Last month, what could turn into the biggest oil spill in history took place on a rig off the Gulf Coast. The damage was devastating: 11 workers were killed at Deepwater Horizon and oil continues to spew into the gulf at an estimated rate of 5,000 barrels a day.

This week, BP, the company that leased the rig, said that costs relating to the disaster have topped $450 million--or about $10 million daily--but new aid is coming from an unusual and unexpected place: the top of your head!

Anyone who hasn't washed their hair in a few days knows that human hair is porous and traps oil. So what better way to help clean up the Deepwater Horizon oil that's making its way onto the Gulf's beaches than by donating hair that would otherwise just be swept up and thrown away?

Hair salons across the country have joined forces with a San Francisco-based environmental non-profit called Matter of Trust. The organization has so far solicited more than 90,000 salons in donating hair left over from regular cuts.

One of the businesses participating is Gisele's Salon in Larchmont. Owner Gisele Guerrero said that she first heard about the using hair booms--hair stuffed into pantyhose--to absorb oil spills about a 1 1/2 years ago, but when she heard about Matter of Trust, she immediately wanted to help.

"There's 2,600 oil spills a year and how simple it is to start collecting something we were just throwing away. Every coastal area should have some of these booms ready," Guerrero said.

"I was so interested by the fact that it's cheap and it's so simple."

Noting the benefits of finding new uses for what would otherwise just seem like waste, Guerrero's consultant Lillian Brady harkened a simpler way of life and said, "environmentally speaking, this is the best thing."

Guerrero agreed. "We are going backward, but it's what we have to do."

Gisele's has been collecting hair for the Matter of Trust effort since Tuesday and the business just registered with the non-profit yesterday. As Matter of Trust finds warehouses available for storing hair booms along the Gulf, it contacts participants to ship boxes of hair to the warehouses, or have them available for pick-up.

Guerrero, who moved to the U.S. from Lebanon at age 16, is a 34-year veteran of the hairstyling business and opened her Larchmont salon three years ago.

Each year Guerrero ties in a larger issue into the shop's anniversary celebration--last year the salon celebrated an Hispanic woman's center--and this year she's hoping to raise awareness and garner support for customers to "help us help America."

From 11a.m. to 2p.m. on Sunday, May 23, Gisele's will mark their three-year anniversary and is offering 50 percent off on haircuts, with all of the hair being saved for Matter of Trust.

Guerrero plans to hold an exhibit detailing "the science part" of how the booms mop up oil.

"I think it will attract attention. People will ask questions," Guerrero said. She's also hoping to muster support for the Matter of Trust effort from other salons in the area.

So far, Gjoko's Salon and Spa is also planning to participate in the Matter of Trust effort.

For Guerrero, volunteerism is an important part of life. She mandates her employees to take three days a year off to participate in volunteer efforts and she's frequently lauded for her efforts in giving back to the community, not only in Larchmont, but in a broader, globalized context as well.

Last March, Gisele's hosted "Haircuts for Haiti." All proceeds from each $50 haircut were donated directly to earthquake relief efforts in Haiti.

In April 2009, Guerrero started an effort called "Haircuts for Hope." She gives free haircuts to clients at HOPE Community Services, a food pantry in New Rochelle, and for her efforts, the American Red Cross is awarding her the Adult Good Samaritan award at their Community of Heroes celebration next month.

Guerrero views volunteerism as a welcome duty: "We support the community in many different ways, that's just what we're supposed to do."

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story mentioned efforts of another salon in error.