Hair today, gone tomorrow 💇

8 inches. That's all it takes to make a small difference in the life of a woman battling cancer.

For as long as I can remember, I've always wanted to grow my hair out and then one day, BOOM, chop it off for Locks of Love (or a similar program.) The reality of it is - it takes time and patience to grow your hair that long, and a hell of a lot of courage to chop it off. Because of those factors, I've kept hitting the snooze button - just trimming 4 inches here, 5 inches there, claiming that I would make the big cut "someday."

So recently when a friend from high school posted her donation on Instagram, and after weeks of complaining that my hair was getting stuck in windows, under purse straps and between armpits (TMI?), I knew that I was finally ready to just go for it.

Drum roll please...

Tada! Not too shabby, right? I thought I would be a little shocked and regretful afterward, but I actually adore my new short cut. Sure, it takes a little more effort to style it when i really want to, but otherwise, I have learned that wearing a spunky, half-up 'do is fitting for everyday life. And let's be honest, every day is everyday life. :)

As for the rest of my hair, it has been shipped off to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths program. In their words:

"For women battling cancer, the appearance of strong, healthy hair is even more important. That’s why we created Pantene Beautiful Lengths, the only program to help women feel like themselves again with free, real-hair wigs. So when you donate 8 inches of hair or $8 dollars to the cause, you’re helping to make sure that happens."

Prior to making my cut, I did some research on a lot of the hair donation programs. This one in particular stuck out to me for a few reasons:

1. I only needed to donate 8", as opposed to the 10-12" required by other programs

2. Wigs are provided for women, where others only provide wigs for children under 21 years of age.

3. Every penny donated to Pantene Beautiful Lengths is used to create real-hair wigs for women undergoing cancer treatments.

I can't begin to tell you how great it feels to do something this selfless, and EASY! And the best part is, it will grown back like a weed and in a year or two, I'll make the cut again. In fact, this bucket list item will be repeated for as long as I can donate it (You hear me, gray hairs? Stay away!)

Not ready to chop your mop, but want to help the cause? Donate $8! That's easily what we all blow on coffee for a week, and will go to a MUCH better cause. Plus, tax season is around the corner and the $8 is tax-deducible. Boom.

Regardless of what you do in 2017, go make a positive difference in the world. Lord knows we need more of it. ☀️

#happiness #girlpower