When the Booksin Elementary School student decided to change her look from the long hair she had grown all her life to a chin-length cut, she wanted to put the hair to good use. Her parents saw information on a television news broadcast about a nonprofit organization called Locks of Love, which provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children who have lost their hair due to cancer treatment or a disease.

Britney had wanted to make the drastic cut for awhile, but her parents loved her long, blonde hair, says her mother, Juli. So the newfound information about Locks of Love motivated both her and her parents to finally make the big change.

"Her hair was so long and pretty we didn't want to cut it," says Juli, who has lived in Willow Glen for 39 years. "We've always trimmed it but this was her first cut. She absolutely loves it now."

Because Britney was born blonde and fair, she was bald, which is common for blonde babies. Whatever hair she did have resembled peach fuzz, not golden locks. Her hair didn't really begin growing until she was 2¹/2 years old, and she has been growing it out ever since, Juli says.

Locks of Love accepts hair that has been cut at any salon or at home. There are salons throughout the country--listed on the website--where haircuts are free for those donating to Locks of Love, but none are located in San Jose.

Although Britney's haircut was not free, she got it cut at Little Things Haircuts, 1337 Lincoln Ave. Stylist Kerri Garcia has done many haircuts for clients who donate hair to people in need of hair prosthetics, she says.

"I have girls come in here who grow their hair and then cut 10 inches and then grow it out again to come back and get it cut," Garcia says. "It's a continual process."

To donate hair, the organization requires at least 10 inches in length, bundled in a ponytail or braid, free from chemical processing and clean and dry when mailed.

"It has to be virgin hair," Garcia says. "It can't ever have been colored or permed."

Britney, who is donating 14 inches of hair, is mailing her braid to Locks of Love, based in Florida, once it completely dries.

Photograph courtesy of Juli Dowhan Cute Cut: A new look was what Britney Dowhan wanted, having grown her hair since she was a baby. Her waist-long hair was cut to chin length, and a braid of her hair was sent to Locks of Love to help children who have lost their hair due to cancer treatment or a disease.

Juli says Britney's grandfather died from cancer, but Britney never knew him. And she hasn't known anyone who has lost his or her hair due to cancer treatment. But that didn't keep Britney from wanting to help others. When she heard about the organization she thought it would be a way to help children who have lost their hair and suffered self-esteem problems.

"I wanted to help kids with cancer," Britney says.

But according to the website, most of the children helped by the organization have lost their hair not due to chemotherapy but a medical condition called alopecia areata, an autoimmune skin disease resulting in the loss of hair on the scalp and elsewhere on the body.

The disease affects approximately 4 million people in the United States and there is no known cause or cure. The disease is not life-threatening and usually begins in childhood, according to the website www.alopeciaareata.com.

Locks of Love provides custom fit hair prosthetics free of charge to those in need. The manufacturer hand-assembles each piece--which takes about four months--using a vacuum fit design that doesn't require using tape or glue. Children ages 6 through 17 receive these vacuum-fit hair prosthetics, while children under 6 receive synthetic hairpieces.

Britney wants to write a letter to the child who receives her hair, she says. But according to the website, donors and recipients never meet because it is not financially feasible to track each donated ponytail and there are privacy issues with the minors who receive the hair.

"My friends say, 'Isn't it gonna feel weird with someone wearing your hair?' But I don't think so," Britney says.

For more information about Locks of Love, visit www.locksoflove.com.