Tuesday was a most exciting day for Kaitlin Santos, a seventh grader at Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School. “I made the Honor Roll with all A’s and one B,” Kaitlin announced to her mother Leilani as Laurie Aguayo, owner of Hair
Tuesday was a most exciting day for Kaitlin Santos, a seventh grader at Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School.
“I made the Honor Roll with all A’s and one B,” Kaitlin announced to her mother Leilani as Laurie Aguayo, owner of Hair Razors Salon, measured out Kaitlin’s hair.
Kaitlin, who is also one of the strong swimmers for the Mokihana Aquatics program, was getting ready to donate her hair to the Locks of Love program — for the second time.
“I have lots of clients who donate hair to the Locks of Love program, but Kaitlin is the first one who has done it more than once,” Aguayo said. “I’ve been doing hair for about 18 years, and Kaitlin is the only person I know who has donated two times.”
Leilani said the first time Kaitlin donated to the Locks of Love program was toward the end of her fifth-grade year.
“It was getting close to summer and she needed to get her hair cut for swimming,” Leilani said. “Aunty Laurie, whom Kaitlin grew up with, knew about the Locks of Love program and told us about how it helps children.”
According to its Web site, Locks of Love is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis.
Locks of Love meets a unique need for children by using donated hair to create the highest quality hair prosthetics, the Web site states.
The site further goes on to say that most of the children helped by Locks of Love have lost their hair due to a medical condition called alopecia areata which has no known cause or cure.
The hair prostheses Locks of Love provide help restore the children’s self-esteem and confidence, enabling them to face the world and their peers.
“It takes four pony tails to make one of those things,” Kaitlin said, aware that she was contributing her second pony tail.
Aguayo said people wanting to contribute hair should have at least 10 inches in length. The Locks of Love Web site concurs, noting that it prefers 12-inch pony tails or braids with no bleach. For Kaitlin, Aguayo said her pony tail was going to measure 14 inches, using a DARE ruler to space out the length.
“If people are going to cut off that much hair, they should look into how it can help children,” Aguayo said. “Kaitlin is a fine example of how young people can be such inspirational models.”
Aguayo is hoping that people who are not aware of the Locks of Love program will become more informed by Kaitlin’s hair contribution, and in that way, more children can be helped.
She said the donation process is relatively simple. All the person needs to do is contact Locks of Love through its Web site, fill in the donation form, have the hair cut, packaged and shipped to them in Florida.
“They don’t even need to come to me,” Aguayo said. “They can go to their favorite hair professional with the form, and once the hair is cut, they simply package it and ship it.”
Kaitlin said after sending her first pony tail, Locks of Love wrote her a thank-you letter about 90 days after she sent the package.
The organization, which began operation in 1998, has provided more than 2,000 hairpieces to date, the Locks of Love Web site states.
Donors provide the hair, volunteers open and sort the donations, and the manufacturer hand-assembles each piece which takes about four to six months.
Children comprise more than 80 percent of the donors which makes Locks of Love a charity where children have the opportunity to help other children.
As the scissors, under Aguayo’s guidance, snipped through the final strands, Kaitlin instinctively put her hand under the hair to flick it.
“Wow!” she said, as her long hair which fell midway down her back, was now shortened to a point just above her shoulder blades and she adjusted to the new look.
But Kaitlin is now ready for the summer as Leilani said she was heading for swim practice right after the haircut.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com
