Moses Lake girl donates hair to Locks of Love
Hilary Huff, at Jewel in the Lotus salon, cuts the hair of Jenessa Cisneros, 7, of Moses Lake, for Locks of Love.
MOSES LAKE - When it came time for seven-year-old Jenessa Cisneros' annual school haircut, she didn't want just a trim. Instead, she parted with 12 inches of her long, brown tresses and watched as the stylist placed her cut ponytail in a plastic bag before continuing with the haircut.
Although most girls would find it difficult to say goodbye to that much hair at once, Jenessa calmly sat in the hairdresser's chair, happy with her decision to send her hair to charitable organization Locks of Love.
"She just came up with the idea herself," said her mom April. "She wanted to be able to donate her hair to sick kids."
Cisneros said she was telling her daughter about a family member who was diagnosed with cancer many years back. After looking at photographs together of Cisnero's nephew, who had lost his hair during chemotherapy treatments, Jenessa told her mom she wanted to help kids who were going through the same thing.
"She saw the picture with my nephew, and he didn't have hair," said Cisneros. "She decided she wanted to give her hair away."
Last week's haircut marked the first major cut for Jenessa since she was born.
"We've done trims, and that's about it," Cisneros said, of her daughter's long hair.
While Cisneros was hesitant at first to have her daughter lose that much hair, she knew the hair would go toward someone in need.
Locks of Love accepts hair donations in order to help provide hairpieces for children in the United States and Canada suffering from hair loss from any diagnosis. According to the organization's website, the hairpieces help restore a child's self-confidence and self-esteem, allowing them to face their peers with a full head of hair.
Stylist Hilary Huff at Jewel in the Lotus salon, where Jenessa had her hair cut, said she helped many people donate their hair to Locks of Love over the years.
"We do it for a lot of people," she said. "I did it last week for a lady, and she cut off about 20 inches."
Huff said she sends off about 10 donations or so each year to the organization.
"You cut off your hair that you've been growing for years, you want it to go somewhere important," said Huff.
Cisneros said that since Jenessa cut her hair, her youngest daughter wants to follow suit. But that will have to wait a few years she said since you need to donate at least 10 inches, per organization guidelines.
After having her hair styled and outfitted with a few feathers, Jenessa took a step back to take in her new look.
"It feels a lot easier to carry around," she said, running her fingers through her hair. "It gets really tangly in the morning and I just wanted to donate it."
Jenessa said she wants to hopefully donate hair again in the future, after she gets the chance to enjoy her new look.