Three-year-old donates her hair for wigs

The scissors get to work on Charlotte's hair. Picture: comp

But this three-year-old Rapunzel didn’t hesitate to have her long blonde tresses trimmed short to help cancer victims after being inspired by the plight of a playschool friend.

Big-hearted Charlotte Hoehle-Reynolds’s locks, which fell halfway down her back, will be donated to the Little Princess Trust. The charity provides real-hair wigs to boys and girls across the UK and Ireland who have lost their own hair through gruelling cancer treatments.

Charlotte was moved by the situation of a young friend who is now battling the disease.

The pair, who were born just two days apart, became close after meeting at a free Sure Start playgroup in Oxgangs where they enjoyed art activities together.

Proud mum Gayle, 26, of Kingsknowe, suggested the hair cut idea to her daughter after learning of an inspiring little girl who did the same thing in America.

She said: “Another little girl in America was getting her hair cut off and it was shared on Facebook. I thought it was really cool. One of Charlotte’s friends has cancer and has been getting chemotherapy.

“I asked Charlotte if she wanted to do something special for all the sick little boys and girls who don’t have hair.

“She said ‘Yes! They can have mine’.

The stunt raised £150 in sponsorship for Ward 2 in the Sick Kids Hospital.

Charlotte has also taken part in a sponsored walk around the Meadows to raise funds linked to her friend’s treatment.

Gayle and her husband,  Justin, 30, have also taken part in several Tough Mudder challenges, raising hundreds of pounds for the Sick Kids.

“When I heard about the cancer, it really touched me,” said Gayle. “When you have kids, you think about what it would feel like if that happened to your children. I was so scared thinking, ‘That could have been Charlotte’.

Charlotte had her hair cut at Betty Kenny Hair-Beauty in Pumpherston, which is run by Gayle’s cousin.

The hair has to be plaited and cut in a very special way so that none of it is wasted.

Charlotte appeared enthusiastic about her visit to the salon but Gayle was anxious about how her daughter would react when she saw her makeover in the mirror. But she needn’t have worried because Charlotte loves her trendy bob.

Gayle said: “I was really nervous about how she would react when she saw her short hair.

“But she loved it and now, if anyone asks what happened to her hair, she does a little head flick and says ‘I gave it to the sick boys and  girls.’”

The wigs are free to children but it costs the charity about £350 to buy one wig.

You can donate to Charlotte’s fundraising page here