thon in Alpharetta collects hair for needy

thon in Alpharetta collects hair for needy

ALPHARETTA, Ga. For the eighth year, ponytails will be collected as part of the "It’s Just Hair" cut a thon. This year, the event will be May 19 at Taylor Brooks Salon in Alpharetta.

Last year, the event collected 120 ponytails. All of the ponytails are donated to Locks of Love where they are made into wigs for people without hair.

Created in 2006 by sisters Emily, 15, and
http://www.tedhair.com Jenna, 13, and their mom, Diane Cooley, It’s Just Hair is a haircut a thon to benefit children with alopecia areata.

Alopecia is a highly unpredictable autoimmune disease that can cause hair loss in patches or total hair loss of the entire body, including eyebrows and eyelashes. The hair loss can be temporary, recurrent or permanent. Onset usually occurs in childhood and although it is not
http://www.tedhair.com life threatening, the effects of losing one’s hair can be psychologically devastating, especially for children.

Alopecia has no known cause or cure.

"We became involved with this effort after Jenna was diagnosed with alopecia areata in 2004," Diane Cooley said. "After losing approximately 50 percent of her hair, Jenna regrew it over a six month period. Jenna continues to struggle with minor hair and eyebrow loss and most recently loss of eyelashes."

So the family started It’s Just Hair to collect hair to donate to others who have lost their own. Because, after all, it’s only hair.

"The quality of the hairpieces provided by Locks of Love enables these children to have normal lives, including involvement in sports even swimming without the fear of the hairpiece coming off," Cooley said.