Earlier this month, 17-year-old Lauren Lamothe did something most teenage girls would never consider: giving up some of her vanity to help somebody in need.
“Most teenage girls won’t cut their hair off, they love their long hair,” Lamothe said. “So I thought it was a really good thing for me to do, a really brave thing.”
Earlier this month, Lamothe cut off 9 of her 18 inches of hair and donated it to Locks of Love, which makes wigs with the hair for children who lose it from medical procedures. Lamothe “loved her long hair,” but decided to donate it after her mother talked her into it.
“I miss my long hair, I miss being able to braid it really long, but, you know, it is for a good cause,” she said Saturday. “It almost feels good having this short hair, like I’m helping someone.”
Background
Lamothe is a senior at , who wants to work “in diagnostic medical imaging, with a specialty in ultrasounds.” She was recently accepted to Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, her first choice for college.
“I was always interested in going into medical stuff, but I don’t like blood,” she said. “And I like kids.”
She works as a swim instructor for the Town of Waterford, and volunteers her time at the . But her staple the last year has been her long hair, which nearly came down to her waist.
Her mother pushed for Lamothe to cut it, but she refused. All of her friends loved her long hair, she said.
“I loved my long hair and I loved all the stuff I could do with it,” Lamothe said. “My friends used to play with it all the time.”
Lamothe said cutting her hair was “so scary,” and left her friends in shock. But it was worth it, she said.
“My friends were like shocked,” Lamothe said. “They were like ‘How could you do that? Like how could you lose all that hair?’ And I was like, I don’t know, it is just a good cause for me.”
And while she is still adjusting, she said she did like the way it looks, and her boyfriend did too. Plus, there are some other benefits, she said.
“It was such a change,” Lamothe said. “And it was so nice to only spend like two minutes brushing my hair instead of 10.”
