Smart Spending recently shared a piece on how to sell your hair for cash. The piece pointed to this woman's site -- where it shows that she sold her hair for $1,075. A few things stood out to me:
1. Wow, you can make serious money selling your hair.
2. It took her four years to do, so that's only a bit over $250 per year. Not the greatest, but if you like long hair anyway, why not?
3. She really marketed her hair well. Notice all the great selling points she lists.
My wife grew her hair out one time for a charity and it was a nightmare. For months she simply had long, straight hair that wouldn't do anything but hang like a limp towel. It was like I was married to a hippie gal from the 60's. But it was for a good cause (charity), so I dealt with it. Once. That said, if you like the way your hair looks when it's very long, why not grow it out and sell it?
And if you want a few more ideas for making some extra money, check out 11 Great Ways to Earn More Money.
Since Locks of Love, probably the most popular hair donation charity, is somewhat controversial, I think it's a good suggestion to sell one's hair for cash. Then, if you wish, donate the cash to a less controversial charity.
Posted by: Julia | May 27, 2008 at 09:19 AM
Julia --
What's controversial about them?
Posted by: FMF | May 27, 2008 at 09:48 AM
Controversial for a few reasons.
Locks of Love has been accused of selling donated hair by the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance. An e-zine article says the BBB-WGA reported the "Locks of Love organization has committed no crimes. All that Locks of Love does seems to be completely charitable, and any selling of hair wigs well within their rights." They sell wigs on a sliding scale depending on the family's income. I'm guessing to offset their costs, which the NY Times reports to be $1,000 per wig.
Given it's popularity (seen on Oprah and beyond), they receive a lot of donations. But not everyone knows that they can't use all hair (e.g., not gray, colored, treated, damaged), and they throw away all hair they "can't" use. You'd think they could at least send it back to the donor or pass it on to an organization that might be able to use it.
And some people get annoyed when they find out that the wigs don't go to kids with cancer. They primarily go to kids who can't regrow hair (e.g., kids who suffer from alopecia areata or burn victims).
E-Zine: http://ezinearticles.com/?Locks-Of-Love-A-Beautiful-Concept-With-A-Pinch-Of-Controversy&id=445833
NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/06/fashion/06locks.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin
Posted by: MetaMommy | May 27, 2008 at 05:29 PM
They take colored and gray hair too, just not bleached. If they make 1,000 per wig then the donor should get at least 10 percent of that....I had no idea they sell their wigs for that much...So basically because of donors, they are the most popular site to donate hair and they make a lot of money even though they state that they are "not so non profit"
Posted by: Stephanie | March 06, 2009 at 08:43 AM
You can also sell your hair at http://www.OnlineHairAffair.com Everything has a great chance of selling. It doesnt matter if your hair is colored, highlighted are virgin there are companies other than wig makers can use your hair. Try it I would say http://www.OnlineHairAffair.com is one of the better sites out there to make money by selling your hair.
Posted by: Kathy | June 07, 2009 at 03:04 AM