A TEN year old ‘Rapunzel’ has had her very first haircut – getting three feet of luscious locks chopped off to help youngsters with cancer.
Dorin Whitelaw, from Edinburgh, had recently been treated at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children and decided to say thank you by raising valuable funds.
The brave youngster has been frantically fundraising over the last few weeks and has already raised over £600.
But after deciding that wasn’t enough, she decided to cut 85cm (33.5 inches) off her hair and donate it to the Little Princess Trust – who make wigs for sick children.
Money will also go to the Sick Kids Friends Foundation, to provide extra care for the hospital’s young patients.
The honours were performed by a hairdressing student at Edinburgh College yesterday.
Dorin’s mother, Soozin Rogers, says her daughter decided to get her locks chopped off because she’s “very accident prone”.
Soozin, who lecturers at the college, said: “It’s totally, one hundred percent her own idea and although she loves her hair she wanted to give something back to the hospital.
“She’s extremely accident prone and in the last year alone she has got three casts from the Sick Kids alone.
“Her cousin, Katie, goes there for her cystic fibrosis as well so she’s always known the kind of good work they do and wanted to give something back.
“She picked the Little Princess Trust because of the amazing work they do with youngsters. They need seven inches of hair for it to work in the wig and we’ve got 14 inches so we’re essentially donating twice.”
Soozin tearfully added: “I’m so proud of my wee girl, she’s so brave. Really glad she’s done it. She’s brilliant.”
Dorin said her favourite thing to do was play with her hair and brush it but decided to cut it for charity anyway.
She said: “I loved my long hair, I can use it as a scarf, a blind-fold, I can even sit on it.
“But I wanted to help the hospital and other children feel pretty so decided to cut it for the first time ever. It was quite scary but I’m glad I did it.
“I used to have to wash it in sections and use two lots of shampoo. One for my head and another hand full for the rest.
“But now I’ll be able to get ready much quicker, it used to take ages before and I’m helping others which is nice.”
“I am glad I never shaved it all off though, I don’t think I would suit that.”
Hairdresser for the big event, Selina McLeod, a third year student at the college, said: “It’s really nice to be the one helping with this and it’s for a fantastic cause.
“Having long hair myself I know how difficult this must be for her but she’s done so well.”
Ahead of the event, the Edinburgh Sick Kids said: “Good luck to 10-year-old Dorin, who is getting her 85cm long hair cut today in aid of the Sick Kids Friends Foundation.
“What a superstar!”
The Little Princess Trust collects donations of real human hair from around the country and uses to it make wigs for sick children and those battling cancer.
The average cost of a child’s wig to the charity is £350 but can cost up to £2000.
The hair strands must be more than seven inches to be workable for the wigs.
