It's OK To Have Oily Hair

I learned something new today. It appears hair is "incredibly oil absorbent". While I was at Hair Cuttery today having my hair cut, they were talking about how all cut hair is being sent to the gulf to sop up the oil spill. Is that not the most amazing thing you have heard of since the toaster?

Customers at Hair Cuttery, Bubbles and Salon Cielo locations nationwide will be helping to take a whack at that huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Diane Daly is public relations manager for the Ratner Companies, which owns all three brands.

"We have a natural resource here, it's hair! And we have it in abundance, so it was a very easy decision for us to make."

Turns out hair, with its scaly structure, is incredibly oil absorbent. So instead of just throwing it away, clippings will be collected and shipped, courtesy of FedEx, to the gulf region, where it will be stuffed into nylon stockings and turned into booms, or woven into mats.

The idea of using something so commonplace to help with a disaster is awesome. Even pet stores are stepping up to help. Summer is approaching and now is the perfect time to get the short hair cut and help the environment at the same time.

I might add that since the person who cuts my hair has been on maternity leave for four months, I haven't been back to have my hair cut until today. The final take by the staff was that if the were to tie a rope around my ankles and dangle me from a helicopter into the ocean, my hair alone would probably be enough to remove all the oil. Perhaps I was due for a haircut!