Our scout troop 80195, which is comprised of Brownies and Juniors, earned the Pantene Beautiful Lengths Patch that was offered in a Ohio council while they were partnered with Pantene. The girls learned about cancer, chemotherapy, health of hair and wrote letters to a cancer survivor.
The girls enjoyed learning about hair health, but we’re saddened to learn how chemotherapy can destroy your hair. One of our girls even donated her hair to Pantene’s program that gives the hair to a cancer patient. This patch benefited our girls because it helped bring the troop closer together and even tied in well with our Amuse and World of Girls journeys.
To earn this patch, the girls had to learn about hair health. We learned the different parts of our hair, how to keep it strong, what damages our hair and how we can repair our hair. Pantene’s program had great resources, which allowed us to download them and create a poster. The poster was very informative and fun. We had the girls find the roots of their hair, the length of their hair and the ends of their hair. The girls learned about hair follicles and that the first part of your hair that can be damaged is the roots. They learned that flat ironing, shampooing to often, blow drying and brushing your hair too often, will ruin your hair.
Our girls also learned about how people around the world treat their hair. Some countries require their women to have their hair always in a bun or up, some require women to cover their hair and some allow women to do what they want. We also learned how coloring your hair can ruin your hair. We learned why our hair turns gray, and about hair pigment. We tied in that we have to treat our hair with care, because repair it is very difficult. We learned about a few techniques to repair our hair. We learned about the different types of hair as well.
We also tied in the Free Being Me patch as well. This patch was about being free in your own skin and about not bullying. We have had several issues with bullying in our troop. We have been trying to fix these issues. It is very difficult. These two patches allowed us the freedom to discuss these issues and have fun. Free Being Me was a great was to work through bullying and learn about having a healthy friendship. We learned, the adults included, how bullying exists world wide and how to help fix these issues. We enjoyed this patch. The troop learned how different cultures dress as well. Some by choice, some it is forced upon them.
In the end, the girls learned a ton. They enjoyed this unit and our time together. The girls really enjoyed writing the letters to our cancer survivor, Miss. Susie. They enjoyed sharing stories and talking with her. Their letters ranged from a page or multiple pages. They really got into it. Some even drew pictures for her. She enjoyed these. She soon wrote back to our troop, the girls were so excited. We want to Skype with her, so the girls can see her “in person.” This was a great unit. The girls and adults all enjoyed it so much.
My name is Kelley Beatty. I’m a leader for our troop. My daughter, Kandi is 8 and it is both of our first year doing scouts. We have learned and grown so much. I also have a son, Andrew who is 7.
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