It is always sad and disappointing to see your hair on the floor at the hairdresser, but fortunately there are now several ways to donate it to associations. They will then be responsible for making wigs for people who suffer from cancer and are undergoing chemotherapy.

The association “Fake hair don’t care“or” false hair does not care “and one of its founders, Ines Mahallawy, explains her wish that the association democratizes good quality wigs which are very expensive in the trade.

Sophie, from the association “Solid’hair“She explains how important the role of wigs is for sick people. Hair loss during illness greatly impacts self-confidence and rebuilding in the face of others. People with cancer wish they were not watched. like sick people, hence the importance of having a pretty, natural and good quality wig.

How to donate your hair?

Each association has its own instructions for use, its own accepted hair length. For the association “Fake Hair don’t care”, here are the instructions for their site.

• The association explains that it needs healthy hair, without too many split ends, not damaged, on the other hand, it accepts colored hair.
• The hair should measure at least 10 cm, from the cut part to the tip. The most important thing is to separate the hair in two and to place an elastic at the top and bottom of the strand. You must then cut above the first elastic and tie them, otherwise they are unusable.
• You must send the wicks in an envelope, putting them in aluminum or a freezer bag but it is not mandatory.
  It is important not to put them in the envelope while they are still wet, otherwise they could rot around the elastic and the unpleasant smell could make them unusable.

Credit: Fake hair don’t care

• Once arrived, the locks will be used by the association’s partner wigmakers who will be able to create tailor-made natural wigs for people with cancer and at attractive prices.

The other associations

Among the other associations, there is “Solid’hair”.

Created in 2015, this association is the first to have launched this approach in France. The operation is a little different, the association collects wicks which are then sold to wigmakers in the theater or the cinema.

Thanks to the income, “Solid’hair” then subsidizes wigs up to a maximum of 450 euros for people with limited resources. There are also differences for the user manual.

• The cut wick should measure at least 25 cm and be carefully tied with a rubber band. They do not accept any chemical treatment on the hair, nor dyeing, straightening or henna.
• You must then package the hair in an envelope and send it to the address of the association that you will find on their site.

In 6 years, they have almost reached 600 grants.

The Association “Well-being & solidarity“is based in Nantes.

Hair donations are used by volunteer wigmakers who work within the association and whose creations are then donated to people in need.

The hair must also be clean and dry, without dyeing, cut after making a ponytail or a braid and the strand must measure at least 20 cm.

You can also check with your hairdresser for associations to give this hair or ask if he can help you with the cut.

Price of a natural hair wig

To make a wig, you need an average of 6 to 10 donors, it is expensive.

In trade, the price of an average quality wig is around 1,000 euros and it can even go up to 2,500 euros for very good quality wigs, with long, natural hair. This represents a real obstacle for people with modest incomes.

With its system, the association “Fake hair don’t care” will offer wigs that will cost between 900 and 1000 euros. On the reimbursement side, there has been some news quite recently.

Since April 2019, Social Security has increased its reimbursement ceiling for hair prostheses. Before, they were covered up to 125 euros regardless of the quality. From now on, they are reimbursed according to several criteria.

• Class 1, it is synthetic hair, machine-made which is reimbursed up to 350 euros.
• Class 2, these are hand-made wigs, which are reimbursed up to 250 euros.