HAIR-RAIDING EVENT SHORN HEADS WILL HELP AILING KIDS.

Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff Writer

VALENCIA - A crowd of little girls gathered around, watching as the hair stylist took the neatly gathered red ponytail and, with a few swift scissor snips, cut it free.

``Oh, my,'' one said.

``That is short,'' another said.

``She's cutting two,'' said one of the girls as they all turned their focus on the next chair, where two ponytails were being snipped off.

J. Sisters Salon was abuzz Monday afternoon with women and girls lopping off their locks for an organization that uses the tresses to makes wigs for children who have lost their hair.

The donation drive was organized by local Brownie Troop 809 whose members included few willing to cut their hair, but who encouraged a community to come out for the cause.

``I always wanted to cut my hair. I saw this is the perfect opportunity to do it,'' said Janice McPhee, 24, a nurse from Valencia who heard about it from a friend involved with the troop.

``It's a great opportunity to give to kids,'' said McPhee. ``My hair will grow back . . . I hope they're happy and maybe for a little while they can feel like other kids.''

The Brownie troop organized the donation drive for Locks of Love, a Florida-based nonprofit organization that collects ponytails that can be made into wigs for kids, mainly those suffering from alopecia areata, a condition that causes hair loss.

The troop of first-, second- and third-graders needed to do its annual service project, and enlisted the salon, which offered - and will continue offering - the cuts for free.

``The girls thought that was so neat . . . It just kind of snowballed,'' said troop leader Lauren Curran, who got the girls involved after having chopped off her own long locks.

``Just doing a simple think like cutting your hair can make a child's life, I don't know, easier.''

The Florida-based organization relies on donated hair to make wigs for youngsters ages 6 to 18 who have lost their hair - generally to the medical condition that affects 4.5 million people nationwide, said spokeswoman Jennifer Cox.

The group provides the hairpieces that have a retail price of $3,500 for free or on a sliding scale to youngsters, and has given away 300 hairpieces since being formed in 1997, Cox said.

It takes 10 to 12 ponytails - at least 10 inches long - to make a single hairpiece, since most of the recipients are girls who prefer long hair, she said.

Cox said up to 80 percent of the organization's donations come from children.

``They're pretty much the lifeblood of our organization,'' Cox said.

While the Brownies were able to draw donors from across the community to the salon Monday, few were ready - or had parents ready - to allow them to part with their locks, troop leaders said.

Seven-year-old Chelsea Curran hardly blinked an eye as the stylist zapped off her red ponytail, as fellow Brownies marveled nearby.

After her hair was trimmed into a neat bob, she had no problem parting with her locks.

Her biggest concern? ``It would be really, really, really short,'' she said. In the end, she was pleased. ``I think it's cool.''

Another Brownie, from a different troop, heard about the girls' project and came in after school to join in.

Jessica Cook, 8, said she had been wanting to cut her long hair, which was trimmed short.

``I wanted to cut it, and I thought it was nice to donate,'' said the student from Wiley Canyon School.

Salon operator Julie Allen said when she opened the shop in June, she wanted to be able to give back to the community she has called home for years.

``I want the salon to be a charitable place,'' she said.

But the kids drew in others, including 11-year-old Glori Edmundson, from their campus at Our Lady of Perpetual Help; even the school finance secretary, Charity Troost, participated.

The event also attracted Laura Kelly, who drove down from Bakersfield after hearing about it.

``There's more pressure when you're a teen-ager or a child to fit in,'' said Kelly, who left with a neat bob.

``I like the idea of some little girl flipping her hair . . . So I don't mind giving it up.''

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Jessica Cook, 8, watches as Chelsea Curran, 7, has her hair styled by Angela Vilensky after losing her 10-inch ponytail.

(2 -- 3 -- color) Brownies, at left, react to the cutting of Our Lady of Perpetual Help School finance secretary Charity Troost's 10-inch ponytail. Chelsea Curran has her hair washed after her ponytail was cut.

(4) Armed with dustpan and broom, Brownie Kristine Morisette, 7, sweeps up dropped hair during Troop 809's ponytail-a-thon.

Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News