More than 30 ponytails have been donated by volunteers to a young woman who took the initiative to shave her hair for an American charity which produces wigs for cancer victims.

"The response was fantastic," Janet Barthet, 22, said, four months after she braved the shave.

Her hair has already grown by several inches, but what puts a smile on her face is the fact that other people have decided to follow her initiative.

Instead of shipping just her own hair, Ms Barthet now has enough "locks of love" to fill a small box.

She has also set up an e-mail address (donatinghair@gmail.com) through which she hopes other volunteers will get in touch.

"What I want people to understand is that there is no deadline. Cut your hair when you feel comfortable and if we can't ship it now we can do so in a few months' time."

She urged hairdressers to help out too and thanked the ones who were already sending hair regularly.

The hair will now be sent, thanks to a sponsor, to Florida where it will be organised by the charity Locks of Love before being forwarded to India to be treated and turned into a wig.

The wigs will then be donated to underprivileged children experiencing hair loss due to cancer or other diseases and treatments.

Ms Barthet still hopes to create a similar charity in Malta which could create wigs for Maltese children, but she knows this would be a very costly project.

"I'm trying but it is very hard. There are a lot of financial restrictions. I do not think it's feasible at the moment. For now, it makes more sense to make people aware of the cause and then we'll see how to go about it later."

Ms Barthet's friend and fellow hair volunteer Rachel Cassar, 21, said she was inspired by her friend's "genuine" gesture and realised that going around with short hair was just a small sacrifice to put a smile on someone's face.

Ms Barthet reminded potential donors they do not need to shave off all their hair and that even a few inches could make a difference.

"Maybe during the Easter period this is one sacrifice people can make," she said.

For more information about Locks of Love visit www.locksoflove.org.

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