Family gets the chop to help others

It was a real family affair for a good cause when a mum and her young daughters went to the salon for a bit more than just a trim.
The O'Neill family with staff from Allure Roccoco after having their hair chopped off for the Little Princess TrustThe O'Neill family with staff from Allure Roccoco after having their hair chopped off for the Little Princess Trust
The O'Neill family with staff from Allure Roccoco after having their hair chopped off for the Little Princess Trust

Samantha O’Neill and daughters Haliese, aged eight and Soraya, aged six, proved they are a cut above the rest by having a combined six feet chopped off their long, luscious locks, to donate to the Little Princess Trust.

They had decided on the big family haircut after two family friends had lost their hair through cancer.

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As well as giving their hair, to make wigs for children who have lost theirs through cancer treatment, the Thornton trio is raising money for three charities close to their hearts – Bloodwise, Unqiue and the Trigeminal Neuraglia Association UK.

Haliese had 24 inches chopped off her hair, and Soraya and Samantha both had 26 inches cut off – more than 75 per cent of their own hair – at Allure Rococo salon in Poulton.

Samantha, 37, who works for an insurance broker, said: “My friend Danielle had lymphoma last year. We were looking at pictures on Facebook one day and my daughter said ‘that’s not Danielle, she has long hair.

“So I explained to her about having treatment and losing her hair and she said Danielle could have some of her hair as it was really long.

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“We decided to all have our hair cut off and donate it to the Little Princess Trust, who make wigs for children who’ve lost theirs due to cancer.

“And we decided to raise money for three charities.

“We chose to support trigeminal neuralgia to raise awareness of the condition, as my mum has had it for more than 20 years. We nearly lost her several times after operations and contracting meningitis and cerebral spinal fluid leaking.

“We chose Unique – the rare chromosome disorder support group, because my daughter, Haliese has a rare chromosome disorder.

“When my daughter was first diagnosed, there were only eight other children in the UK with the same condition. Unique were a great help to us and helped us connect with other families with children with the same chromosome disorders across the world, which has been a huge help.

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“We no longer feel we are on our own and it is good to know we can be there for one another and share experiences.

“We hope that by raising funds, we can also raise awareness.

“And Bloodwise is a blood cancer charity. My auntie suffered with leukaemia for 12 years. My mum’s younger sister was also taken from us due to this illness, and my friend Danielle had lymphoma and another close friends Darren.

“More recently, my uncle also became very poorly and he had to have part of his leg amputated.

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“I’m so proud of the girls for doing this and the team at Allure Rococo were amazing doing the haircuts, we’re really grateful to them.”

• To support the family’s fundraising efforts, visit www.justgiving.com/teams/Little-Angels-Hair-Donation