Some like it hot – but a 25-year-old Spalding girl’s new Marilyn Monroe -inspired haircut is about more than looking cool.
For eight years, Lea Flynn grew dreadlocks until they were so long she could sit on them.
Lea, of Bourne Road, said: “It was time to have them cut –I first started growing them when I was a teenager and wanted a change now I’m older.
“Because they were so long and everyone knew me for my hair I thought I’d try and raise money for charity at the same time.”
So far, Lea has raised about £750 for Cancer Research – and Costa Coffee at Springfields, where she works, has pledged to match the total sum.
Lea chose the charity because of the close ties she has with the shop in Spalding after moving to the town from Stamford five years ago.
She said: “Before I got the job at Costa, I started volunteering at the Cancer Research shop in Spalding and enjoyed it so much I have never left.
“I did it for something to do while I was unemployed, but many of the volunteers have had cancer and became friends, so the charity is very close to my heart.
“Unfortunately I lost a friend to cancer, which also inspired me.”
However, when the day came to lose her dreadlocks, it was not without tears. Lea said: “I cried in the morning – I’d had them for so long.
“But once they were cut it was a relief – especially when I raised so much money.”
After having her hair cut by stylist Ben Nott of Mishishi in Spalding, Lea has gone for a total restyle and is now getting used to having Marilyn Monroe’s famous retro waves.
She said: “When I had dreadlocks it was so easy. Now I have to wash it every other day – but I’m getting used to putting in the rollers now.”
Donations are still being accepted at http://www.justgiving.com/Lea-Flynn