Mum lets locks go for daughter (+photos)

Philly Angus shows off her new bald look to children Cooper, 6, and Stella. Photo / Ben Fraser

She's watched her daughter lose her hair, and now Philly Angus knows what it feels like to be bald.

And the Rotorua mum reckons it feels "amazing".

Wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the word "brave", Mrs Angus yesterday had her hair shaved off as part of the Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand's Shave for a Cure campaign.

Image 1 of 3: Philly Angus shows off her new bald look to children Cooper, 6, and Stella. 22 March 2015 Rotorua Daily Post Photograph by Ben Fraser RGP 23Mar15 -

She decided to shave her head to show solidarity to her daughter, Stella, who lost much of her hair during chemotherapy to fight acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, which the 8-year-old was diagnosed with late last year.

Helped by hairdresser Lisa Cooper, Stella took the clippers to her mum's hair - and looking shocked at what she was doing.

Stella said it felt "horrendous" shaving off her mum's hair, but described her mum as really brave.

Mrs Angus said it was a great feeling to have done it.

"It feels fresh and amazing. I've wanted to do it for such a long time. It's nice to have it finally here."

She said while Stella was the main reason she'd done it, she was "blown away" by the support she had received and the amount of money she had raised.

"Never in my wildest dreams did I think we'd raise that amount [$6800].

"It's just phenomenal. The most important thing was doing it for Stella but to have that support is amazing."

Mrs Angus said she wasn't worried about heading out in public.

"The more people see women, kids, anyone with no hair, the easier it will be for children who have lost their hair from cancer."

-To donate, go to www.shaveforacure.co.nz and search her name.