Stories From Main Street: Bergen County Hair Salons Participate In 'Mark The Spot' Campaign

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - On Sunday, May 31st, select salons in Bergen County will participate in a "cut-a-thon" to raise money for melanoma research as part of the "Mark the Spot" campaign.

Salons participating in the event are offering discounted hair cuts: $25 for adults, $15 for children under 10, and blowouts are $25.

The event runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

For more information, including a list of salons participating, click here.

The event was created by Mark Sammitt of Woodcliff Lake, N.J., who died due to melanoma earlier this month.

His melanoma was detected in 2013 when his daughter ran her fingers through his wet hair after he stepped out of their back yard pool. That's when she discovered a strange mole.

The mole was melanoma.

After his diagnosis, Sammitt came up with the idea for the "Mark the Spot" campaign while sitting in a barber's chair, WCBS 880's Sean Adams reported.

"His legacy is saving lives. He was a remarkable man, he really and truly was," Sammitt's widow Gayle told Adams. "When Mark became sick, he realized that the stylists had a unique opportunity to find moles and lesions on a client's head."

Salon owner Phil Mania in Park Ridge, N.J. was immediately on board with the idea, Adams reported.

"When you're working on a client's hair, first of all the hair's wet, so it's much easier to see the scalp, and you're sectioning the hair constantly," Mania told Adams. "So you're really getting a good view of the entire scalp."

They developed a training video for stylists, explaining what to look for and how to alert a client, Adams reported.

"We've gotten calls already from stylists saying that people went to the doctor, you know, they've told people and they've gone to the doctor," Gayle Sammitt said. "It has been something, and they've gotten it removed. It was early."

"Mark the Spot" is spreading among salons in Bergen County with the help of the Melanoma Research Foundation, Adams reported. They hope to go national.

"He's a doer, and he had to do something. And even when he was so sick, and the disease was ravaging him, this was his passion," Gayle Sammitt said.