SOUTH FORT MYERS, Fla. - The next time you sit down for a haircut, buzz or trim, ask your stylist where your hair clippings end up.

"People are paying more attention to protecting the earth," said stylist Natasha Litterst.

At Touch Salon in Bell Tower, your unwanted hair doesn't get dumped in the trash.

"When we think about our own salon, it's about a pound a day," said Litterst.

Instead, Litterst says they're recycling it by sending hair across the country to an non-profit in San Francisco.

When your hair gets dirty, or you haven't washed it in a couple of days, it gets grimy and oily. It doesn't work so well for us. But a researcher in San Francisco found out it works wonders in the ocean.

"This is a mat made from human hair. We use this hair to clean up oil spills," said Lisa Gautier.

Gautier is the founder of a non-profit called Matter of Trust.

Gautier says the mats made from the hair received from salons like the one in Southwest Florida, help clean up thousands of gallons of oil spilled in the ocean every year.

The moment Natasha Litterst heard about the project, she wanted to be part of it.

"It was just a little thing that we can do to also help and contribute," said Litterst.

Who knew, oily hair makes for a cleaner more beautiful ocean.

"Just know that it's a really good avenue to collecting oil...not just on your head," said Litterst.

The non-profit that collects the hair is having a hard time finding manufacturers in the U.S. to continue making the mats. Gautier says many went out of business because of the recession. The founder says there's now a movement to create a business to do the manufacturing, but in the meantime they're out sourcing to Mexico.