The ultimate hair accessory for October

Bec - Mamamia Friday 7 October 2011 1:02pm

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This is a sponsored post for CanTeen

Growing up in the 80s I wore a lot of weird things in my hair. Shoelace ribbons! Scrunchies! Banana clips! Alice bands! Fergie bows  (Remember Fergie bows? Do not even try to tell me that I’m the only person who wore a Fergie bow …) And then there was the Hairdini Magic Styling Wand that I bought off a late night advertorial.  It was meant to help twist my hair into a French roll. It was meant to make me look sophisticated (you know, to counter-act the braces and the A-ha t-shirt I loved to wear).  It did none of those things. As my brother cruelly pointed out it made me look like Klinger from MASH. And yet that still wasn’t my hair-accessory low point. That occurred in 1985 when I spent much of the year wearing a gigantic black lace bow in my hair in an attempt to look like Madonna (circa Desperately Seeking Susan). Add a huge crucifix, a boob tube and a mini skirt and I looked less like Madonna and more like a slightly slutty nun with bad shoes (thank you Dunlop Volleys).

In recent years I’ve steered clear of hair accessories (although Lana and Nat’s hair feathers do look cute). But this month I’m throwing caution to the wind and putting all my hair accessory failures behind me for a good cause. I intend to wear a bandanna for CanTeen.

Most of you would know that CanTeen is that not-for-profit organisation that supports 12-24 year olds who are living with cancer. Maybe they have it.  Maybe it’s one of their siblings. Maybe it’s their mum or dad or aunt or uncle or another family member.

Here’s the thing. Cancer affects all of us. ALL OF US. Everybody I know has someone in their family or their tribe of friends who has been impacted.  And what that means is that there is a hell of a lot of young people dealing with really big issues. Issues that kids and young people shouldn’t have to deal with.

National Bandanna Day is Friday 28th October

I don’t know about you but when I was fourteen I got to spend all my spare time pretending to study while I was really trying to figure out how to make Vinnie Del Tito fro Young Talent Time fall in love with me.  I can’t imagine what it would be like to spend your teenage years having to think about your mum’s next round of chemo. Or watching your brother or sister endure procedure after procedure in hospital. Or – God forbid – having to confront your own mortality.

So. We need to show these kids that we’re thinking about them. That we all care.

National Bandanna Day is CanTeen’s major annual fundraising event and takes place on Friday 28^th October 2011. The money raised on National Bandanna Day, helps CanTeen provide programs, services and resources to help Australia’s young people deal with the emotional, physical and practical issues of living with cancer, so they can take back control of their lives.

So here’s what we want you to do. Buy a bandanna this month.  It’s $4. You can afford $4. And then wear it. In your hair. Around your neck. Your wrist. Tie  it to your handbag.  Just have it on display so that those kids know we’re standing with them.  (The bandannas are on-sale at Woolworths , Woolworths Petrol, Spotlight, Anaconda, Super Cheap Auto, BCF, Goldcross, Ray’s Outdoors, Newslink, Wendys and Eckersleys)

You can find more information about CanTeen’s National Bandanna Day here. To get involved, register now at here or email nbd@canteen.org.au or call 1800 226 833

And if you’re on Facebook (and I know you are) “like” the National Bandanna Day page on Facebook.

This post is sponsored by CanTeen. Comments on this post are just for this post. If you want to talk about the IDEA of sponsored posts or the choice of advertisers please click here. We will be reading all those comments too for feedback.

What is your favourite hair accessory?  What’s the weirdest thing you’ve worn?