QUAD CITIES - Dana Gillam has Rachael Ray's Web site bookmarked on her computer at Bettendorf Auto Sales, checking daily for recipes from the popular daytime TV talk show host.

So when the Web site asked for women who had never tried certain beauty treatments before, the 48-year-old DeWitt, Iowa, woman filled out the online form and sent it in.

"I hadn't cut my hair in 15 years, and I've never colored it," she said.

Ray's producers then contacted her about being on the show, where she would get her hair cut and colored, and she agreed. She flew to New York for a taping from Feb. 9-11, and the episode will be seen nationally Tuesday.

"They changed me from a long-haired, blonde-headed girl to a short-haired, brown-headed girl," said the Arkansas native, who has lived in Iowa for the past 10 years.

The 11-inch sections of her hair that were cut were donated to Locks of Love, a nonprofit organization that creates hair pieces for disadvantaged children who have lost their hair because of illness.

Gillam said she was ready for a change, but she didn't know it would be a drastic one.

"I was in shock," she said. "I cried when they told me what they were going to do."

Aside from being in a TV commercial in the Quad-Cities, she had never been on television before.

"It's quite different from what you'd expect," she said. "There were a whole lot of people involved doing that stuff. But they were all very, very nice. I was impressed."

Gillam said she'll keep her hair the way it is. Her new look came as a surprise to her friends and family.

"My husband didn't recognize me when I came off the plane," she said. "I walked all the way up to him before he knew who I was."