Hair’s Angels Rise Again to CANSA’s Shavathon Challenge

This year sees the Hair’s Angels led by Tina Traill, coming together again in Fourways to raise funds for the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) annual Shavathon. It’s been 10 years since Traill and her team first took on the Shavathon challenge and this year will see them doing it again but on a much larger scale.

The first event, held in the year that Traill turned 50, hosted around 200 people and raised more than R66 000. This year, to celebrate her 60^th, Traill is pulling out all the stops and is aiming for at least 300 participants, as well as to far exceed the amount raised a decade ago.

Says Lucy Balona, CANSA’s Head of Marketing and Communication: “Shavathon is a major event on our annual calendar and this kind of unwavering support just takes it to the next level. We salute people like Tina who not only inspires but also brings hope and strength to those we serve. She’s truly helping our cause.

Branded ‘Fearless Hair to Show you Care’, the event is to be held on 8 March from 10am until 3pm at WhatTheFit4 gym premises in Fourways. The gym is owned by Trail’s daughter Storm Loots and houses Traill’s coffee shop 4FitCafe, as well as Twisted Cirque, an aerialist circus school.

“It’s difficult to say how many people will turn up,” says Traill, “but we have already confirmed around 150.” This number includes volunteers who have already agreed to do something with their hair, from shaving it all off to dying it in the Shavathon colours, as well as Trill’s and Loot’s suppliers and employees who are gearing up to spoil and entertain participants.

Fitness displays will be led by Loots, who is a full-time personal trainer. Her sessions will focus on health and wellness and taking care of your body and she’ll be joined by personal trainer at the gym, Charl Jagquairdo van Heldsingen. He was awarded Opulent Models’ Best Body of the Year award last year and is a testicular cancer survivor.

Gerald Hung and Ben Kanda from Twisted Cirque will be putting on aerial displays involving trapeze, ropes and silks while Blendid, a smoothie supplier, and Capulus, supplier of Filicori Zecchini coffee, will be treating qualifying participants to free products. Nutritional Performance Labs will be sponsoring a display of sports cars.

In addition, Ryan White from Jozi Padel, which shares the same grounds as WhatTheFit4 Gym, will be giving away vouchers for padel games. Dean Gottlieb, owner of Fin Clothing, is sponsoring various items that include earrings made of recycled coffee pods. A billboard, close to the venue, advertising the event is being sponsored by Rene Hedley of Epic Outdoor.

Traill is infinitely qualified to host an event centred around hair as she also happens to be a fully qualified hairdresser with her own salon. In addition, she has more than 20 years’ experience as a qualified therapist counselling couples, trauma victims and people who are immigrating out of South Africa.  She also has had first-hand experience of cancer, having lost both her parents and grandfather to the disease.

It’s a combination of experience and expertise that made Traill susceptible to her husband’s suggestion in 2015 that she shave off all her hair.“He said it would show woman that they could still be beautiful even when they had lost their hair due to cancer treatment,” she says.

Traill had long hair then so it was a big ask, but she couldn’t resist doing something for such a good cause. “I reached out to family, friends and clients, and before long I had 13 women who volunteered to either shave off all their hair or cut off a ponytail length to donate for wig making.” Collectively they called themselves the Hair’s Angels.

Some of those original 2015 Hairs Angels will take part this year, including three generations of women from one family. “In 2015 Sonja Allers was 16 and our youngest participant,” says Traill. “Now married, Sonja is taking part again, along with her mum and grandmother.”

The “before and after”of the Hair’s Angels in 2015 and some are participating again this year.

To show your support and donate towards the Hair’s Angels – go to https://www.givengain.com/project/lucy-raising-funds-for-cansa-shavathon-96502

For more information on all CANSA Shavathon-related activities, visit https://shavathon.org.za/.

(For more information, please contact Lucy Balona, Head: Marketing and Communication at CANSA at email lbalona@cansa.org.za. Call 011 616 7662 or mobile 082 459 5230.)

Published: 18 February 2025 | Last Updated: 28 February 2025
Categories: CANSA Highlights, Fundraising Events & Projects, Media Releases & News