Pantene Beautiful Lengths is a charity campaign that allows individuals to donate hair

Hair

Hair is a filamentous biomaterial, that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Found exclusively in mammals, hair is one of the defining characteristics of the mammalian class....

 for women who have lost their own due to cancer treatment. It was created in July 2006, by Pantene

Pantene

Pantene is a brand of hair care products owned by Procter & Gamble. The product line was first introduced in Europe in 1947 by Hoffman-LaRoche of Switzerland, which branded the name based on panthenol as a shampoo ingredient...

in partnership with the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF).

For durable and realistic wigs, donated hair

Hair

Hair is a filamentous biomaterial, that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Found exclusively in mammals, hair is one of the defining characteristics of the mammalian class....

 must meet these requirements:

• Donated hair must be a minimum of 8 inches long (hair is measured from just above the elastic band of the ponytail to the ends).
• Donors may straighten hair to measure wavy/curly hair.
• Hair is washed and completely dry, without any styling products.
• Hair may be colored with vegetable dyes, rinses and semi-permanent dyes. It cannot be bleached, permanently colored or chemically treated.
• Hair may not be more than 5% gray. This is because it takes six ponytails to make each wig, and the ponytails for a single wig will be dyed a uniform color. Gray hair (along with permanently colored, bleached, or chemically treated hair) doesn't absorb color at the same rates as other types of hair, making a uniform color unachievable.

Hair donations are made into free, real-hair wigs by campaign partner, HairUWear and are distributed through the national network of American Cancer Society

American Cancer Society

The American Cancer Society is the "nationwide community-based voluntary health organization" dedicated, in their own words, "to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and...

wigs banks. Monetary donations to the EIF's Women's Cancer Research Fund are also accepted.