Over 1,000 people go bald for charity

Baldness is rarely something that people give in to willingly, but last weekend 1,000 Singaporeans agreed voluntarily to shed their hair. The reason? To raise money for children who are affected by cancer.

Most children with cancer lose their hair as a result of chemotherapy. Going bald can be upsetting for them and can make them feel different from their friends. The people taking part in Sunday’s hair loss event wanted to show solidarity with these children. They also wanted to raise money for the Children’s Cancer Foundation’s ‘Hair for Hope’ campaign. This year’s drive aims to raise $750,000 Singaporean (£353,000). So far it is already halfway towards reaching that target.

The President of Singapore, S. R. Nathan, was a guest of honour at the event. He started proceedings by shaving the head of CCF chairperson, Ravi Sivalingam.

Mr Sivalingam said that the event was a way to send out signals of support to children with cancer. “Children with cancer are very aware of how they look when they lose their hair, so it sends a powerful message when they see so many people coming here to shave themselves too.”

Chemotherapy often (but not always) causes hair loss. The drugs that are used are extremely powerful and attack the rapidly growing cancer cells in the body. Unfortunately, the drugs also attack other growing cells in the body, including hair follicles, not just on the head but also on other areas of the body. Upon the completion of treatment the hair usually grows back.

Hair loss is caused by a wide variety of factors. These include the conditions male pattern baldness (in men) and alopecia (for both sexes). Stress is also known to be responsible for baldness in some cases.