Bald IS beautiful: One woman's mission to make a statement

I've often said that many women are all about hair and make up, and that if you took that away, you might not be left with all that much else. There is also I believe such a thing as Hair Prowess which is why women obsess over their hair wishing they had this hair, that hair, any hair apart from their own. But no hair????

So taking these two things into consideration, when I heard that a friend of mine Ivy Williams was going to shave her hair to raise funds for the Children's Cancer Charity's Hair for Hope Challenge, I thought she deserved to be honoured with a blog post.

So let's meet Ivy with hair, before the hair shaving act here. Hello Ivy!

Now looking at Ivy my bets were on her not being one of these hair and make up girls as she has a great little face shape.

Anyhow, if I was forced to shave off my hair due to circumstances beyond my control - well that's one thing. But to voluntarily do it to raise funds, in a country as vain as Singapore can be at times (though I guess it would make one part of your body that little less sweaty), well that is entirely another.

But back to Ivy. She decided to do the big shave because a friend of hers lost her four year daughter to Leukaemia, the most common cancer amongst children. She also recently found out that another friends son contracted it three years ago and is under observation for the next two years. Most certainly heart-wrenching stuff.

Ivy always thought bald is beautiful and  wanted to shave her head and thought why not do it for a good cause! If only more people were so brave and selfless I say. By this symbolic gesture, Ivy not only hopes to raise funds but wants to show kids effected by Leukemia that it's OK to be bald, that they should be strong no matter how much people look at them.

Now on to the shave itself. I think it would be at this point below that I would probably start freaking out - hair half on, half off and the rest of it down my front. 

But Ivy the brave instead smiles through it...

and looking great with her head defuzzed as her friend points out when the job is all done...

Personally I love this video of the shaving in action with her friends OMGing in the background. She is smiling pretty much throughout the whole thing!

Seriously don't you just want to reach out to the screen and ruffle her head here and she walks off stage?

So how do you think she felt afterwards once reality kicked in? On asking Ivy she said it felt great, that she walked a little taller, and had a bounce in her step. Subsequently she started noticing the stares and odd looks from passerbys. How would you react to that? Ivy just smiled because she knew she had done it for a good cause.

Apart from the stares, Ivy says she feels good with no hair - carefree and she gets to save on shampoo! More power to you Ivy.

You can support Ivy's efforts and this crucial cause by making whatever donation you can here. Online donations are open till 31 October 2011.