FAIRHOPE, Ala. — The massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has not escaped the attention of folks around the world, and neither has Amanda Bacon. The Point Clear resident has been rather visible on the front lines of the struggle to keep crude from encroaching into the coast’s most environmentally sensitive areas, and she has done much of the work from her waterfront home.

“The international press has gotten ahold of it,” she said of her campaign to collect hair from stylists, barbers and pet groomers. The BBC World Service phoned from London this week to talk with her about how the clean, clipped hair will be used in absorbent oil booms that can be placed between the slick and the shore. Other global media outlets have gotten wind of it as well, and boxed hair has been arriving from many nations.

British Petroleum (BP) has had limited success so far containing the oil that began gushing from their well 100 miles south of Mobile when the Deepwater Horizon platform exploded before sinking late last month. While the company is still focused on stopping the flow from the riser pipe, they have also been seeking help in the battle to prevent oil from making it ashore.

Bacon said she is working closely with two organizations that have vast expertise in using hair in this unorthodox manner. The nonprofit Matter of Trust (www.matteroftrust.org) and OttiMat (www.ottimat.com), a company that makes absorbent mats from hair, are both involved in helping Bacon get resources to the coast where they are needed.

Hair naturally absorbs oil, Bacon pointed out, and she credits OttiMat founder Phil McCrory with helping her get involved with Matter of Trust.

McCrory once worked as an Alabama hair stylist, and was shampooing a client’s oily hair one day while watching television coverage of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. He noticed that fur on some of the Alaskan otters was completely soaked with oil. He correctly surmised that the hair he swept up each day could be much better used as an oil absorbent, and immediately put his theory to the test.

He began by determining how much petroleum he could collect with the hair clippings he saved each day. He then invented the hair mat, which is now made in China from purchased hair.

“It’s so simple, it’s amazing,” Bacon said. “Here is a natural solution that drinks oil that we should utilize. We know how to prepare for hurricanes by boarding up windows and gathering water. There are no instructions to prepare for this, and people are scared.”

There are more than 300,000 hair salons in the United States, and each cuts an average of one pound of hair per day, according to Matter of Trust. Pet groomers usually cut three pounds per day.

Donors pay out of pocket for postage to send in their swept-up hair clippings directly to spill locations or the Matter of Trust warehouse in California.

The organization issued a statement calling hair booms a “safe, nontoxic and effective way to participate in the Gulf oil spill cleanup.” Matter of Trust “does not condone untrained residents touching the oil.” Group officials urge actual oil cleanup to be left to hazmat professionals.

Charles Boswell, owner of Tri-State Maritime Services of Mobile, is providing free warehouse space in his building at the Port of Alabama so Bacon’s grassroots effort will have a place to store donations. She had worried the donations would pour in, and there would be no place to store them. Other warehouses are in use along the Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida coasts.

Hosiery is another component needed for making oil booms, and much has already been dropped off. Hanes, an undergarment manufacturer, has donated 50,000 pairs of pantyhose to be used along the coast. Each pair results in two booms.

“Matter of Trust has contacted their database of groomers and salons all over the world, and they are shipping hair here,” Bacon said. She has been told to expect from 40,000 to 100,000 pounds to arrive soon.

One pound of hair soaks up around one quart of oil, and each hair boom contains roughly five pounds of clippings.

The recipe to make what is being called “Alabama sausage” is easy. You need a 3-foot piece of 2-inch PVC pipe. Cut off the legs of a pair of pantyhose, and pull one over the pipe. Stuff the pipe lightly with hair and pack it down with a broom handle. Slide out the pipe then zip-tie the end of the pantyhose.

Bacon said two sites have been selected as staging areas where booms will be assembled — American Legion Post 199 on South Mobile Street in Fairhope and Felix’s Fish Camp on Battleship Parkway in Spanish Fort. She noted the American Legion has built benches and pre-mounted PVC pipe on them in advance of a Boom-B-Que stuffing party that is being planned.

“The concept is twofold,” Bacon said. “These will be available for individuals who want to come and get them to protect and clean their shoreline.” Other booms, she said, will be attached to a wire mesh system or floated along area shorelines.

BP has contacted Bacon, and she hopes the company will use hair booms “at the leading edge of the spill.” Around 300 booms have been assembled so far in Baldwin County.

Local business that have offered to serve as drop-off points for hair, pantyhose and a host of other materials related to oil spill recovery include The Garage (17046 Scenic Highway 98), Lyons Share Gallery on DeLaMare Avenue in Fairhope and Fairhope First Baptist Church on South Section Street (see www.baldwincountynow.com for more).

Amy Lumpkin stopped by the Lyons Share early Friday afternoon to donate hair to the cause. There was one catch, however. It was still attached to her head.

That was no problem at all for gallery owner Mike Lyons, who whipped out his trusty razor blade and proceeded to sheer off seven inches of her dark pony tail. Lumpkin said that she and her 10-year-old daughter, Dori, had already been growing their hair long so they could donate it to a group that collects human hair to use in wigs for cancer patients. But because she wanted to immediately do something related to the spill, she decided to reroute her strands.

Although Lumpkin seemed to wish scissors were being used so the cut would be even, she said, “I would trust Mike Lyons with my life. I appreciate what they’re doing by being a collection site for oil spill supplies, and I hope it raises awareness.”

Lyons smiled and added, “I wanted people to know they can come by anytime, and we’ll clean them up for free.”

The free cut did not come all that easy for one of Lyons’ employees. Patrick Michalopoulos agreed to allow his boss to shave the top of his head so that it resembled male pattern baldness.

Lyons’ aggressive technique while using electric clippers prompted Michalopoulos to bolt from the front door of the business more than once though, as he jokingly threatened to hike to a professional barber located a block away. The good sport said he chose his new hairstyle because he liked to keep people guessing.

According to Bacon, nearly 2,000 pounds of hair were collected Thursday and Friday.

Over at Bayside Academy, her child’s (Stillwell) fellow kindergartners are anxious to do their part.

“If I have my way. there won’t be a child, adult or dog left in the neighborhood with any hair,” Bacon said. “It’s simply out of concerned for this bay — what were we going to do if this oil is coming. I’d rather find a way to help then sit and watch helplessly. It’s hair and pantyhose. What have we got to lose by trying?”