Buxton mum and daughter donate hair to Little Princess Trust cancer charity

It is the second time that Izzie Cox, aged 12, has handed over her locks to the Little Princess Trust, which makes wigs for young people experiencing the devastating effects of hair loss.

But when she showed up for her cut at Lounge Forty 1, on High Street, at the end of July this time she brought along mum Michele too.

Michele, who owns a promotional merchandising company with husband Paul, said: “Izzie started growing her hair out aged five, when she saw a card for the charity in the hairdressers and decided she wanted to donate to help someone who’d lost their hair.

“When she got it cut the first time, I told her it was an amazing thing to do and she said, ‘It’s not too difficult, why don’t you do it too so someone else can benefit’.”

“I was a bit apprehensive, I’ve never had long hair in my life and didn’t know how it would look at my age, but I don’t like saying no to a challenge from my daughter. You think if a child can do it, I can step up too.”

Growing hair in itself does not require a great effort, but it was not exactly straightforward for either Izzie, who attends Lady Manners School in Bakewell, or her mum.

Michele said: “It gets caught in zips, bags, car doors. When you wash it you’re counting the strands that come out, hoping it won’t ruin the donation. There was a time it got trapped in a shopping basket and I thought I’d had enough, but Izzie convinced me to hang on until we reached three years.

“The charity particularly likes to collect longer hair to make wigs for little girls. We wanted to donate a metre between us and in the end it was much more than that. It was a huge relief to have it cut finally.”

She added: “Izzie is already planning her next donation. The charity sent her a badge, it’s made her feel like she’s a hair farmer and I’m quite tempted to join in again. We’re both still a bit surprised to look in the mirror and find it gone.

“It’s not something I’m looking forward to, but I can see the benefits now. Three years is a long time but it gives you a bit of a mission. It’s a few months of discomfort to help someone in even greater discomfort, who will take huge pleasure from getting that wig.”

As well as the hair, Izzie and Michele have raised around £900 so far to cover the costs of creating the wigs.

Michele said: “Friends and family have been amazing with their support, but what’s maybe meant the most to us is the anonymous donations. Even this week, they were still coming in from people we’ll probably never know. We’d love to thank them all.”

To add to their final fundraising total, go to https://bit.ly/3SE01cA.

To learn more about the work of the Little Prince Trust, visit littleprincesses.org.uk.

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