Arlington woman gathers locks to help others

ARLINGTON — Cynthia Kawafune’s hair is her identity, so she needed moral support when she was asked to cut it off.

The owner of Earthwise Healing Arts in Arlington had a room full of women to help her Thursday, Oct. 29, when she had a portion of her brown locks lopped off for charity.

“I’m your guinea pig today,” Kawafune told stylist Mikal McClintock, who volunteered to do the honors. “I’m definitely stepping out of my comfort zone.”

The effort was spearheaded by massage therapist Mona Soltero, who works at Earthwise.

She said there were two people that she knew who were going through chemotherapy and losing their hair, so she decided to do some research into finding them wigs.

Soltero finally settled on the Pink Heart Funds, a volunteer-operated nonprofit charity that provides wigs to cancer patients free of charge.

The organization is similar to the Locks of Love organization, but has less restrictions, Soltero said.

“I personally know two people who are going through chemotherapy, and they told them to send a note from their oncologists and they’ll send two wigs out right away,” Soltero said. “I thought it was so neat.”

In return, Soltero is trying to collect 20 feet of hair to donate to Pink Heart, starting with Kawafune.

At first, Kawafune said she only wanted to donate six inches of her flowing hair, which reached all the way to her upper thighs.

Six inches soon became eight inches, and by the time Kawafune was done McClintock had snipped 10 inches of hair from Kawafune.

“Once she straightened it, I just felt more comfortable,” Kawafune said after her hair was cut.

The gesture resulted in Kawafune receiving several hugs from her support group, which included Sherri Jira, who had just undergone chemotherapy for breast cancer.

Jira had shaved her head in July before going through treatment. She said seeing other people donating their hair for a good cause was a welcome sight.

Soltero will be hosting another donation session on Saturday, Nov. 14, for interested residents.

Soltero said she is offering a free massage to residents who donate hair.

For more information, call Earthwise at 360-403-3075.

Contact Arlington Times Reporter Adam Rudnick at arudnick@arlingtontimes.com or 360-659-1300 Ext. 5056.

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