It’s received over 311,000 ponytails to create 24,000 real-hair wigs since launching in the US in 2006, and now Pantene Pro-V is bringing it’s Beautiful Lengths campaign to Australia and New Zealand for the first time.
In partnership with Look Good… Feel Better, the campaign encourages women to grow, cut and donate 20cm of their hair to create wigs for those women who have lost their hair due to cancer treatment. The wigs will then be distributed to the cancer patients free of charge.
Campaign ambassadors include actress Naomi Watts, beauty expert Zoë Foster and hairstylist Barney Martin, who are encouraging women across the nation to pledge their ponytails to the cause. Watts is also the campaign ambassador for New Zealand.
With a recent Pantene study finding 90 per cent of Australian women are prepared to cut and donate their hair to help a friend with cancer, now is the time for people to start growing their hair long.
While people can donate their hair at any time, National Donate Your Hair Week, kicking off on November 12, will see hair donation events happening across the country. To find out what's happening near you, visit beautifullengths.com.au.
To find out more about the cause and how she is getting involved, we tracked down Foster for a quick chat.
As a Pantene ambassador, are you proud the company is involved in a campaign such as Beautiful Lengths?
I’m so proud. It’s a real win. Because I’m also an ambassador for Look Good Feel Better, it’s just one of those beautiful moments when everything just comes together and fits magnificently. There’s a real feel-good factor about it.
What is your involvement in the campaign?
It’s my job to raise awareness – largely online, which is where I live. Most of my writing and my profile lives online. There’s a huge amount of women who talk and discuss online - the digital back fence - it’s just a good way to get women involved who may not know it existed. Whether they are undergoing cancer treatment, have never been to a Look Good Feel Better workshop, have a friend or someone in need or they just want to help and contribute and have long hair they can cut or will happily grow to then cut and donate, there are heaps of ways women can help.
Why do you believe the campaign is so important?
As a woman and also as a beauty editor, you are hugely aware of the importance of hair and the link between hair and self-confidence. If you’re having a bad hair day, everything’s off. Obviously if you have no hair and you’re unwell, that manifolds times a million. If we can give women who can’t afford real-hair wigs when they’re undergoing cancer treatments a free real-hair wig, maybe we can restore a small amount of confidence. A really valuable amount of confidence for them in their appearance, in their mood and how they feel about themselves – which I think can’t be underestimated. It’s not vanity, it’s just plain self-confidence. It’s a real boost to have some real hair on your head.
Will you be trimming your locks for the campaign?
I can’t at this point! I was blonde earlier in the year and it’s trashed – I’m getting it back to health now coming through with my real colour. Hopefully my building awareness of the campaign will contribute as much as if I donated it myself.
Do you have any hair or make-up tips for women undergoing cancer treatment?
I would probably direct them to one of the Look Good Feel Better workshops. It’s so important to give the right information because of skin sensitivity and possible allergies and just being really gentle. One thing is that the brows are really important. In the classes, they always put a special focus on brows and filling them in because often you lose hair there as well and it makes a huge difference to the face when you draw some brows back on with a pencil.