I'm glad I'm 50; when I was young something like this would be a trauma, and now the thought is, "It's only hair." But I do remember when it would have upset me beyond belief.
For others considering it: One freind who donated hers made a point of asking around (obviously someone who hasn't cut their hair in that long may not know a good beautician) and paying for her haircut rather than going with the freebie offered. Sometimes someone who is not advertising that s/he'll cut for free might give a discount or freebie if you mention it when you call for an appointment. Another freind's son did it as well. Oh, by the way, the first freind actually added to the donation by "auctioning off" her hair. She always wore it in two long braids, and collected $$ per inch for the charity. The first inch she said Locks of Love throws away (split ends, frizzy, thin) so I think she sold the first inch of each braid for $5. Then it was $10 an inch. At a certain point she said that was all she was going to have cut off with unless she could get $20/inch for it. So she raised a good bit of cash in addition to donating the hair.
I should have such great hair!