Human hair on the way to help clean Gulf oil spill

It's easy to feel helpless watching the tens of thousands of gallons of heavy black oil spill into the Gulf of Mexico. Apart from shaking your head in disgust, what can you do?

If you want to help the clean up effort, get a haircut.

A haircut?

Human hair is one of the weapons being used by crews fighting the continually spreading slick.

The California-based organization Matter of Trust is collecting tons of hair and forming it into oil-collecting booms near the shoreline of the failed well.

And at least some of that hair is coming from salons in Lake County.

Gigi Phillip, the general manager of Tricoci University of Beauty Culture, said it's a no-brainer for the Libertyville beauty school to collect and ship hair to Matter of Trust.

"I think this is amazing and really easy for us to do," Phillip said. "If our trash can be used to save the environment and benefit a greater cause, we want to get involved. I hope we can continue this even after this crisis is past."

The San Francisco-based environmental group began collecting hair in 2000. The group has collected more than 450,000 pounds of hair that is already being used in the Gulf spill or on its way.

Volunteers work to push the hair into nylon tubes that are strung together near the shorelines to soak up the oil.

Phil McCrory, a hair stylist from Alabama, came up with the hair mat idea in the early 1990s. He was watching the clean up of a major spill and noticed there was less oil near otters that floated nearby. He figured the hair on the animals was soaking up the oil. After a few experiments, he devised a mat made of human hair and tested its soaking properties to prove his theory.

Tricoci isn't the only salon in the area shipping clippings. The staff at Debby & Co. Hair Studio Ltd. in Grayslake is pitching in too. They learned about Matter of Trust in a trade magazine.

"We found about this a week ago and have been going gangbusters," said owner Karen Wills.

Wills said her customers are excited too. "Our client response has been huge," she said. "They're even telling their friends about it."

For more information about Matter of Trust and how to help, visit matteroftrust.org.