Wherever 15-year-old Robby Weltman goes, the bushy brown ball of hair nested on the top of his head has raised eyebrows.

While in London with his family last summer, a tour bus pulled up alongside Robby and stopped. Tourists stared.

“The tour guide said, ‘If you look to the left, you’ll see an example of London hair,” recalled Robby, an Interlake High School junior. “I’m the example of local flavor – no matter where I go.”

Besides evoking curiosity, the curly 12-inch mass that Robby refers to as a “Jewish-style afro” also has been a source of annoyance.

He has had to keep his head back when he drives so that his driving instructor can see over his hair. Also, when carpooling with other people, mothers won’t let him sit in the front seat because they can’t see out the passenger-side window, said his mother, Ronna.

“I’m one of the leading causes of vehicular accidents,” Robby jokes on a recent afternoon, as he sits in a swivel chair at 7 Salon in Bellevue Square waiting to get his mop chopped.

Hairstylists Summer Potter and Aiyana Yates tie his coarse hair into sections as Robby, wrapped in a black cloak, looks in the mirror.

Potter takes the scissors and clips each section off at the base, placing the pieces into a small plastic bag. The hair will be transported to a Mercer Island warehouse, and then off to the Locks of Love organization where it will be made into hairpieces for financially disadvantaged children who suffer from long-term medical hair loss.

The salon has offered complimentary haircuts to benefit Locks of Love since it opened a few years ago, said Melani Fort, salon manager.

As the stylist shears snippets of curls from Robby’s head, his face emerges with a smirk.

“My ears feel so cold,” he says, rubbing his head.

Potter touches up Robby’s final do, but he instructs her not to style it because he’s just going to grow it back again.

Ronna cringes at the sound of it.

Her son began growing his hair out a couple of years ago. Once it had reached six inches and began to defy gravity, Robby’s dad asked him to get a haircut.

“I asked my dad, ‘how about if I donate it?’ He said, ‘yes,’ and I said, ‘okay then it needs to be at least 10 inches.’ So I grew it out,” Robby said.

He had heard about the Locks of Love organization from some friends and said the idea of donating his hair sounded “cool.” He’s always been big on donating and helping out, he said.

Ronna said her son likes having a big ‘fro. She told him he did not have to cut it, but he chose to donate it anyways. She considers the donation “an act of generosity.”

Robby says he looks forward to surprising his friends with his short haircut and is not sure how they’ll react.

Though he figures he’ll start growing it out again in the next couple months, for now he says it’s “kind of a relief. It’s nice to know when I go back to life, people won’t stop and stare.”

Carrie Wood can be reached at cwood@reporternewspapers.com or 425-453-4290.

How to donate

*10 inches measured tip to tip is the minimum length needed for a hairpiece.

*Permed or colored hair is okay; hair that has been bleached is not usable.

*Hair must be in a ponytail or braid before it is cut.

*Hair must be clean and completely dry before it is mailed in.

*Place the ponytail or braid inside a plastic bag, and then inside of a padded envelope.

*All hair donations must be mailed to Locks of Love at:

2925 10th Avenue N

Suite 102

Lake Worth, FL 33461-3099

For more information, visit www.locksoflove.org.