Edinburgh salon raises more than £3,000 for baby loss charity after 24 hour ‘marathon’ of haircuts

A salon in Edinburgh has raised over £3000 for a baby loss charity close to their staff’s hearts after a marathon 24 straight hours of cutting hair.

Over 40 haircuts were carried out over the 24 hours to raise money for SimBA

Gender-free salon Stag Barber Co owner Murray McRae began cutting hair at 8:30am on Wednesday morning at his Haymarket shop and didn’t stop until 8:30am on Christmas Eve, giving those who may have had a haircut booked in the new year a chance to get a chop before tier four restrictions come into place all while donating to a good cause.

Stag team member Nicole and her partner Jordan sadly lost a child at 29 weeks and was helped by SimBA, a baby loss charity which helped them make a memory box.

The idea for the fundraising came after the salon planned to give £1 from every appointment throughout December to SimBA, which has now been cut short by the introduction of tier four restrictions coming into place on Boxing Day meaning that all salons will close their doors for at least three weeks.

Murray and Nicole from Stag Barber Co

Murray managed to carry out 26 haircuts in 24 hours, and team member Victoria joined alongside him overnight for a ‘half marathon’ where she carried out 16 haircuts until 3am on Christmas Eve.

Speaking about the challenge, Murray said: “I was a little nervous about the marathon if I’m honest but it was actually a great laugh. It was made a lot easier by my team member Victoria joining me until 3am, my wife Bridget staying until the very end and plying us with coffee, and all the clients being such great sports.

“Their enthusiasm for getting out of bed in the middle of the night for a haircut made my night.

“I was expecting someone to sleep in and have a no-show but every single person showed up with huge smiles on their faces, treats in hand and great energy which kept me going.”

Across the salon’s Just Giving page, which has raised more than £1,700, the profits from the after hour cuts, a £1,000 contribution from Stag and clients tipping extra for SimBA in store, the total raised for the charity tops £3,000.

Murray added: “I felt like I was starting to flag around 3am but seeing the JustGiving page at over 170 per cent of what we had planned to raise and the thought of supporting the charity that gave so much support to Nicole and Jordan spurred me on.

“Plus my 3am clients brought their puppy for a visit which helped!

“As for the lockdown - it’s totally out of our control but we thought why not try and get as many of our clients in as possible while we still can and do it all for a great cause.

“I think it helped spread a little Christmas cheer and remind us that if 2020 has taught us anything it’s that the most important thing is community spirit and looking after each other.”

Those wishing to donate to Stag’s JustGiving page for SimBA can do so online.

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