Local hair salons' efforts to help may be for naught
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NORTHAMPTON - Ten downtown salons are saving all the hair they trim to helping soak up the massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, despite skepticism from environmental officials.
Proponents say so-called "hair booms" can not only draw oil out of water but also wick oil off the feathers of birds affected by the slick.
But in a test last weekend the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found the booms quickly became waterlogged and sank.
"It just feels good to be doing something," said Linda Hannum, owner of Salon Herdis. "The images (of the oil spill) are just shocking."
Hannum plans to pick up all the collected hair June 2 and send it to the San Francisco-based environmental nonprofit Matter of Trust.
Other downtown salons participating in the effort include Shear Xtreme, Visage, Panacea, Hair Etc., Glamourama, Firefly, Bucci and A Notch Above. Most have been saving hair since May, though Shear Xtreme and Firefly have been at it longer.
Shear Extreme owner Barbara Paulo said she learned almost a year ago about Matter of Trust - which creates hair booms and mats and sends squads of volunteers to help in the cleanup of oil spills. Matter of Trust has assisted with other, smaller oil spills in the past.
"I thought it was a great cause," said Paulo. "I wanted to help even before knowing this (the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico) would happen."
Paulo said she's already filled two 32-gallon containers with hair.
Even if the hair isn't used, Paulo and Hannum said collaborating on the effort has given a chance for owners and staff at the city's different salons to get to know one another. Although they work in the same field, their paths don't often cross, they said.
"It's really nice we're all pulling together," Paulo said.
Hannum said businesses elsewhere are pitching in, too. Some of her product suppliers are coordinating hair donations from salons across the country, as is a group of salon owners to which Hannum belongs that includes members from the U.S. and Canada.
Even with multiple hairdressers contributing, it will take an awful lot of hair to make a dent in the oil slick. "It compacts well, so we would maybe get half a trash bag in a week" at Salon Herdis, she said.
Under different circumstances, most of that hair would be thrown away. Occasionally people will ask for hair to sprinkle in their vegetable gardens because it repels animals, Hannum and Paulo said.
To combat the Gulf oil leak, Matter of Trust earlier this month began stockpiling hair in donated warehouse space. But it's unclear what will become of the hair following the government's unfavorable report on the its effectiveness soaking up oil. Attempts to reach Matter of Trust were unsuccessful.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this story. James F. Lowe can be reached at jlowe@gazettenet.com.
