With warm weather just around the corner, some students may be considering a shorter haircut to go along with the rising temperatures.

Instead of just having those tendrils swept up from the salon floor only to end up in the trash, there is an organization that wants that hair.

Locks of Love, a nonprofit organization that provides wigs for children with medical hair loss, receives ongoing donations from the Athens area.

Hair Solutions, a salon on Hawthorne Avenue, has been working with the organization for about six years.

“You can’t find children’s sized wigs; that is why Locks of Love is so important,” said Sue Heide, owner of the salon.

Most of the children who receive wigs from Locks of Love suffer from an auto-immune condition called alopecia areata, which causes baldness.

Other children receive wigs due to hair loss caused by burns or radiation treatment.

The wigs made by Locks of Love are custom-made and suction fitted so children can swim, play sports and do just about anything, Heide said.

Renee Leverette, from Stone Mountain, donated 11 inches of her hair to the Locks of Love organization Friday at the Hair Solutions Salon in Athens.

“I wanted to get my hair cut, and someone mentioned donating it. It touched my heart — what a great way to give a gift,” she said.

Leverette, who brought a friend with her for support, was slightly nervous about how her hair would look short.

“I have been thinking about this for months. I had to get up the nerve to do it,” she said.

Jennifer Johnson, a stylist at Hair Solutions, said, “(Donating) is the catalyst to give them the nerve to cut their hair — and then they love it.”

When asked how people react while donating their hair, Johnson said, “They are thrilled. One girl started hyperventilating, though.”

She said most of the donors are college students.

“Donors come in at least once a week, sometimes as many as five in one week,” Johnson said.

Donating several inches of hair is not something just females do.

“Men with long hair usually have absolutely beautiful hair to donate,” Heide said.

She said she believes that when someone comes in to donate their hair, “it is always much more than just a haircut.”