Every hair donation organization has a different minimum length and a different answer on gray, dyed, and permed hair, and a ponytail cut to the wrong rule is a ponytail wasted. The salon does not donate anything; you do, by mail, after the cut. This page puts the rules side by side so you can pick the organization before you sit in the chair, and explains what actually happens to hair that falls short.
| Organization | Minimum length | Gray | Dyed / permed | Bleached |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Locks of Love | 10 inches, tip to tip | Accepted, but may be sold to offset costs | Colored or permed accepted | Not stated on its rules page; ask |
| Wigs for Kids | 12 inches; 14 or more strongly preferred | Accepted | Not accepted (wash-out color must be fully removed) | Not accepted |
| Hair We Share | 12 inches; 8 to 12 through its Ponytail Tracking Program | Accepted | Natural-color dye, perms, straightening accepted | Not accepted |
| Children With Hair Loss | 8 inches | Check current guidelines | Check current guidelines | Check current guidelines |
Measure before you commit. Length is measured along the ponytail from the band to the tips, and layered hair counts only to the shortest layer, so a 12-inch ponytail with 9-inch layers is a 9-inch donation.
The most widely known program and the most permissive on color. Locks of Love accepts ponytails of 10 inches measured tip to tip, and colored or permed hair is fine. Two things donors often miss: gray hair and hair shorter than 10 inches are not thrown away, but they are not used in hairpieces either. The organization states that shorter hair is separated from the ponytails and may be sold to offset manufacturing costs, and the same applies to gray. That is a legitimate use, and the organization is open about it, but if you specifically want your hair in a wig, gray or short donations are better sent elsewhere.
Hair must be clean, dry, and bundled in a ponytail or braid; loose hair cannot be used. Place it in a resealable bag inside a padded or manila envelope and mail it to the West Palm Beach, Florida address on its site, with enough postage.
Wigs for Kids makes hairpieces for children and is stricter than most because of how its wigs are built. The minimum is 12 inches, and 14 inches or more is strongly preferred. Gray hair is accepted. Hair that has been permed, color-treated, or highlighted is not; temporary wash-out color is acceptable only if it has been completely removed before the cut.
Its cutting method is specific: the hair is divided into several small ponytails, in front of and behind each ear, each secured with several bands two to three inches apart, cut above the bands, and sealed dry in a bag. Wet hair molds in transit and is discarded. Mail to the Westlake, Ohio address on its guidelines page with the donation form and barcode.
Hair We Share provides wigs for medical hair loss and is the flexible option for treated hair. It accepts 12 inches or longer, and hair that is dyed in a natural color, permed, straightened, gray, or white. Bleached hair is the one exclusion. Donations between 8 and 12 inches are accepted only through its Ponytail Tracking Program, a $150 contribution that covers manufacturing and lets you follow your hair into a finished wig. Hair should be clean, dry, and secured in multiple small ponytails.
Children With Hair Loss, based in Michigan, provides hair replacements to children at no cost and publishes an 8-inch minimum, the lowest of the national programs. It accepts drop-offs in person during its gift shop hours as well as mailed donations. Because its color and treatment rules are the ones most often misquoted by third-party sites, read the current guidelines on its own hair donation page before cutting, and follow its packaging instructions exactly.
Searching for a salon that donates hair usually ends in disappointment, because salons do not run donation programs. What a good salon does is cut correctly: hair dry, in secured ponytails, measured before the cut, bagged for mailing. Some salons partner with a specific organization and will hand you a pre-addressed envelope, and Hair We Share runs a network of participating salons. In every case the package goes in the mail under your name, and the tax receipt, if any, comes to you.
Last updated September 2026. Errors: [email protected]
A wig is built from hair that has been sorted, blended, and knotted into a cap, and a good portion of each ponytail is lost to that process. Programs that make children's hairpieces need longer donations because the finished wig has to look like a child's natural hair, which is why Wigs for Kids asks for 14 inches when it can get them. Programs with a wider range of recipients or a different construction method can work with less. None of the minimums is arbitrary; each is the shortest length that survives manufacturing and still produces the wig that program makes.
Locks of Love says it plainly and most programs work the same way: hair that is too short, gray, or otherwise unusable for hairpieces is sold to offset costs. That money funds wigs, so nothing is wasted, but it is a different outcome than most donors picture when they grow their hair for two years. Choosing the program whose rules your hair meets is the difference between a ponytail that becomes a wig and one that becomes a line in a budget.