A Dundee student has cut off 20 inches of hair for a children’s cancer charity.
Heather Harrison, 21, had previously donated hair and fundraised for the Little Princess Trust, saying “it felt like the right thing” to do it again.
This time, as well as donating hair to the Little Princess Trust, who make wigs for children going through chemotherapy, Heather raised money for Cancer Research UK.
Originally planning to donate 12 inches of hair, Heather decided to increase her donation after smashing her fundraising target of £750.
Speaking about the haircut, which happened on Saturday, Heather said: “It went very well.
“My flatmate Anna chopped off my hair. We chopped off 20 inches, instead of the planned 15, so a lot of hair is gone.
“It’s quite nice but I feel very light. I went to the hairdressers after to get it tidied up and dyed. It’s a nice change.
“When I was getting it cut, all my friends seemed to be a lot more nervous than I was.”
Reaching her fundraising target was a big bonus for Heather, who has now raised more than £900 for Cancer Research UK.
She said: “Reaching above my fundraising target felt great. I was very happy to raise so much, because Cancer Research UK is such an amazing charity. I felt quite proud to have been able to do that.”
Little Princess Trust
Heather, a student dental therapist, first cut off 15 inches of her hair for the Little Princess Trust four and a half years ago.
She said: “I can’t remember why I started it, but it’s just a really good cause and it felt like the right thing to do.
“For me, I can just grow my hair, and grow it out again. It’s just hair to me.
“But it can mean a lot more to someone else, who may be going through such a hard time in their life. Especially the kids who are going through such a hard, horrible time at such a young point in their lives.
“It just feels like the right thing to do. For a kid being able to have a wig made for them is going to help them so much more in their life than it would help me, even just by bringing a bit more of normality in to their life.”
Heather is getting used to life with short hair, saying: “I’m feeling great. It has taken a bit of getting used to, because it’s gone from 27 inches to just seven inches – it’s a very big change! But I’m really liking it.”
However, the Dundee student isn’t sure she would face the big chop for a third time.
Heather said: “I’m not sure if I’ll do it again. It was my second time and I didn’t decide to start growing it back out until maybe a year after I got it cut the first time.
“It takes a lot of commitment to grow it that long. I’m not saying never, but for now, I’m definitely enjoying shorter hair!”