A blessing for Cypress Mill woman turns into Locks of Love donation

DANIEL CLIFTON • PICAYUNE EDITOR

MARBLE FALLS — As Doris McLaurin settled into the chair at The Hair Loft in Marble Falls, she laughed a bit, just enough to hide the smidgen of uncertainty she felt.

“I’ve been talking about doing this for a couple of months,” she said as stylist Connie Holmes stepped up behind her. Holmes held a pair of scissors in one hand and took up McLaurin’s long locks in the other.

“There were times I would almost talk myself out of it,” McLaurin said. “But I figured this will help somebody else.”

Holmes weaved McLaurin’s hair into a ponytail that stretched several inches below the woman’s collar.

McLaurin sat waiting for the moment. Though she’s had short hair before, the Cypress Mill woman began growing it out about six years ago. Until several months ago, she thought about cutting it but never did — and never had a reason to.

Then, two months ago something changed.

McLaurin discovered a lump in one of her breasts.

“I definitely had a scare when I found that lump,” she said.

Fortunately, a test revealed it to be benign. Relief replaced McLaurin’s uncertainty and fear.

And she made a decision.

“I wanted to donate my hair to Locks of Love,” she said. The organization accepts hair donations that it then turns into wigs for children suffering from hair loss because of cancer or other conditions.

Holmes, the owner of The Hair Loft, said she often has customers wanting to help Locks of Love.

As Holmes cut through the ponytail, McLaurin smiled. Despite growing her hair for more than half a decade, she found happiness in what it would be used for.

“God blessed me with (the lump) being benign, so I thought I’d bless somebody with my hair,” she said.

daniel@thepicayune.com