Near the entrance to A Cut Above salon, in Westminster, is a trash can filled with hair.

But it's not trash — the hair will soon be made into booms to help soak up oil in the Gulf of Mexico.

"It's a great way to kind of recycle something that we already have an abundance of," said Jessi Smith, stylist and manager of the Main Street salon.

Smith said that after seeing an item on Facebook, she registered A Cut Above with a hair collection program run by Matter of Trust, a nonprofit based in San Francisco.

At warehouses located in different states, volunteers fill nylon stockings with donated human and animal hair, as well as fur, fleece and feathers, to make booms. An orange mesh layer surrounds each group of booms.

According to its website, Matter of Trust started a program in 2000 to collect hair for mats to use in the case of oil spills -- long before the Deepwater Horizon incident, which has been leaking oil into the Gulf since April 20. The organization has been involved with various programs since 1998.

At A Cut Above, clippings are swept up and added to the trash can. When the can is full, the bag of hair is put into a box, which is sent to a designated warehouse.

Matter of Trust is seeking nylons for the project, too, so A Cut Above will offer discounts on haircuts or chemical services to customers who bring nylons in, Smith said.

Betty Schlerf, of Westminster, came in to the shop this week for a trim, and said she would be donating nylons to the effort.

"There's so little that most of us can do when things like this happen, but this is one (way) that the average citizen who doesn't live in the area ... can help some," Schlerf said.

Even those who don't reside in close proximity to the spill are affected by it, because of the impact on seafood, estuaries and animals, she noted.

Smith said she worries about hurricanes moving the oil around. While she hopes the oil won't reach Maryland, she feels it is likely.

For more than 1 1/2 months, the salon has been collecting hair -- from about 25 to 30 people a day during its five-day work week, Smith said.

Smith said it doesn't matter how long or short the hair donations are, but they do have to be clean.

She said the donations complement the shop's effort to be more "green" -- staffers also recycle soda cans and plan to recycle plastic bottles, too.

A Second Glance salon, in Eldersburg, is also donating hair in conjunction with Matter of Trust, and also gets about 25 to 30 customers for each of its work days, said Amy Nicholls, manager and stylist at the salon.

She and her dad, salon owner Ronald Nicholls, were both interested in getting involved with Matter of Trust.

"You always like knowing that what you do affects people on a big level," she said.

Nicholls said the salon can usually benefit people by making them feel beautiful, but with this project, they are able to help people -- and animals -- in a different way.

After getting a haircut at A Second Glance this past week, Katie Steele of Eldersburg noted that she's never had long enough hair to donate to Locks of Love, which uses hair in wigs for children with long-term hair loss from illness.

She liked the fact that she was able to donate her hair, with no minimum length, to the Gulf.

"I just like to see how much hair I do get cut off at the end, 'cause then it's always nice to know that that can actually help someone," Steele said.

Most customers don't know about the hair donation before coming in for a cut, Nicholls said.

"I let most of my clients know that their haircut is an altruistic event today," she said. "I tell them all to get a receipt -- so they can write it off on their taxes."

Hair's how to help

For information about donating hair, nylons or money to Matter of Trust, go to www.matteroftrust.org.

* A Second Glance Salon is on Sykesville Road (Route 32), Sykesville (410-549-3600).

* A Cut Above is on Main Street, Westminster (410-751-6770).

(As seen in the July 4 issue, titled, "It's hair today, Gulf tomorrow")

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