Empower children by supporting the Little Princess Trust.

Who is the Little Princess Trust?

The Little Princess Trust’s story begins in 2004 when five-year-old Hannah Tarplee was diagnosed with a Wilms tumour. Her treatments led to her hair falling out, greatly upsetting her. Desperate to give their daughter some much-needed confidence, her parents Wendy and Simon searched everywhere to find a wig suitable for Hannah. They knew that while getting the right treatment was the most important thing, she needed a piece of herself back that she had lost. Once Wendy and Simon found a wig that was a perfect fit, it ended up having a hugely positive impact throughout Hannah’s many treatments.

Hannah sadly wasn’t able to beat her tumour and passed away one year later. In the time that followed, Wendy and Simon began thinking of a way they could pay tribute to their daughter. One that would provide a service to other children and young people up to the age of 24 experiencing hair loss. With this is mind, they launched a charity that would give others that same confidence Hannah had felt when she wore her wig through her treatments: the Little Princess Trust.

What do the Little Princess Trust do?

The Little Princess Trust’s daily work comprises of two separate areas of work:

Wig provision

The Little Princess Trust has grown to become the world’s largest wig provision charity, offering both natural and colours. Creating over 11,000 real hair wigs across the UK and Ireland free of charge to children and young people up to the age of 24 since its launch, they’ve made this achievement possible thanks to donations and working with experienced wig makers across the film and TV industry. Having recently moved their production in-house due to COVID-19, a large number of their wigs are now created in the UK, with the aim to increase that number over the next few years.

Funding research

With so much research devoted to providing cancer treatments in adults, the Little Princess Trust instead focuses on researching cancer treatment for children. Funding over £5 million towards this groundbreaking cause, and taking part in clinical trials, what they are committed to is providing kinder and better treatments that affect the outcome.

What is the Little Princess Trust’s goal?

In their endeavours to raise awareness on childhood cancer and create wigs, the Little Princess Trust always have one goal in mind: to be there for every child and young person. Never turning anyone away in need of help, they aim to break down the barriers of societally sensitive topics when discussing hair loss and childhood cancer when discussing hair loss and childhood cancer. These range from creating wigs for girls and boys to funding research projects, and taking part in clinical trials for less invasive cancer treatments such as Immunotherapy.

On 31 August 2021, the Little Princess Trust opened their brand new headquarters in the heart of Hereford: The Hannah Tarplee Building. Opening on the same day as its namesake’s 21st birthday, this permanent memorial is also home to a new Sally‘s Salon.

This salon doesn’t just offer children and young people the relaxing experience of getting their wig fitted and styled in a professional hairdressers, it also creates a safe space for those anxious over other people watching them. Allowing full privacy thanks to frosted mirrors or the option for parents to wait outside, this salon also features a designated area where the charity can create more wigs, which has allowed production to skyrocket. However, with more wigs being created, they need more donations, and this is where you come in.

I’m ready to donate my hair, but how do I do it?

The Little Princess Trust is always on the lookout for hair donations in order to make their wigs, and they appreciate everybody’s generosity. If your hair meets the requirements mentioned above, you can follow our simple step by step guide change a long ponytail to an impish bob at the same time:

1) Wash your client’s hair with shampoo (don’t use conditioner or styling products) and tie into a ponytail.
2) Secure the ponytail at both ends with a hair band, and one halfway down. Ask a friend to cut above the top band while holding the hair secure.
3) Place the cut hair inside a cardboard or heavyweight paper envelope.
4) Post your envelope to the following address:

The Little Princess Trust
The Hannah Tarplee Building
22-25 Berrington Street
Hereford
HR4 0BJ

For more information on donating hair to the Little Princess Trust, you can read their dedicated page here

How else can I support the Little Princess Trust?

We understand that having your long hair cut off is often something that you need to work up to, especially if you’ve never done it before, so there are many other ways to show your support for the Little Princess Trust. Here a few ideas to help you get started:

• Organise a bake sale
• Get a sponsored haircut
• Online donations
• Sponsored sporting events
• Ask your workplace to name the Little Princess Trust as their charity of the year

Whenever you visit your local Sally Beauty store, you may have also seen some Little Princess Trust products near the tills. There are wristbands, hair ties, reusable bags, and all of the profits go towards the Little Princess Trust. If you want to see more of their merchandise, you can visit their online store here.