It wasn’t your average trip to the hair salon last week for two Squamish girls.
Chloe Young and her best friend Maya Park, both aged eight, cut 11 inches each off their hair on June 17 to donate to make wigs for the Canadian Cancer Society.
“I have been growing it for a long time and it had just gotten away,” said Young, a Squamish Montessori School student. “Then I kind of got the idea to support cancer [patients]. It is pretty tragic that they lose their hair for cancer. I thought it was pretty sad so I just wanted to support them.”
Young’s grandmother and grandfather had cancer, she said.
She wanted to do something that would make patients feel better, because she imagined it would be hard to lose hair due to cancer treatments.
“I wouldn’t like it, I love my hair,” she said.
The girls said they got the idea about three months ago and agreed to continue to grow and cut their hair together after dance season ended.
Hair has to be a minimum of eight inches long for donation.
It was the first time either girl had done anything like this for charity and also the first time they have had short hair since they were toddlers.
“It felt really weird holding your hair when it wasn’t on your head,” said Park.
“Once I cut it off, my head felt so light and as soon as I got out of the chair I was bouncing up and twirling my hair around and I’m like ‘This feels so good.’”
Both said they hope to inspire more girls to donate their hair. Anyone interested in donating their hair can go to cancer.ca and search, Donate your hair, or go to Angel Hair for Kids.
