Do Salons Sell the Hair They Cut Off Celeb Heads?

Li'l Paris Jackson got her first haircut in a salon, and the trimmings were all scooped up. What's that about?

Why did Paris Jackson take all of her hair trimmings with her after visiting a salon?
—Peach12

Let's start with this: Celebrity hairstylists aren't at all surprised by your question. People who deal with celebrities aren't at all surprised by anything, actually.

Paris Jackson reportedly did bundle up her trimmed hair and take it with her after leaving the Amp beauty salon at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas. (Actually, according to reports, Paris' security goons instructed the salon to bag up the hair for transport.)

But she isn't the only celebrity to have done so...

"I've had that happen two or three times with someone who is very high profile," says Carla Gentile, owner of the Steam Salon in Los Angeles. "Celebrities are afraid someone might try to make money off of it."

Steam Salon clients have included Emilie de Ravin and The Office's Kate Flannery, though of course that isn't to say any of those particular stars have asked to keep their hair trimmings.

How might money be made off of such things? Well, eBay, naturally, where a lock of Adam Lambert's hair apparently went up for sale in May. (How much it sold for, if it sold, wasn't immediately clear.)

Of course there are other reasons why stars might want to keep their hair close.

"I can totally understand why a celebrity would ask to keep hair," says über-stylist John Patrick, who has worked with AnnaLynne McCord and Elizabeth Banks. "It can be used for drug or DNA testing."

Not that I'm implying anything. At all. About DNA testing. Or why it would come up. In a story about Paris Jackson.