Local salons, pet groomers send hair to help with oil spill in Gulf of Mexico

After entering Mira Salon and Spa, a customer is greeted by a receptionist and a small sign that reads, “Thank You for helping us contribute to the oil spill clean-up.”

It appears there is something different about this salon as Anna Stoddard, a Mira Salon and Spa employee, sweeps the wooden floors. She makes sure to separate hair from the other trash that is collected. In fact, hair at Mira has its own trash can.

Hair salons and pet grooming facilities across the nation have been collecting hair clippings to send to the Gulf of Mexico to help absorb oil from the hazardous tank explosion that occurred April 20. Bloomington is no exception.

For the past two weeks, Heather Singleton, the owner of Mira Hair Salon, has been separating salon trash from hair into two 30-gallon tubs in the back of the salon and just sent out her first barrel last week.

“I heard about this from a client and I said, ‘Oh wow, what a great idea,’” Singleton said.

The ambiance at Delilah’s Pet Shop is slightly different. Instead of soothing music and humming hair dryers, customers are welcomed by the excited barks of puppies and the subtle sound of a fur shaver.

Leslie Henderson-Miller, co-owner of Delilah’s Pet Shop, heard about the oil spill and knew that something had to be done.

A friend told Henderson-Miller about the nationwide hair collection. The idea inspired her to start her own separation of trash from hair.

“We go through it (fur) like it’s water,” Henderson-Miller said. “We can easily fill up a 30-gallon trash bag in a day.”

However, she did not know where the hair went or how to ship it out.

“We’re collecting it, and we’re going to keep it in bags in the back,” Henderson-Miller said. “We just have no idea where we send it.”

Singleton’s salon has been sending out hair clippings through a nonprofit ecological charity, Matter of Trust.

Matter of Trust was established in 1998 and concentrates its efforts on man-made surplus, natural surplus and eco-education, according to the Matter of Trust website.

“There are over 300,000 salons in the US alone,” wrote Lisa Gautier, founder of Matter of Trust. “This is a community-building and extremely pleasant way for the general public to be involved in helping the environment.”

The nonprofit agency created a YouTube video showing various salons and pet shops throughout California collecting and boxing hair to send to Matter of Trust. After the first week, the agency had received more than 400,000 pounds of hair donations to send to the Gulf of Mexico, according to a May 4 press release from the agency.

“The public response has been amazing,” Gautier said in a press release. “We are getting hundreds of nylon and hair donation registrations an hour.”

Donors are asked to register through the Matter of Trust’s website so the agency can ensure the hair is being sent to areas that need it most.

After receiving the hair, volunteers stuff it into nylon stockings, which are then tied together to make “brooms” that surround and contain sections of the gulf while soaking up oil.

The act of collecting the hair — especially for salons — is simple, Singleton said.

“We’re cutting hair anyway, so why not just collect it as well?” Singleton said. “I mean, how inexpensive and effective is that?”

Other pet groomers in Bloomington have caught on to this trend. Doggie Styles Canine Salon has just begun collecting hair for Matter of Trust, but has not sent any hair to the Gulf Coast yet, said Kelie Borhan, co-owner and groomer of Doggie Styles Canine Salon.

“It is something we can really do to make a difference,” Borhan said. “We definitely have the hair for it.”

For Henderson-Miller, the hair collection movement goes beyond the short-term repercussions of cleaning up the Gulf Coast.

“I can’t see how people wouldn’t want to save things for future generations,” Henderson-Miller said. “Save it not only for yourself, but for your children.”