A Dundee chef who did not have a haircut for nine YEARS has finally had his long locks chopped off.
Kevin Reilly’s hair had grown to nearly 33 inches before he returned to the barber’s chair.
He never intended to do anything with it initially, but as it reached the bottom of his back, the 28-year-old decided he would have it chopped in aid of charity.
The hair is now being donated to The Little Princess Trust – which provides real hair wigs to children who have lost their hair through cancer treatment.
Dundee chef’s haircut took more than an hour
The organisation says Kevin’s donation is among the longest it has ever received.
Kevin – a chef at The Barrelman on Commercial Street – visited McIntyre’s Salon for the haircut, which took more than an hour to complete.
He said: “I’m not personally affected by cancer, although my grandfather died from it when I was younger.
“I’ve had my hair long for a long time and I decided it was time for a change.
“The waitresses at work keep asking about it, saying that I kept it well-maintained. They joked that they wanted to buy some off me.
“I didn’t think there was a market for such a thing but I didn’t want to make any money from selling my hair.
“I looked at ways to donate my hair to charity and noticed The Little Princess Trust so thought it would be nice to send my hair to them.
Chef vows to shave beard if enough money raised
“The charity has a form on their website that you have to complete before sending away the hair.
“They insist that your hair is clean and dry. You also have to put the hair in ponytails and send it with the completed form in an envelope.”
As well as donating his hair, Kevin is vowing to shave his beard if he raises £1,400 for the charity – which would cover the cost of two custom-made wigs.
He said: “I haven’t been clean-shaven for 12 years.
“Most people who know me will have only seen me with a beard so it will be a bit of a change for everyone.
“All the money that I raise will go straight to the charity.”
Dundee donation among longest sent to charity
Wendy Tarplee-Morris, founder of The Little Princess Trust, said: “We are so grateful to Kevin for his incredible support of our charity.
“A 33-inch hair donation would be among the longest we have ever received and be a huge help to us as we continue to provide real hair wigs, free of charge, to children and young people who have lost their hair due to cancer treatment and other conditions.”
Kevin’s donation comes after a Dundee woman was chosen to be the face of Stand Up to Cancer in Scotland.
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