A WOMAN has braved the shave as a tribute to her mother.

Stephanie Chivers, 28 – whose mother, Regina Reinhardt-Boardman, died of breast cancer when she was 16 years old – decided to cut off all her hair as part of Macmillan Cancer Support’s Brave the Shave campaign, on what would have been her mum’s 59th birthday.

Mrs Chivers, of Bennet Close, Oakridge, did her first fundraising event on her 16th birthday, when she did a parachute jump for Cancer Research UK, but she said she wanted to do something a bit different and give back to the people who supported her family in a difficult time.

“I can remember my mum having to have her hair cut off when hers started to fall out and she found it so upsetting,” the mum-of-two told The Gazette.

“It felt so nice to embrace the experience so many men and women have no choice in and sport a shaved head in honour of not only my Mum but so many people.

“Usually anniversaries and birthdays are really hard, but this year it was nice to have something to look forward and to keep mum’s memory alive.”

Mrs Chivers, who works in Sainsbury’s in Kempshott, took part in the fundraiser in front of colleagues and customers at the Wallop Drive store on Friday, June 17.

Two of her biggest supporters were her children Penelope, five, and Jacob, two, who insisted on seeing their mum cut her hair off.

She said: “I think was important they saw me get it done so it wasn’t too much of a shock, and they even had a go at cutting my hair.

“Jacob now constantly strokes my head and I do keep catching myself in the mirror, which I’m still getting used to.”

As well as raising money for Macmillan, Mrs Chivers has donated her hair to the Little Princess Trust, which provides real hair wigs, free of charge, to youngsters across the UK who are undergoing cancer treatment.

So far the 28-year-old has raised more than £1,500 for Macmillan but is still collecting donations; to donate visit bravetheshave. org.uk/shavers/stephanie-chiv ers.