Love Island Star Donates Long Hair to Children's Hair Loss Charity

Reality TV contestant Malin Andersson, who appeared in the 2016 season of the dating show Love Island had her long hair cut short for charity.

On learning that her mother had been diagnosed with cancer for the third time, Andersson decided to take action. Posting pictures of her newly cropped hair on social media, she confirmed that she had wanted to help children with hair loss from cancer.

Little Princess Trust

The charity the 24 year-old makeup artist gave her chopped locks to was the Little Princess Trust. The UK-based charity is the country's most established provider of real hair wigs to children with hair loss, which are given free of charge thanks to donations of both hair and money.

Both girls and boys are aided by the charity which recently rebranded its boys division, now known as Hero by LPT.

Whilst the children's hair loss can be due to the autoimmune disorder Alopecia Areata, it can also be caused by cancer treatment, such as chemotherapy.

Malin Andersson's mother had just started to regrow her hair after her last round of chemo but now, sadly, due to having to undergo more treatment, has been losing her hair again.

Andersson told HuffPost UK: “I did it because I saw how sad she became when it fell out again.”

“Now, she’s got stage 3 stomach cancer - which has spread to the lining of her stomach - so for me hair is nothing.

“I just wanted to sit next to her and smile, and say look at my hair now! It made her smile for sure, and knowing where the hair will go too.”

Funds childhood cancer research

One Little Princess Trust aspect people may be unaware of is its commitment to funding research into childhood cancers. In 2016 - on its 10 year anniversary - the charity announced that it had raised £500,000 to help fund eight such research studies.

In the same year, the charity received a huge boost in both awareness and donations - financial and hair - thanks to singer and actor, Harry Styles. The former One Direction boy bander grew his hair in order to donate it to the Little Princess Trust.

Having the support of such a high profile star gave the charity a valuable increase in media coverage, helping people across the UK - and further afield - to become aware of the important work they do, as well as information on how to help.

Andersson joins a growing list of celebrities, including Jessie J and TOWIE's Mario Falcone, who have donated their hair to this worthwhile cause.