Batavia 3-year-old's first haircut benefits Locks of Love

Think back to the scene of that first haircut. Usually, there is a squirming, frightened child in the chair. There is a mother, with tears welling up, trying to calm the child.

Then some strange adult pulls out sharp pointy scissors, something you have been told time and again to never touch, and starts to cut off your hair.

No wonder the photograph in the family album looks like a toddler trapped in terror.

The first haircut is a rite of passage. It's hard on the child. It's hard on the stylist. And it's hard on the mom who sees her little babe transform before her eyes from a precious little thing to a grown up little girl.

"It is hard," said Rose Gustavson as she watched her daughter, Grace, get her first haircut. "Their look changes so, no more long beautiful curls."

This time, those curls were not just dropped on the salon floor. This time, they were saved for a child who has lost her hair to cancer or alopecia, an autoimmune condition that causes the hair follicle to shut down. The disorder results in hair loss and there is no known cure. Close to five million children in the United States suffer from the condition.

"Aren't you excited to give your hair to 'Locks of Love'," said big sister, Abigail.

Three-year-old Grace was a bit overwhelmed by the whole experience. She grimaced when her soft, silky curls were pulled back into a ponytail.

"She doesn't like ponytails," said Abigail. "She usually pulls them out."

There were no tears from Grace, just a few glimpses of fear and trepidation. When Craig Foltos, of Foltos Tonsorial Parlour chopped off the ponytail, Grace seemed a bit unfazed, unsure of how her ponytail got into the hands of her big sister who had held her hand throughout the beginning moments of the haircut.

As Foltos trimmed her hair, Grace sat wide-eyed in the chair, looking at all of the pictures and memorabilia on the wall. The family usually has a friend from church come to their home to cut Abigail's hair. This was their first trip to a salon.

Abigail was more excited than her sister about the donation of the hair to "Locks of Love." She told me how important it was to help people who need help. She has done many a fundraiser in the past to help people, from selling lemonade to more industrious ventures. When she was four she sold broken pieces of chalk for 25 cents each.

"My friends and I made baskets out of paper once and filled them with flowers to give to our neighbors." she added.

Perhaps May baskets?

"No, they were paper baskets," she said with authority.

As Abigail handed the ponytail over to her mom, she again told Grace how excited that she was that Grace's ponytail was going to help a disadvantaged child in need of a wig. Eighty percent of the donations to "Locks of Love" come from children who donate their hair to help other children.

"Now it's time for ice cream," announced Abigail. That put a smile on Grace's face.

One can only imagine how big that smile will be on the child who receives little Grace's special gift.