IT HAD been three long years since a pair of scissors got this close to Felix Ansted’s fulsome mane of blonde hair.
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But on Monday the 11-year-old donned a cape, gritted his teeth and let a professional hairdresser have at it – all in the name of charity.
The Camphill Primary School student was surrounded by family and friends as he went under the blade as part of the World’s Greatest Shave.
"I only decided about four weeks ago that I would do this,” he said. “My head feels a bit weird but, yes, I did this for a good cause.”
Proud mum Biljana Ansted said she was surprised but also very impressed at Felix's decision to get involved.
"We did some research online and talked about how good it would be to raise money for research while creating awareness," she said.
"I think Felix will be a bit shocked in the next couple of days, but I think he will love it because he hates brushing his hair and having to put it into a ponytail everyday for school."
Biljana and Felix, along with immediate family, went to great lengths to get word out about his fundraising efforts.
"We developed a poster that we sent to the school and it was put around,” Biljana said. “I also put it on my Facebook page and got family and friends to put it on their social media accounts."
Felix had a goal of raising $1120 to donate to the Leukaemia Association as this would be enough money to support people who are too ill to drive after chemotherapy treatments for two weeks.
But thanks to the overwhelming support from the community, he has raised $1666 and counting.
"It's been absolutely fantastic,” Biljana said. “The amount of support we received surprised us incredibly and we are blown away by the generosity."
Biljana said that Felix shaving his head could possibly inspire other kids to do the same.
However, she said it was more about informing the community about the cause he was doing it for.