So, in case you are living in a cave, there was an oil rig explosion right off of the Louisiana coastline. 11 people died and many were injured. Working in the oil industry is a scary, scary thing.
My own father works for an oil refinery, and I worry for him constantly. In 1988, his plant had an explosion and apparently, all that was left of his office were oil splattered family pictures. He was due for work a few hours later. It’s scary and incredibly sad, so I’m constantly praying for those families who lost someone that day.
Now, there are millions of gallons of crude spewing through the Gulf of Mexico. Sure, it’s not Hurricane Katrina, but fishermen are losing their jobs, wildlife is dying and our fragile wetlands are diminishing at a faster rate.
Oh, and by the way, it’s almost June 1st. Hello hurricane season, Have mercy on Louisiana, because the last thing we need is the crude stirred up and brought further into land.
Ok, so now that I’ve lectured y’all, there are ways to help. We’re all really limited though. It’s not like we can all just go out to the Gulf and help wildlife or personally stop the oil spewing out of the ocean floor.
You can donate your hair. Weird suggestion, but in fifth grade, I got a quart of crude oil to do a science experiment. I used human hair (got a haircut for the sake of a science ribbon), bird feathers (we had a bird house in our yard and well, there were feathers everywhere), spanish moss (hello, swamp!), and plant leaves. In the end, human hair and bird feathers (sadly) were most absorbent of the crude oil.
So, yes, hair really works, and salons are donating hair to make mats to absorb the crude. Also, PetSmart grooming salons are donating pet hair too. (Millie definitely needs a trim, too!) I found a salon near me that will donate hair, and I haven’t cut my hair since last June. So, needless to say, I hope my split ends can absorb oil.
I had about 3-4 inches to donate (depending on the outgrown layers) and wow, it felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. I feel good about knowing that my hair, which is never long enough for Locks of Love, will actually benefit something so close to home.
Just ignore my 6th grader pimple face and focus on the meticulously styled coif. 🙂
Oh, also if you buy Dawn soap, there are codes on the bottle to enter online to donate $1 to cleaning birds. Easy enough..feel good about doing your dishes. I know I hate doing them, but heck, buying Dawn at least makes me feel sort of happy using up the soap. 🙂
Are any of you in the affected areas with the oil spill? Are you as worried as me?
Im going to call my salon and see if they do this.. ive been growing out my hair for 2 years now and its never long enough for locks of love that and i cant bear to cut it off lol but i can donate to this.. i always buy dawn over the cheaper brand bc of the help with birds plus its a good product i have a anti bac one odor one a bleach alt one love that stuff … anyways i havent got my hair cut since feb so im sure i have split ends but every time i go in its a confidence booster they ooh and ahh over my hair about how healthy it is and stuff.. lol.. b4 i cut it in feb it was 18 and a half inches long .. a few weeks ago i started taking biotin which is a supplement for ur hair skin and nails i can tell a difference its awesome! .. now if only they took pet hair ours shed like crazy its all over the furniture and stuff or i guess i could get the furbinatior out that thing takes off the excess fur so great.. ill have to search online bc i have 3 dogs and 2 cats that need it badly
Houston was my home for 5 years, so the Gulf Coast is in my prayers. I had a friend whose dad works for a BP refinery, and they’ve had several explosions in the Houston area. She would tell me about her high school friends’ parents who basically had PTSD from being present during refinery explosions. The whole oil spill business just makes me sick. And the corporations are just standing there pointing fingers at each other instead of making anything better.