Steve Juster strolled along the corridor outside his English classroom, stopping to point out the inspirational quotes painted on the walls above the lockers. In any other school the quotes, which come from young women who have donated their hair for cancer wigs, would be scrubbed off after the annual campaign for Pantene Beautiful Lengths. But not at Londonderry High School. “It is,” he said, “part of our culture.”
On Jan. 6, approximately 200 of LHS’s female students will take to the gym floor to have their hair snipped off by volunteers from local salons and in some cases, family members. The hair will go toward wigs for women who have suffered hair loss from chemotherapy. It’s the kindest cut of all, according to Juster and some of his former donors, and a huge portion of Lancer spirit goes with each strand.
The school has been partnering with the Pantene family of hair products for 11 years, according to Juster. The Pep Rally Aides, a group he supervises, are heavily involved in the program, and most of them have given hair at least once.
“We average 200 donors down on the floor each year,” Juster said during a poster-making session after school. “This year we have 140 registered.”
Shea Robinson, a senior and co-captain of the Aides, said that many girls decide to give at the last minute. “They’ve been hearing about it from friends, and they realize that their hair is long enough to donate,” Robinson said.
Robinson, keeper of the stats, reported that 2,500 people have donated at least eight inches, the minimum for the program, since its inception.
Maddy Laudani, a junior, said she first gave as a sophomore. “In freshman year, I remember sitting in the bleachers and watching the cut,” she said. “It was such a great thing, for so many people to be involved.” Laudani began growing her hair, and by sophomore year she had not eight inches, but 10.
To be down on the floor, having her hair cut before loud music and the screaming of her peers, was an “overwhelming” experience, Laudani said. “I kept thinking, what is it going to look like?”
Robinson began donating in sixth grade. Her sister was at the school and her mother Karen is a teacher there, so she was familiar with the program. She gave eight inches that first year, eight in her freshman year and eight in her sophomore year. The first time she wasn’t scared, she said, noting, “I felt like I was a part of Lancer Nation.” She did wonder, “What have I done?,” she recalled. But in her second two cuts, she became less concerned about how it would look and more concerned about how soon she could do it again. “It’s a cycle,” Robinson said with a shrug.
She doesn’t get trims between Pantene events, she said, so when the inches come off, “It feels healthy,” Robinson said.
Anna Gauchet, a fellow senior and Pep Rally Aides co-captain, has donated to Pantene five times, she said as she joined the group. “I’ve done it twice at the high school, and twice in elementary and once in middle school at my salon,” she said.
Several of the Pep Rally Aides have qualified for the cutting four or five times, she added. A light blonde, she said, “I am blessed with a unique color of hair. If someone’s unique trait is gone, it makes me want to help.”
Jill Hansen, a junior, learned about the program in her freshman year. “My dance teacher told me about it,” she said, adding, “I was not ready.” But she kept growing her hair, and by sophomore year it was down to her navel. “I knew it was for a good cause,” Hansen said.
“And it always grows back,” the other girls chorused.
It’s sometimes hard for the oldest girls, who are facing prom and graduation. “It’s a big issue for a lot of people,” Robinson said.
It’s also an issue for juniors when their yearbook pictures are taken, Juster contributed. “But, incredibly, these are the years when people donate,” he added.
“I’ve heard freshman girls make a pact, that when they’re seniors they’ll all donate,” Robinson said.
Londonderry High School has one of the biggest Beautiful Lengths programs in the country, Juster said.
It is definitely part of the LHS culture, Hansen said, noting that she’s heard people say to girls, “Your hair’s so long – are you going to donate?”
When a girl pledges to donate, she gets an LHS T-shirt certifying she is part of the program, and Juster takes her picture and puts it on Twitter. Posters of real LHS girls, before and after, also line the hallways. “We use students to motivate other students,” he said. On the day of the event, she receives an official Pantene shirt.
The girls said they often think about the women who will receive their hair. “Mr. Juster calls it the other side of the rainbow,” Robinson observed. “On one side there’s you cutting, and on the other side there’s the person receiving the wig.”
“We all think, ‘My hair is going to someone with cancer,’” Laudani said.
And sometimes it’s more than one Lancer’s hair. Juster keeps a couple of sample wigs in his classroom, and as he brought it out, the girls noted that it takes more than one color of hair to make a wig. The hair on the wig was basically dark brown, but as she held it gently Robinson observed, “There could be some of mine in there, and those blond streaks could come from Anna.”
“It dawned on me one time,” Robinson said. “You never know who your wig is going to, and you never know whose hair is in it.”
The hair cutting will begin at 8:30 a.m. in the gym on Friday, Jan. 6. The even will also honor other members of the LHS community and their charitable endeavors, Juster said.