8" Lighter || Cutting My Hair For Little Princess Trust

You may of heard of people chopping (or even shaving) their hair off in aid of a charity - most notably, the Little Princess Trust. I had been wanting to revamp my hair for years, but being a creature of habit and a gal who once had a hair disaster at the hairdressers, I kept chickening out. Big time. I'd grab my scissors with the declaration "I'm chopping loads off!" and end up with a mere 2 inches off. But as I promised in my "21 Things I Want To Do When I'm 21" post, I was no longer being a wuss and instead going all balls in. Is that a saying? It ought to be.

The charity just gave me a final push. Little Princess Trust is a UK based charity that provides wigs for children who are suffering with hair loss. It's an incredible organisation and I urge you to give their site a browse - whether you're planning on donating hair or not.

As a child/teen, I used my hair as a mask to hide from the world. I thought it was the only semi-pretty thing about me and although I now know how unhealthy that mindset was, I think any child deserves the option of having something that makes them feel pretty - a part of the crowd. And hopefully that'll eventually lead to them realising how insanely brave and special they are. Sometimes we all just need a little thing to help us accomplish the big.

I first got this idea from Carrie Hope Fletcher when she donated a big ol' chunk of hair in THIS video. From there, all it took was a quick trip down Google lane to see which organisation I wanted to choose (I advise you do the same before settling on one, just to triple-check you're 110% happy with the information and such - no one wants hair to go to waste), but alas, I wound up choosing to go with Little Princess Trust as they accepted donations of 7"/17cm or more. Not being yet brave enough to chop more than absolutely necessary, I went with the safe option. Next time, I pledge to be a little more adventurous. Nevertheless, a donation is a donation, right? And this is a beyond worthy cause.

Having a few questions before wanting to take the chop, I emailed the folks that run the Little Princess Trust site and they replied within 12 hours with all the answers I could possibly want, plus extra pointers, which I thought was really kind. The people behind the screens are truly lovely human beings and that is always a pleasant thing to experience with any company - charity or not. So if you are reluctant due to some queries or you simply want more information, don't be shy about contacting them. I'm sure everything will be five-by-five.

If you want to donate hair or money, you can find all the info on Little Princess Trust. But I will give you a quick run through of the hair donation rules/regulations (as written HERE on their site):

Suitable hair:

• Clean, dry hair in good condition (no split ends) from any gender, and of any natural colour
• Straight, wavy, curly, permed or chemically straightened
• Containing the occasional grey (less than 10%)
• Dyed, bleached/highlighted (any dyes must be of a natural colour)
• Ponytails(s) cut a long time ago, preserved in good condition

Unsuitable hair for our wigs:

• Dyed an unnatural colour (blue, green, purple, dyed red)
• Hair that is less than 7"/17cm in length
• Largely/mostly grey hair
• Afro (the wig-maker is not a specialist manufacturer of Afro wigs. The Trust buys in these wigs separately)
• Dreadlocks
• Hair extensions

New guidelines:

• Wash and dry your hair
• Do not add conditioner or styling products
• Put your dry hair into a ponytail(s)
• Secure at both ends with a hair band, and one half way down for good measure!
• Ask your hairdresser to cut above the band/s nearest your head
• Now have the rest of your hair styled as you wish
• Put your dry ponytail(s) into a clear resealable plastic bag
• Place them in a padded envelope and post using a standard service to:

Little Princess Trust

Broadway House

32-35 Broad St

Hereford

HR4 9AR

UK

• Please have your parcel weighed to make sure you use the right postage
• Include your email address, clearly written, using this Hair Donation Slip, so that we can email you a Thank You!

It's that easy! I'm so glad I did it, as it gave me a small nudge on the confidence scale and it's always a lovely feeling knowing that you've done something for a worthy cause. I feel like a new woman.

Have you donated hair in the past? Are you planning to? 

Let me know!

A big thank you to the Little Princess Trust for being so supportive and just making the overall experience enjoyable. 

- Anne x