Lather Hair Studios 2015 Locks of Love Benefit Post-Event Re-Cap

We had an incredible day at Lather Hair Studios (http://www.latherhairstudio.com/)!  We had 8 ponytail donors, including one regular Lather client who was unaware of the donation drive until she showed up and decided to cut the extra length in order to participate.

Our first donor was singer/songwriter and vocal instructor, Sara B Simpson .  Sara has been giving since she was 16, and in that time has donated 6 times!  Besides being a repeat giver, she also has such full hair that her donations are usually two or three ponytails rather than one.  Sara proudly calls herself a "hair-farmer".  

Next, our friend Damian Driscoll saw our ad on Facebook and traveled all the way from Hatboro to say goodbye to the ponytail he had been growing for 3 years!  He explained he has been looking for work, and he hopes that the new do will help him make the right impression at future interviews.  After chopping his pure white ponytail, Lather stylist, Dierdra Davis shaved his head free of charge to help him look professional.  We were thrilled to have a man accept the Locks of Love challenge!

Monica Lynne Chase of the Bosom Band gave up her full mane of wild colors to stylist, Abbey Dernoga.  Monica explained that she has not made a big cut since she started her fight with cancer...

Quote:

"In 2008 I was diagnosed with Melanoma. I started chemo-therapy in 2009 and had my first tumor removed. I had to then have 4 more tumors removed and my lymph nodes taken from my breasts and armpits. I started with Dacarbazine which was given as an injection in a vein over a 20-minute period every 2 weeks for 6 months. Then I continued systemic therapy and had to change my diet and swithed to taking pill form: Temozolomide and Minocycline, which is a tetracycline antibiotic that fights bacteria in the body. I lost my hair in clumps and the top portion thinned out....so I got an under cut shave and cut similar to the one yesterday. I stayed on Minocycline for 3 years and went from Dr. appointments every 2 weeks to once a month and now I'm on systemic skin and tissue checks every 4 months, (my son Richard and I have the same appointment every 4 months, he is drug free) I am still taking Minocycline and have to take up to 100 mg of Acidophilus a day for my GI track (it was pretty much destroyed by the chemo. Also my hair grows in different colors and textures in clumps where the hair fell out or thinned out. *as my stylist saw yesterday* (red, blonde, black, brown, curly, wavy, and straight) fun stuff!"

Abbey gave her the chic look Monica had hoped for, shaving the bottom half of her head and giving her lots of asymmetrical layers on top to hang over the left side of her face. From the left she looks glamour, from the right punk rock; just as she wanted.

As for me, I got to spend time with owner, Dena Miranda and photographer, Lisa Schaffer (who volunteered her services for the day). They helped me mentally prepare for my first off-the-shoulder cut EVER. I wrote about why I never cut my hair in my blog: http://echovictory.blogspot.com/2015/01/so-long-hair.html -The cliff notes are- My mother started her childhood in a Buddhist temple with a shaved head. I grew up VERY feeling attached to my long hair! Surrounded by friends, I said farewell to my old strands, making way for new growth.

Alanna Blitz showed up for a regularly scheduled appointment to see the pile of ponytails and asked to participate! Alanna remarked that her husband of only two years would be surprised when she went home to Collingswood, NJ, but she was happy to keep him guessing now that they are no longer newly weds.

Another late comer, Courtney, daughter of Kirstin Brug gave her hair to Locks of Love! Kirstin is yet another singer-songwriter, as well as a female Philadelphia business owner (www.karmadiva.com eco-friendly cleaning services). Thank you for bringing your daughter in for a trim!

We also had guests Christina Henck of Henck Design (http://www.henckdesign.com/) who is Lather's interior designer and Shahid Rana, Executive Director of the Fairmont CDC (http://fairmountcdc.org/).

We look forward to seeing what community improvements will result from this new collaboration between the Fairmount CDC and Lather Hair Studio!

Special thanks go out to our photographer extraordinaire, Lisa Schaffer 

https://www.facebook.com/LisaSchafferPhotography
http://www.skylerbug.com/

This Locks of Love event coordinated by aMUSEment EVents (www.amusementevents.org)