can swim, shower and do gymnastics – in short, they can be kids again. Each hairpiece is made from real human hair, and arrives long, so the recipient may style it to fit their face.
So, wanna help? If you’ve got hair to donate that’s 10″ or longer, then come down to the Beer Garden on May 22nd and get your hair cut for free! We’ll have trained stylists on hand from local Bellingham salons ready and willing to part you of your hair. And, once the deed is done, let Boundary Bay Brewery buy you lunch…we’re giving free BBQ lunches to all who donate their hair to Locks of Love! Stylists from Honey Salon and Bellisima Salon will be set up in the Beer Garden to cut anyone’s hair who’d like to donate to Locks of Love and we’ll even have representatives here from St. Joseph’s Cancer Center to provide support, answer questions and raise awareness. This is a family friendly event and it’s free…so come down between Noon and 5pm to donate your hair or just to enjoy some BBQ and craft beer and cheer on those who are getting shorn!
basic donation guidelines:
- hair must by 10″ or longer, in a ponytail or braid, clean and dry (pull curly hair straight to measure it)
- layered hair works if the longest layer is 10″
- bleached/highlighted hair is not usable, but colored hair is usable as long as it’s not colored over bleached hair
Bellinghams Best Beer 