Cosmetology Program Offers Free Haircuts, Locks of Love

Ashland Community and Technical College Cosmetology Program will celebrate the colleges 75th Anniversary with several activities in the first week of November. An Open House will be held Tuesday, Nov. 5, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Free haircuts for the community and for Locks of Love donors will be given Monday through Thursday, Nov. 4 to 7, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

We want to thank the community that has supported the college for so many years, said Belinda Bradley, Cosmetology Program Coordinator. We also want to welcome area residents who have not had the chance to see our new building on the College Drive Campus.

The modular building on Oakview Road, located behind the College Drive Campus, opened in spring 2012. It includes classrooms, offices and a full-service salon for hair, skin and nail services. Services are offered at modest prices in order to provide training opportunities for students.

The Cosmetology program offers a variety of services in addition to haircuts and styling hair coloring, permanents, manicures, pedicures, facials and scalp treatments. These services give the students experience at working in a real salon atmosphere with real clients.

The program has offered free haircuts to the military and Locks of Love donors for many years, but this is the first time they have been offered to the general public.

Appointments for haircuts are encouraged, but walk-ins are welcome. For more information, contact Bradley, 606.326.2460 or email: belinda.bradley@kctcs.edu.

Locks of Love

Locks of Love is a non-profit corporation that provides wigs to financially disadvantaged children under 21 who suffer medical hair loss.

Approximately 2 million children in the U.S. suffer from hair loss due to alopecia areata, an auto-immune disorder. Thousands more lose their hair from other disorders, radiation treatments or burns to the scalp.

Most retail wigs are made for adults. Locks of Love provides children with custom-made hairpieces that allow them to swim, shower and go through all their normal activities.

The ACTC Cosmetology Program will collect hair for Locks of Love Monday through Thursday, Nov. 4-7, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Cosmetology students will give free haircuts and styles to people who donate 10 or longer ponytails. Hair from men and women of any age is welcome, but hair cannot be bleached or dyed.

This is something that we can do to help children going through difficult times, said Belinda Bradley, Cosmetology Program Coordinator.

In addition to supporting Locks of Love, the Cosmetology program has supported a Stepping Stones project for many years to provide adults with donated wigs that have been cleaned and restyled. Hair is an integral part of a persons self-image, and by helping with wigs, we can help children and adults in stressful situations get on with a semblance of normal life, Bradley said.

For information on Locks of Love or Stepping Stones, contact Bradley, 606.326.2460 or email: Belinda.bradley@kctcs.edu.