Nine-year-old Erin Lovell watched in the mirror with a big grin on her face as Cabelo's hair stylist Glenn Wilkes prepared to cut off her thick, ten-inch braid.

This was no ordinary trip to the hairdresser for Erin -- she had decided more than a year ago that she wanted to donate her hair to charity for children who had lost their hair due to illness.

She came up with the idea from reading a magazine article about an organisation called Locks of Love, which is a US-based charity that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children with medical hair loss.

Erin thought about how it would feel to be a young girl or boy who became bald as a result of chemotherapy -- and made up her mind she wanted to help.

And once Erin decided to go through with it, Cabelo's agreed to get in on the act by providing her haircut free of charge.

But all Erin's good intentions still did not stop her mother, Dana Lovell, from covering her eyes at the sound of the scissors' first snip.

"I didn't think I'd feel so emotional about it,'' chuckled Mrs. Lovell. "She begged me for months and months to let her do it, and I told her to get on the Internet and get all the information she needed.

"She made me promise after the Cup Match holiday to make an appointment, so I did. I like long hair, but I couldn't stand in the way -- her reasons for doing it were so good.'' Mrs. Lovell described her daughter as a conscientious, straight-A student with an interest in animals and the environment.

And after the haircut was finished, Mrs. Lovell admitted she had some relief about not having to struggle with combing so much of Erin's thick hair every morning.

Despite her mother's slight misgivings, Erin said she only changed her mind once.

Locks of love "(My classmates) didn't really believe I was going to do it when I told them, but every day they'd ask `when are you going to cut your hair?','' she added.

"I've never cut my hair before, other than having the dead ends trimmed, and I think I'll miss it a little bit.

"But some people just can't grow their hair, and mine does.. . I guess it's the receiver's choice if they want the person who gave the hair to know (what it looks like on them).'' Locks of Love provides custom-fitted hair prosthetics free of charge or on a sliding scale for disadvantaged children. Donors provide the hair, volunteers staff the office, and the manufacturer hand-assembles each piece at exact cost, requiring about four months.

For more information about Locks of Love, check out www.locksoflove.org or write them at 1640 S. Congress Ave., Suite 104, Palm Springs, Florida 33461, USA.

Photos by Tony Cordeiro Snip!: Erin Lovell watches as her mother Dana Lovell and Cabelo's hair stylist Glenn Wilkes measure where to make the first cut. Erin had her long hair cut to provide hairpieces for children who lost their hair as a result of cancer treatment.

Before: Erin before she had her hair cut.

After: Erin smiles for the camera with her new 'do.

`Some people just can't grow their hair, and mine does'