When most people want to make a donation to an organization,
they sit down and write a check. That just won’t do for Erica
Wallace.

Wallace shows her generosity through her hair.

The 20-year-old Bradford woman grows her hair to great lengths,
taking great care to make sure her mane is not damaged. She then
endures headaches and sleeps with it in a braid so it doesn’t get
frizzy. After the hair gets to the right length, she has it cut,
packaged and sent to Locks of Love.

Wallace has donated her hair four times to Locks of Love, a
non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially
disadvantaged children under the age of 18 who suffer from
long-term medical hair loss.

And Wallace has plenty to spare. Even after Rebekah Pfeil of
Melvin Avenue lopped off the foot of hair on Saturday, Wallace’s
mane still flowed past her shoulders.

“To me, this is short,” she said, running her fingers through
her hair.

Her only requirement is to keep being able to put it in a
ponytail.

“I’ve worn it the same way for so long.”

While she likes the length, she’s not always keen about the
upkeep needed for the hair to stay healthy enough to donate.

“It actually takes energy,” Erica said of the 40 minutes it took
her to do her hair every morning.

“It’s so heavy right now,” she said before it was cut. “When
it’s wet, it’s very, very heavy.” Wallace is a sophomore
history/political science major at the University of Pittsburgh at
Bradford. In the past year, she had blown dried her hair once
because of the pain and because it damages hair.

Wallace has a hypersensitive scalp. Her mother, Sheri Wallace,
explains that when someone brushes her hair, if actually feels as
though they are pulling the hair out.

“It’s a quick, sharp pain,” she said.

The only time someone else handles her hair is when she gets it
cut, Sheri Wallace said.

But even the pain has not stopped Wallace from her mission.

“I just kept on doing it,” she said of donating her hair. She
was able to keep donating because “my hair likes to grow fast.”

When asked if this is the last time she donates her hair,
Wallace just said, “possibly.”

For now, she’s interested in having it dyed – perhaps red or
blue streaks. She’s had her hair dyed before, but would only do the
tips so it wouldn’t damage her hair, so she could keep donating
it.

Custom hairpieces like the ones given to the children start at
$3,000 retail.

Wallace first became interested in donating her hair after
seeing it on television programs such as Oprah and 20/20. She then
knew a girl who became sick and needed a bone marrow
transplant.

More recently, it hit closer to home. Her maternal grandfather
has battled prostate cancer and chronic leukemia. Her uncle is also
fighting Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Some guidelines for donating hair are:

– A minimum of 10″ of hair is needed. Wigs, falls or synthetic
hair is not accepted;

– Hair should be bundled in a ponytail or braid;

– Hair from men and women are accepted;

– Hair may be colored or permed, but not bleached or chemically
damaged;

– Hair swept off the floor is not usable;

– Hair cut years ago is usable if its been stored in a ponytail
or braid;

– Hair that is short, gray or unsuitable for children will be
separated from the ponytails and sold at fair market value to
offset the cost of manufacturing;

– Donors may pull curly hair straight to measure the minimum
10″;

– Layered hair may be divided into multiple ponytails for
donation.

The Locks of Love organization started in 1998.