Zoe Foster Beautiful Lengths and Look GoodÂ… Feel Better Interview

Zoë Foster Beautiful Lengths and Look Good… Feel Better Interview

Pantene Beautiful Lengths has so far collected 940 donated ponytails since the inaugural campaign launched on 3rd September 2012.

Working with its charity partner, Look Good…Feel Better, Pantene will distribute these wigs to wig libraries and hospitals who have the highest demand. Details of the wig libraries who will receive wigs will be listed on www.beautifullengths.com.au as soon as they are available.

During Pantene's first National Donate Your Hair Week, which took place during the week, over 200 donation parties were held across the country. Women - and men - of all ages came together to pledge their ponytails and help spread the word of Beautiful Lengths. At the Sydney launch event, Pantene ambassador's Barney Martin and Zoe Foster led the charge of 54 women who all made the kindest cut and donated their ponytail.

Global Pantene ambassador, Naomi Watts, visited Sydney on Thursday 15th and Friday 16th November to support the women who donated their hair in her home country. Naomi attended a Look Good…Feel Better workshop at St. Vincent's Kinghorn Cancer Centre to present the first Pantene Beautiful Lengths wig to cancer patient, Jodie Queenan.

Naomi commented: "It's been fantastic to see such a huge surge of support for the Pantene Beautiful Lengths program; to know that so many Australian women - and men - decided to give up their hair to help another is incredibly touching and very admirable."

Maile Carnegie Managing Director, P&G Australia said: "As a worldwide leader in haircare products, Pantene is committed to giving back to the community. Over the past three months hundreds of people have shared their story through the Pantene website and Facebook page. These photos and letters are moving and inspiring and remind us just how caring Australians are to one another. Through its Beautiful Lengths program, Pantene can make a real difference to the lives of women undergoing cancer treatment in Australia."

For anyone who wishes to donate their hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths, please visit www.beautifullengths.com.au for information on donation requirements and how to make the cut. Pantene will accept suitable donations year-round.

Interview with Zoë Foster

Zoë is a best-selling author, journalist, blogger, relationship commentator and beauty expert. She is the relationship columnist at Cosmopolitan magazine. Prior to this she was editor-in-chief of beauty site PRIMPED, beauty director of Harper's BAZAAR magazine and beauty and lifestyle director of Cosmopolitan magazine.
She is also the beauty correspondent for Channel 9's Mornings, a regular on Today Tonight and A Current Affair, a spokesperson and public speaker and a social media consultant.
Zoe is also an ambassador for Look Good…Feel Better.

Question: What is the Beautiful Lengths campaign?

Zoë Foster: In September we asked women to continue growing their ponytails for National Donate Your Hair Week which began on Monday 12th November. As a Pantene ambassador I was the spokesperson for the Beautiful Lengths campaign with Barney Martin and Naomi Watts at the big event where we had awesome women attend and pledge their ponytail to make real hair wigs for women undergoing cancer treatment. It's a great campaign to promote because I am so passionate about it as it is a lovely thing; I am really proud; it was actually a real feel good event.


Question: Where you surprised that 53 women donated their ponytail at the event?

Zoë Foster: We had 53 women donate their ponytail at the event and many more send their ponytails in, from around Australia to the website via www.beautifullengths.com.au. (As of December, 2012 1,000 ponytails had been donated). The Beautiful Lengths website shows you how to cut off a ponytail properly. Women were hosting their own donation parties all around Australia for those that couldn't make it to the event on Monday the 12th November in Sydney. At the event we had to turn a few women away because they had their hair dyed or had a little too much chemical processing which is a shame.


Question: Why does bleach, dye and other treatments mean that some hair cannot be used?

Zoë Foster: Semi-permanent dyes are fine but hair that has permanent colour and chemical processing cannot be used because to get the hair to a good, healthy state for the wig means the hair needs to be processed and if it's already in a fragile condition it's not so good. We ask women to use a lot of masks and oils to get their hair in really good condition.

There is a lot of hair going into each wig as each wig requires six ponytails; it's quite a big yet impressive process.


Question: What can you tell us about Look Good…Feel Better?

Zoë Foster: Look Good…Feel Better is an amazing initiative all around Australia that hosts makeup, skincare and wig workshops for women undergoing cancer treatments in hospitals and treatment centres.


Question: How are the wigs then donated to women suffering from cancer?

Zoë Foster: When Beautiful Lengths have got the wigs they use Look Good…Feel Better which distributes the wigs to wig banks throughout Australia to whoever needs a wig.


Question: How can Australians help and support the Beautiful Lengths campaign?

Zoë Foster: Australians can support the campaign, all year round. If women are going to cut their hair anyway they should donate it. There have been six year olds donating their hair and it's great to see these beautiful young girls who have selflessly cut off their hair to donate. www.beautifullengths.com.au has information for those that want to donate, all year round.


Question: How can we look after our hair to donate our own ponytails?

Zoë Foster: We should all be looking after our hair, every day. There are some beautiful Pantene products including a Hair Oil which is a lovely product to put in your hair after you've washed to protect your hair against heat, styling and it's a lovely leave-in conditioner. A weekly hair mask is imperative especially if you are using hot tongs, stylers or hairdryers to your hair every couple of days. If you want your hair to be in tip-top condition for a Beautiful Lengths donation then I suggest those products, more than ever.

I would love a choppy bob hair style and when the girls where cutting off their ponytails after the first cut, I loved that hair because I love a choppy look however they had a style cut, afterwards. Some of the girls had a Michelle Williams Pixie cut whilst others had Alexa Chung styles and those who had heaps and heaps of hair and didn't want to lose length had hair left to their collar bone. There are a lot of celebrities with short hair which makes it easier for women to cut their own hair off.


Question: What is your goal in regards to Beautiful Lengths?

Zoë Foster: Our aim is to raise more awareness for the campaign. They have being running campaigns such as this in the States for years now and have made thousands and thousands of wigs and that's where we'd like to get to.