Our resident BURO Beauty Boyfriend has returned—but this time, it’s for a special cause! Below, watch him cut off 17 inches of hair to donate to charity. 

It was three years ago, in the midst of a global pandemic (COVID—ever heard of it?), that my boyfriend decided he wanted a ponytail. He’d always wanted to try growing his hair out, and when he found a charity he was interested in donating the lengths to, it pretty much sealed the deal for him.

READ: My boyfriend did my makeup… and the results didn’t suck!

“I figured that the COVID pandemic was as good a time as any to start growing my hair out. The options were either to learn how to cut my hair myself or buzz it all off. Lockdown just felt right because no one would ever see the awkward phase,” Garston explains. “Plus, if it looked really bad, I could just get rid of it and no one would be the wiser. That said, I ended up really liking it—up until that point, I’d never tried anything but a short back and sides because it was presentable and sensible. So, finally getting to try something new was really fun.”

For the record, his hair is stunning—so healthy and shiny. Honestly, I was jealous! That said, eventually, three years had passed and his hair was officially too long. Gorgeous, but flat and totally shapeless. Realistically, he could have stopped growing it out at year one, but he didn’t want to “half-ass” it—if he was going to donate his hair, he was determined to donate at least 15 inches.

READ: These are the products my boyfriend stole from my beauty stash

Well, he has finally reached his goal length, which means it’s time for a makeover. From the full start-to-finish on his big chop to where you can donate your hair if you choose to do the same, read on!

 

WATCH: BURO Beauty Boyfriend gets a big hair makeover

 

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Meet the man

Name: Garston

Age: 25 years old

Occupation: Medical Student

Beauty qualifications: Is beautiful, also dating BURO’s Beauty Editor

 

The vision

“For this haircut, I really wanted to try something I’d never done before. I’ve only ever been very short or very long, and anything in between was either really boring or very unkempt. Red definitely had some ideas of what she’d like to see on me, so we kind of went back and forth until we settled on a medium-length cut—somewhere between a mullet and oppa hair. That, and I’ve always hated how flat my roots were, so I thought I would try getting a perm for the first time.

“I was definitely out of my depth, but luckily, my stylist Nick (the Number76 Salon Educator) was there to give me suggestions and walk me through the whole transformation.”

 

The process

“Getting my hair cut was really weird. For starters, Red was the one chopping it all off, so that was not fun (do not trust that girl with a clipper). But also, my head immediately felt so much lighter. I generally hate haircuts—fighting my inner control freak and trusting someone else to cut my hair makes me very nervous, but I was in really good hands so that feeling passed quicker than it usually does.

“As for the haircut itself, it’s the first time I’ve ever looked at a fresh cut and not been really disappointed—and that was before the perm! Speaking of which, the perm went by really quickly so I really have no complaints.

“We ended the haircut with a scalp treatment, which I’ve never had done before, so that was nice and pampering. I also really liked the Number76 Lounge—it’s equipped with snacks and drinks, you can play your own music, and it’s got a really chill atmosphere to it. I particularly liked that it was a private room because the impromptu bob I was rocking when the ponytails were cut off was not cute.”

 

The results

“I’m so happy with my haircut and the 17 inches of hair I can finally donate. I do wish my perm was a little curlier, but Nick did such a great job… probably saving me from myself there! The only thing I did not anticipate was having my hair in my face so much when I’m trying to eat—but it’s okay because there’s nothing that a pair of hairclips can’t fix!”

“As for the hair, I’ll be donating it to The Little Princess Trust. However, hair isn’t all they need—it costs the charity 4000 ringgit per wig, so I’ve also been fundraising to help offset this cost. If you are considering a contribution, then you can find my donation link below:

DONATE TO THE CAUSE

“You can also just donate directly to the charity on their website, or you can find other great causes to donate to below.”

 

Where to donate your hair

The Little Princess Trust

As mentioned, Garston’s charity of choice is The Little Princess Trust, which is a UK-based charity that has been around since 2005. The charity provides free real hair wigs to children and young people (up to 24 years of age) who have lost their hair through cancer treatment or other conditions. In addition, the organisation funds childhood cancer research in the hope of improving treatment options for the affected.

Find out more about The Little Princess Trust here.

 

Locks of Hope

Based in Kajang, Locks of Hope is the first hair donation platform for Malaysians to donate their hair. The organisation uses donations to make wigs for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

Find out more about Locks of Hope here.

 

Locks of Love

This is a US-based charity that uses hair donations to create hairpieces for children suffering from hair loss in the hopes that it returns a sense of self, confidence and normalcy to them.

Find out more about locks of love here.

 

Matter of Trust

If you’re not patient enough to grow out your hair but you’d still like your haircut to make a difference, Matter Of Trust is a great organisation to look into. Rather than using your hair to create wigs, this organisation instead collects fibres (including hair, fur, wool, and fleece clippings from individuals, salons, groomers, and farmers) to make felted mats. These mats are then used to soak up petrochemicals in storm drains, wells, filtration systems, rivers and our oceans, effectively cleaning chemical waste from our waters!

Find out more about Matter of Trust here.

 

About Number76

 

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Number76 is a Japanese salon that was born in Tokyo in 2001. Currently, the brand has four locations across Malaysia, with the newly-renovated Isetan branch being the first to offer its special Number76 Lounge. The Lounge is a private room open to bookings for a 20 per cent surcharge on your bill. Each room can accommodate up to four visitors (two customers) and offers butler service, free-flow drinks and snacks, speaker so you can kick back and relax as you get your hair done.

Number76 is located at Isetan The Japan Store in Lot 10, Level 2, L2-Q. Click here to book an appointment and learn more about the Lounge.

 

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