Donate a Ponytail

Your new look could mean a new life for someone in need.

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ponytails collected

We are very proud to say that Sustainable Salons is the largest charitable collector of ponytails in the WORLD. All those valuable locks go to charitable organisations and wigmakers to change the lives for those suffering from medically-induced hair loss.

Download Ponytail Donation Kit

What happens to ponytails?

We send ponytails directly to wigmakers and to charitable organisations such as Variety and the Australia Alopecia Areata Foundation (AAAF) to be made into charitable wigs or to fund life-changing programs.

Watch our short film A Wig for Matilda to learn more about the people your ponytail donations help.

Download Ponytail Donation Kit

Who can donate ponytails?

We accept the following hair:

  • Hair from people of any age, gender, hair type and hair colour (as long as the hair is properly prepared)
  • Chemically processed or coloured hair
  • Curly hair ponytails are accepted, but must meet the minimum 20cm length without being straightened
  • 100% human hair extensions, as originally verified and labelled by the product supplier

How do I donate my ponytails?

Either visit a Sustainable Salon to get your ponytails cut by a trained professional, or visit your regular salon and take a printed copy of the ponytail donation kit.

Once you’ve cut your ponytails, please send them to*:

Australia
Sustainable Salons – Ponytails
GPO Box 322, Sydney NSW 2001

New Zealand
Sustainable Salons – Ponytails
Level 2, 40 Lady Elizabeth Lane, Wellington, 6011

How much does it cost to donate my ponytails?

When visiting a Sustainable Salon to donate your ponytails, your hair will need to be sectioned, plaited and cut for the donation. The stylist may also be required to tidy or restyle your hair after the ponytail chop.

As such, pricing for cutting hair for a ponytail donation is based on the salons price list. We recommend enquiring about pricing for the ponytail chop with your stylist when booking your appointment.

How long should the ponytails be?

The minimum length of ponytails we accept is 20cm, measured from where the elastic band is tied (not from where the hair has been cut) to the tip of the hair.

High-grade ponytails are a minimum of 36cm long and virgin hair, and are incredibly valuable as they can be made into wigs for kids. If you can wait and grow yours a little longer, you can make a truly special impact.

Will I be told that my ponytail has been received?

We receive hundreds of ponytails to the depot every week. When you have your ponytails cut at a Sustainable Salon, the hairdresser packages and returns them safely to our depot through our network.

If you’re sending your donation to us via post, unfortunately we’re unable to notify you when it’s been received. For your peace of mind, we recommend using a postage option with a tracking service so that you can see when it’s been safely delivered to us.

For your peace of mind

Sustainable Salons only sends ponytail donations to verified charities and independent wig-makers working on charitable wigs only (not-for-profit).

Although the independent wig-maker may need to charge for their labour (this remains between the wig-maker and the client), they provide the hair from Sustainable Salons free of charge to the recipient. This saves the recipient potentially thousands of dollars!

*Important note about postage

Please ensure you apply the correct amount for postage. You can use a prepaid satchel (take careful notice of the weight restrictions on the satchel) or take your ponytails in the envelope into the Post Office for the customer service representative to process for you.

Unfortunately any parcels with incorrect postage will not be received by Sustainable Salons.

Download Ponytail Donation Kit

Frequently Asked Questions

We accept chemically treated/coloured ponytail donations from a minimum of 20cm in length.

We recommend visiting a Sustainable Salon for the ponytail chop, but if there are no Sustainable Salons in your local area we do accept ponytail donations via the post.

If you are donating via post, we suggest downloading the Ponytail Donation Kit which includes instructions on how to correctly prepare and cut your hair for donation. 

We ask that all donors keep their hair natural with no straightening at the time of the ponytail cut. 

We understand that it can be difficult to measure curly hair unstraightened. Therefore we suggest tying your hair into plaits from where you intend to cut, and then measuring the length of the plait from the elastic to ensure it meets the 20cm length.

We work with a number of charities that you can fundraise with for your ponytail chop, such as the AAAF, Cancer Council, Leukaemia Foundation- World’s Greatest Shave, Variety the Children’s Charity and more.

We recommend contacting the charities directly for more information on how to fundraise.

We recommend sectioning the hair into small ponytails around the head because when ponytails are in transit, smaller tight plaits help protect the hair and it is less likely for strands to fall out of the ponytail.

Sectioning the hair into smaller ponytails also ‘maximises’ the length of your hair. If all strands of hair are bunched into the middle, the pieces of hair pulled in from the sides won’t be as long as those in the middle. 

When a ponytail donation is received at our depot, it is collected and sorted based on length and hair type. We then send these ponytails to independent wig makers and charities including Variety and the Australia Alopecia Areata Foundation (AAAF) for charitable wigs only.

It takes approximately 20 individual ponytails (at a minimum of 20cm in length) to make one individual wig, depending on length, thickness and hair type. 

While we always do our best, unfortunately, we can’t give specifics on who receives your hair once it arrives at the wigmaker. 

We accept ponytail donations from 100% human hair extensions.

Before donation, please verify that these extensions are 100% natural, as we aren’t able to accept synthetic hair.

Unfortunately we are unable to accept dreadlocks as ponytail donations.

However, we do accept dreadlocks as hair clippings, to be used in our Hair Boom Research and for composting. Hair clippings can be donated in-salon only and not via post. To donate hair clippings please visit the salon locator here.

When visiting a Sustainable Salon to donate your ponytails, your hair will need to be sectioned, plaited and cut for the donation. The stylist may also be required to tidy or restyle your hair after the ponytail chop.

As such, pricing for cutting hair for a ponytail donation is at the discretion of the salon.  We recommend enquiring about pricing for the ponytail chop with your stylist when booking your appointment.

Want to learn more about the materials we collect?