The smell of hair styling products filled the air of the Diversions Lounge in the Holmes Student Center Tuesday as students and members of the DeKalb community received haircuts to benefit the not-for-profit organization, Locks of Love.

Plastic bags containing ponytails of every hair color sat on a table waiting to be shipped to the organization to be made into wigs for children who have suffered total scalp hair loss.

The drive was set up by Sara Fajardo, a junior pre-physical therapy major and audiology graduate student Shawna Jackson, who were inspired by a speaker who talked about the self-image of cancer patients.

“We started making the initial calls in November,” said Jackson, who is also a graduate assistant for the College of Health and Human Sciences. “Right when we got back from break we started calling stylists.”

Area stylists from such salons as Amanda’s Spa and Beauty, 650 North Peace Road C, and James Michael Salon in Geneva donated time to cut and style the hair of donors.

“People have been really cool and excited to donate,” said Jim Mulheran, a stylist at James Michael Salon. “They asked at a good time, and I love cutting hair.”

Participants who could donate at least 10 inches of hair were given a free haircut. Those who still wanted to participate but could not donate 10 inches were charged $5, with all proceeds going to Locks of Love.

Locks of Love is a not-for-profit organization which provides custom-made wigs that are vacuum-fitted, meaning they do not require tape or adhesive to attach to the head.

To acquire a wig, candidates must fill out an application.

Many candidates suffer from a condition called alopecia areata where the body treats hair follicles as a foreign tissue causing permanent hair loss, which can include eye brows and eye lashes. There is no cure for alopecia areata.

Other candidates are cancer patients, those who have suffered severe burns, or those with many other dermatological conditions resulting in permanent hair loss.

“I like the idea of helping cancer patients look ‘normal,'” said Amy Bily, a junior biology major. “And my hair grows pretty fast.”

This is the second time Bily has donated her hair to Locks of Love.

“And it’s a free haircut,” said Bily.