A mother of six boys, Carolyn Black is used to seeing her sons with a variety of odd haircuts.

There was the time her son, Daniel Jimenez, tried to dreadlock his hair. Or the time, her youngest, Gabriel, showed up bald to the family reunion.

It didn’t faze her.

“Family pictures through the years, I had everybody with different hair,” Black said. “I didn’t miss out on not raising girls — we were always messing around with different hairstyles.”

The Coos Bay resident explained that she let her sons make their own decisions growing up about their hair and clothing — and deal with the consequences of those choices — because she believed they would help them deal with issues that really mattered.

So, it comes as no surprise to Black that Daniel and Gabriel are growing out their hair for a good cause — again. They plan to donate their ponytails to Locks of Love for the fourth and third time, respectively.

“I’m proud of the decisions they make,” Black said.

Locks of Love is a public nonprofit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children suffering from long-term medical hair loss. Somewhere, there are children wearing wigs made of the Jimenez brothers’ hair.

A bartender at the Humboldt Club in North Bend, Daniel Jimenez is a soft-spoken 28-year-old with light brown hair that falls just past his shoulders. At 8 1/2 inches, his hair will need to grow at least 3 1/2 more before he can donate it. Daniel said that will probably happen in late spring, when he’ll take a seat in a JCPenney’s salon chair at the Pony Village Mall. Then, he’ll likely sport a buzz cut. Gabriel, a chef in Portland, said his is about chin length.

The brothers have been participating in Locks of Love on and off since they were teenagers in Moscow, Idaho.

Daniel’s not sure where their hair has gone, but he kind of enjoys the anonymity of the donations.

The only down sides of Locks of Love, he added, is he can’t dye or cut his hair, aside from trimming the ends now and then. He also has to use a lot of hair conditioner to keep it smooth and healthy.

“You just have to let it go,” he said. “It’s a lot harder than it sounds.”

Gabriel said his hair annoyingly falls in his face when he’s reading, but soon it will be long enough for a pony tail. At work, the 25-year-old’s chef toque keeps it under control.

When Daniel first grew out his hair, he saw it as a sign of rebellion. But when a friend mentioned Locks of Love, the notion of donating a part of himself quickly became appealing.

 “As rebellious as I was, I’ve always just been a nice guy,” he said. “People have helped me out in the past when I’ve been in need. I think it’s common courtesy to help people out.”

Black remembered that as a child, Daniel would give away his sleeping bag and whatever else he had to help others.

“Dan has always been a real giver ... real conscious of people,” she said. “He could almost end up with nothing because he’d share.” 

One reason Gabriel participates is because he remembers watching the mother of another family cope with chemotherapy and hair loss. He also figures he should grow it while he’s got it.

“I think that kind of stayed with me my whole life,” he said. “That’s kind of how I always have felt about it. I just know there are people out there who not only need it but want it as well.”