Putting a smile on a child's face

Luckily for me, the grey hairs seemed to stop growing after the last time I donated 3 years ago, so I managed to donate my hair again one last time. I did it in memory of my amazing brother who fought hard against cancer and never complained. I miss him like crazy and wish things had turned out better for him.

Real hair wigs

The third time I donated my hair, some people told me that artificial wigs look so good these days, that there’s no need to donate real hair anymore. My #PhilipsLighting colleague Marike, who had breast cancer and lost her hair, told me that artificial wigs didn’t ‘breathe’ like real hair wigs. They made her head sweat and itch and she felt like she had nits! So it’s still very important for people with long hair to donate it whenever they can.

I have donated the hair to a charity that makes wigs for kids.

My hair is very thick. One time, as I was getting into my car, the wind blew and trapped my hair in the car door. I had to get help from a passer-by to free myself. Another time, the wind blew my hair into my face so that I couldn’t see where I was going and ended up falling down some steps. I felt like such a fool. But these are minor things to deal with compared to a cancer diagnosis.

#StichtingHaarwensen is a Dutch charity that relies on donations to help children. You can also help. Do you have long hair? Then please consider donating it. Your hair will grow long again. But for children with cancer, it is never certain that their hair will grow back.

Making real hair wigs is expensive. For 1 wig it costs € 1500 plus. Your donation, however small, can help turn my hair into a beautiful wig for a child.

It really is the last time that I will donate my hair. I hope that someone reading this will be inspired to donate their own hair and make a sad child very happy. It's bad enough to get a cancer diagnosis but even worse if you are a kid . Spare a thought and perhaps make a donation to a charity in your country. #CANCERSUCKS