Eight-year-old Houghton Regis girl donates hair to charity after alopecia diagnosis

After two years of growing her hair, Amelie Holloway had dreamed of donating it to The Little Princess Trust, a charity that provides real-hair wigs to children and young people experiencing hair loss.

And the donation became even more special following her diagnosis last week.

Speaking on behalf of the family, who live near Houghton Regis, dad Greg explained: "We are remaining positive with Amelie and celebrating the success of her hair donation and the money she has raised towards getting the wig made.”

Despite the uncertainty surrounding her own hair, she has remained "incredibly upbeat and positive" throughout the experience.

Greg added: "She does not know what will happen to her own hair moving forward, but for now she is enjoying her new, shorter hairstyle and enjoying all the positive energy and praise everyone is sending her way."

After the diagnosis, Amelie’s family quickly arranged for an appointment with her hairdresser Rachel Taylor at Salon26, so she could fulfil the goal she had been working towards.

Rachel has been cutting Amelie’s hair for over a year and went the extra mile for her appointment, decorating the salon specially, creating a personal music playlist, providing snacks and offering words of support.

Rachel said: “Her diagnosis really struck me. I think it is incredibly unfair that someone so young should have to face something like alopecia.

"I remember Amelie originally telling me how excited she was to grow her hair long enough to have a big chop and donate it, while still having regular trims to keep it healthy.”

Rachel added: “Her recent diagnosis of alopecia meant that she made the difficult decision to bring that dream forward sooner than she had originally planned, while she still could.

“Instead of letting it take something away from her, she has chosen to do something incredibly selfless with it. For me, the most touching part was knowing that the hair we were cutting was going to be used to help another child.”

Amelie has donated her hair, while also raising money through a JustGiving fundraising page, and has been sharing her story with friends and relatives who have offered their support.

She is excited to return to school and show friends her new hairstyle and talk about her experience in a special assembly, where she hopes to raise awareness of alopecia and The Little Princess Trust.

Her family is also planning a special day next weekend to celebrate her fundraising, including some of Amelie's favourite activities and a family meal.

Her community has also come together to support her, with neighbours donating after the fundraiser was shared in a local WhatsApp group.

However, the family said they remain frustrated by the wait for specialist NHS care after being referred to a specialist dermatologist – Amelie will not be seen until March 2027.

Her family said: "This is a huge amount of time without any sort of treatment that could be the difference between her losing her hair or starting to beat the alopecia."

They said they are now having to explore other care options, which they described as "very expensive and difficult".

For now, Amelie is focusing on the positive, having achieved her two-year goal of donating her hair and raising more than £1,000 to help another child experiencing hair loss.