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By Heather Hatfield
InteliHealth Correspondent
Mercedes Brown was 5 years old when she started losing her hair. It was only a bald spot on the crown of her head at first, but three months later, all of the hair on her head was gone.
"She would catch me crying," says Mercedes' mother, Ranee. "She would just say, 'Draw a happy face on the bald spot,' and go on her way. Thankfully, she was too little to be upset by it."
Initially, her doctor guessed that the hair loss was due to the stress of Mercedes starting kindergarten. About a month later, physicians learned that the young girl's affliction was not stress-related at all: Mercedes had alopecia areata, an autoimmune disorder that results in hair loss on the scalp and elsewhere on the body. It is a common condition, affecting more than 4 million people in the United States and approximately 2 percent of the population worldwide, Although a limited number of therapeutic agents exist for the treatment of alopecia areata, no treatment alters the ultimate course of the disease or prevents new hair loss from occurring. In addition, each patient's response to available treatments varies widely, further contributing to the capriciousness and unpredictability of this disease.
There is one thing, however, that is as close to a guarantee as kids like Mercedes are going to get.
"I called the National Alopecia Areata Foundation (NAAF) for help," Ranee says. "That's when we learned about Locks of Love."
Locks of Love is a nonprofit organization that reaches out to children like Mercedes.
"Locks of Love uses the donation of hair and money to create hairpieces for children suffering from long-term or permanent medical hair loss," says Jennifer Cox, executive director of Locks of Love. The hairpieces are provided for free or on a sliding scale, depending on ability to pay.
"The hair usually goes to children who suffer from alopecia areata, which is the most common condition that causes long-term or permanent hair loss. It's not physically disabling, but it can be mentally devastating," Cox says.
Although the large demand for custom-made hairpieces is probably the result of alopecia areata, this condition isn't the only reason a child might need a donation from a place like Locks of Love, she says.
"Radiation to the brain stem could cause permanent hair loss, as could severe burns," Cox says. "The only time a child may not be accepted is when he or she doesn't live in the U.S., could financially afford one without our assistance, or when hair loss is temporary, such as that seen as a result of chemotherapy. It takes four months to make a hairpiece, and usually a person undergoing chemotherapy has grown his or her own hair back by then."
As Cox explains, hair loss in children, regardless of the reason, can be devastating. Fortunately, organizations like Locks of Love can be a source of hope, but only thanks to the generosity of donors.
Donors come in all shapes and sizes, but they have one thing in common: They have hair they want to give to someone who needs it more than they do.
"Alopecia areata is a distressing condition," says Renee Besta, National Alopecia Areata Foundation director of public and scientific affairs. "People don't realize how important hair is. It represents health and well being. One's appearance is drastically altered, which is difficult in a society fixated on physical looks. Worse yet, it's expensive to get a good hairpiece. That's why Locks of Love is such a great organization."
Because hairpieces are so expensive — often starting at around $3,000 — Locks of Love fills a critical gap.
Thankfully, she says, Locks of Love receives over 100 hair donations every day. However, each of the donations must meet certain standards:
When you are ready to send your hair, visit the Locks of Love Web site and click on the link to make a donation. Fill out the form, then print it out. Make sure the your hair is still secured by a rubber band. To be on the safe side, Cox recommends that it be secured with two rubber bands when you have it cut. Put both the form and your hair in a plastic bag, and send it to:
Locks of Love
1640 S. Congress Ave., Suite 104
Palm Springs, FL 33461
Another organization that accepts hair donations:
Wigs for Kids
21330 Center Ridge Road
Rocky River, Ohio 44116
(Wigs for Kids is very similar to Locks of Love, but the organization differs in that it will create a wig for a child suffering from hair loss due to chemotherapy.)
That's all it takes to provide a child with alopecia areata with hair, and to change his or her life.
Locks of Love provided an answer to Mercedes' alopecia areata, and turned her life around. "It's made her life much easier," Ranee says. "She can wear different hair styles to school, and she looks like all the rest of the kids. She doesn't have to be self-conscious, anymore. With the help of Locks of Love, her condition is a lot easier."
