This is not a style or hair blog (far from it!), but yes, I’m going to talk about hair…again! :p

Alopecia areata is a common autoimmune skin disease resulting in the loss of hair on the scalp and elsewhere on the body. It affects about 2% of the population, including 6.5 million people in the US alone. It usually starts with one or more small, round, smooth patches on the scalp and can progress to total scalp hair loss (alopecia totalis) or complete body hair loss (alopecia universalis). Each September is Alopecia Awareness Month. This year’s theme is Look At Us! It’s pride in those who have suffered from this disease, what they’ve accomplished, and where they are headed.

I know some people are probably annoyed by my girls’ long hair, but I promise, it is not for show nor for lack of care that it is long. I shared my story of how I have been donating my hair for years now (see links below), and my girls have asked to be a part of that. Last year, both Melody and I were ready to make a cut. Emily has never gotten a haircut in her whole entire 5 years of life, so I think it was definitely time! She decided she would make the cut this year after her birthday and before our trip to Disneyland. You can see our photos below, along with links to more photos from each cut. 🙂 We had previously donated to Locks of Love, and this time we donated to Children with Hair Loss.

You can read all about my hair stories in the links below:
*It’s Been Almost 2 Years…
*Making the Cut: The Story of My Hair
*Making the Cut: My Hairy Adventure
*Making the Cut: The Fourth Donation

MELODY
BEFORE – This is Melody’s 2nd “big” cut, and her first time donating.

DURING – She was definitely not as nervous as she had been for her first real haircut.

TA-DA! – I think she had a little more than 8 inches cut off.

AFTER – Cutie!

Check out more photos HERE.

JOYCE
BEFORE – I am always nervous for my cuts, even though this was my 5th donation.

DURING – Long hair is easier to manage for me than shorter hair.

TA-DA! – Looks okay until you see me in the morning. :p hehehe I think I had 10 inches cut off.

AFTER – But it is definitely lighter! Woohoo! No heavy hair!

The girls got their hair done while I was having my hair cut. Check out those photos HERE. They had a good time, and had some fab braids done.

EMILY
BEFORE – 5 years in the making!

DURING – She was super nervous.

TA-DA! – I think she got 10 inches cut off, and it was a whole lot shorter than she expected.

AFTER – Super cute, and awesome for our Southern California trip! But she also has crazy hair in the morning!

And for more photos of Emily’s cut, click HERE.

It kinda weird to think that this package has hair in it. :p
But so awesome to see stories like these:

If you are in the Bay Area, next Thursday is National Alopecia Areata Awareness Night at the SF Giants vs. SD Padres game. It is $17.75/ticket if you have a group attending this game. (Info in previous link.)

And if you have gray hair, but wanted to contribute with hair donation, there is news for you! A friend at church grew his hair to donate to Silver Wig’s Fund.

Well, thank you for making it through a super long post. I hope that kinda makes up for the lack of posts around here for the past 3 months. :p

What are some unconventional ways you have blessed others, or would like to bless others?