 |
| Organizations may vary, but some will call for completely dried hair and each hair donation to be from the same person. The age and sex of the donor should not matter. Supplied photo shows donors ready to have their hair cut for donation to make medical wigs. (Photo courtesy of National Welfare Beauty and Barber Training Association via Kyodo) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] NAGOYA: Japan has seen an increase in programs to donate hair to make medical wigs for children suffering from cancer and other diseases, but a lack of knowledge among donors and a shortage of manufacturers are delaying the progress, Kyodo reported.
Hair donation, which started in the 90s in the US, is becoming popular in Japan due to increased awareness of volunteer activities. Social media sites about how to grow one's hair are also helping boost momentum. But as Japan has only a small number of barbers and aestheticians capable of making medical wigs from human hair, production cannot keep up with demand, said Hitomi Iwaoka, 43, secretary general of the National Welfare Beauty and Barber Training Association in Aichi Prefecture. Also, lack of knowledge among donors is causing hair -- often grown longer for donations, to inadvertently go to waste. Several conditions must be met when donating hair.
The production of wigs has usually been outsourced to overseas makers. But that has become costlier and less affordable to organizations and facilities exclusively relying on monetary donations. However, Fine Today Shiseido Co. and the NPO Welfare Beauty founded a medical wig program that plans to host an event to provide information regarding the history, aim, and current situation behind wig making to potential donors.
