Why “Free” for Recipients Doesn’t Mean Free to Create

We gratefully accept grey and white hair donations — and yes, we make wigs in those colors too. When we face a shortage of blonde hair, we sometimes dye grey ponytails to help meet the need. Every donation matters.

At Hair We Share, every wig we give is completely free to the person receiving it. No invoices. No fees. No “suggested donations.” Just dignity, comfort, and the chance to feel like themselves again.

But while our wigs are free to recipients, they are not free to produce — and being transparent about that is part of our promise to the people who support this mission.

This is the story of what it really takes to create a free wig, and how we reached a point where thousands of donated ponytails are still waiting for sponsorship.

✂️ What It Takes to Turn Donated Hair Into a Wig

*Hair We Share Co‑Founder Suzanne (right) alongside local Girl Scouts, volunteering their time to help inventory wigs and support our mission.*

Most people are surprised to learn that donated hair is only the beginning. A wig isn’t made by simply sewing ponytails together — it’s a long, meticulous, highly skilled process.

🦄 As we like to joke in the office, “there’s no magical unicorn that flies by and turns the hair into a wig.” Every step takes real people, real time, and real resources.

1. Processing Every Ponytail

Each ponytail must be sorted, measured, cleaned, aligned, and prepared for use. This alone costs $150 per ponytail, even though the hair itself is donated with love.

2. Combining Multiple Donors

A single wig requires 5–9 ponytails, depending on length and density. That means multiple donors — and multiple processing costs — go into every wig.

3. Professional Wigmaking (the only step not done by volunteers)

Once the hair is prepared, it is sent to our longtime professional wigmaking partner. This is the only part of the process that cannot be done by volunteers.

Every wig is hand‑tied by skilled artisans, strand by strand, from the foundation to the final finish. This level of craftsmanship requires years of training and is essential for creating a wig that looks natural, feels comfortable, and lasts.

4. Shipping at Multiple Stages

Shipping is another real expense:

sending the prepared hair to the factory,
receiving the completed wig back from the factory,
and shipping the final wig to the recipient.

These costs add up quickly, especially as the number of wigs we produce continues to grow.

💛 Why We Absorb the Cost

People who come to us are navigating medical hair loss — from chemotherapy, alopecia, trichotillomania, and other conditions that take a physical and emotional toll. They’re already carrying enough.

Charging them for a wig would add another burden at the exact moment they need relief, comfort, and dignity.

So we don’t. We never have. And we never will.

📦 How We Got Here: A Quick History of Our Growth

For new supporters who may not know our journey, here’s how Hair We Share grew into what it is today:

2014 — We began with our very first recipient.
2018 — Donations grew to about 2,000 ponytails a year.
December 26, 2018 — A day we will never forget. The mailman arrived with an extended van full of hair. And every day after that, more arrived. In just four months, we received over 40,000 ponytails.
2019 — It took six months and the hard work of 30 volunteers to organize the incredible surge of ponytail donations we received.
2020–2021 — COVID shut down fundraising and wig production for almost two years, but hair donations continued. Another wave brought over 60,000 more ponytails.
2022 — A necessary office relocation hit us financially, right as demand continued to rise.

Today, we have tens of thousands of ponytails waiting to be sponsored — beautiful, generous donations that cannot become wigs until the processing costs are covered.

This is why transparency matters. This is why education matters. And this is why Ponytail Tracking exists.

*A look inside our storage closet, where thousands of generous hair donations wait for sponsorship before they can become free wigs.*

🌟 Why Ponytail Tracking Matters

Ponytail Tracking is the only way we can guarantee that a donated ponytail becomes part of a finished wig.

The $150 sponsorship:

covers the processing cost
moves the hair into production
ensures it becomes part of a completed wig
allows donors to see the impact of their gift

It’s not a fundraising pitch — it’s simply the reality of what it takes to turn generosity into transformation.

*A Ponytail Tracking update showing a recipient photo. With permission, we share these special moments — but many recipients choose privacy, and we honor that.*

💕 The Impact Is Free — The Work Behind It Isn’t

We will always give wigs for free. We will always protect the dignity of the people who need them. And we will always be honest about what it takes to make that possible.

If you’ve donated hair, shared our mission, or supported Ponytail Tracking, you are part of the reason someone out there gets to feel whole again.

The wigs may be free. The transformation they create is priceless.

A Note From Our Cofounder, Suzanne

Thank you for taking the time to read and understand the heart behind what we do. Every wig we create carries the love, effort, and intention of so many people working quietly behind the scenes.

If you’ve ever donated hair, sponsored a ponytail, shared our mission, or taken the time to learn about the work we do, please know how deeply I appreciate you. Your kindness helps restore confidence, dignity, and hope to someone who truly needs it.

I’m grateful you’re here with us.

With warmth, Suzanne