Dinney, Fee give hair care

Knights softball players Lacey Dinney and Patrice Fee both donated 10.5 inches of their hair to Locks of Love at the Relay for Life event April 1.

Locks of Love, a charitable organization dedicated to donating hair to children suffering from long-term medical hair loss, set up a stage  at Relay for Life to donate their hair onstage.

Dinney, who had short hair growing up, had been growing out her hair since her freshman year of college.

"I was kind of attached to my hair, I loved playing with a big, long braid," Dinney said.

Fee, who always had long hair, said having shorter hair is something completely new to her.

"I've always had long hair, only used to get it trimmed," Fee said.

The UCF Softball team  was at the event volunteering when they convinced Fee to cut her hair. She was willing to if Dinney also got her hair cut — Dinney agreed.

"I was scared to death, but after it happened everyone was coming up thanking me and it felt really good doing it for somebody else," Fee said.

More than 100 people cheered them on and both Fee and Dinney held hands while they got their haircuts supporting one another.

Cancer survivors thanked the girls for donating their hair, calling them heroes.

Once their hair was cut, Dinney and Fee had a choice to send in the hair themselves or have someone from the organization send it in. Both chose to send it in; which meant in return they get information on the story of the hair and the child who receives it.

Not only did Dinney do it for a good cause, the haircut has been well-received. She has already gotten a lot of compliments on her new shoulder-length haircut.

"I've never had more compliments on my hair now then when it was long," Dinney said. "I got a really good style with it afterwards which helps."

Dinney also said that before it would take her so long to do her hair and that it would take multiple girls to braid her hair before games.

"They said it was like a horse tail," Dinney said. "Now, though, it is way more convenient."

With the cold weather gone and Florida's summer heat, the new shorter hairdos have helped both Fee and Dinney stay cooler in the long-run.

Dinney joked that if some of her teammates did get their hair cut for Locks of Love, they would end up with short buzz cuts because their hair would be way too short.

It seems as if the haircuts have given the Knights some good luck. Since Relay for Life, the Knights have gone 6-2 and earned their first Conference USA sweep of the season after defeating Marshall 10-6 Sunday.

Locks of Love is always looking for people meeting the requirements to donate hair. To find out more information go to locksoflove.org.