(CNN) — Desiré Henriksen feared that there would be no Christmas for her two boys. She had lost her job at Denny’s, where she worked the graveyard shift. Her fiancé, who works as a glazier, was having a hard time finding regular work. And the couple fell behind on the mortgage last month.
Desire Henriksen decided to sell her hair after losing her job and falling behind on her mortgage.
So Henriksen, of Phoenix, Arizona, cut her hair and sold it on the Internet to a hair trader in the Netherlands.
"Everyone was telling me how beautiful my hair was," the 27-year-old said. Her friends suggested that she sell it.
"I thought, ‘Why not? I’ll check it out,’ " she said.
"We’re trying to keep our place here," she said. "We don’t want to become like people right now who are losing their homes."
With the economy squeezing the budgets of more Americans, some people are looking for creative ways to pay their monthly bills. Selling hair on the Internet is just one of those unusual methods.
"We’ve seen about a 20 percent increase in the last four months," said Jacalyn Elise, co-founder of TheHairTrader.com, referring to the number of ads offering hair for sale posted on her site. "These days, some people are just in need of money."
Henriksen was paid $1,200 for 27 inches of her tresses. But most hair is sold for about $300 to $900, says Marlys Fladeland of Hairwork.com. The hair is used to make wigs or hair extensions or is used in artwork.
The longer the hair, the more it is worth. Untreated hair is also likely to fetch a higher price, Elise says.
For Henriksen, cutting her hair was always in the cards. But she had planned to give it to a nonprofit organization that provides hairpieces for children who lost their hair after cancer treatments.
"Initially, I had grown my hair out to donate to Locks of Love in memory of my mother, who passed away from cancer last year. I was going to try to give back to people who didn’t have any hair. But it didn’t work out that way. Instead, I got my kids Christmas [gifts]," she said.
In addition to buying presents for her 10-year-old son and 3-year-old stepson, Henriksen paid off the overdue mortgage bill.
She was so pleased with how easy her hairy business deal was, she says she’s planning on growing her hair out again and selling it on TheHairTrader.com to help pay for her wedding.
A professional lab rat
Others are taking more drastic measures, becoming medical guinea pigs.
Paul Clough, 30, fell on hard times five years ago. A homeless man suggested that Clough take part in medical clinical trials, and now it’s his full-time gig.
Don’t Miss
Clough estimates that he brought in $28,000
Related posts: Scrap metal, New planet found, Justin brescia, Time off to vote, Transporter 3 soundtrack
« Star movie | Home | My vu »
Related posts:
- Place related post plugin php here...
You must be logged in to post a comment.
