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We decided to take cancer awareness to a whole new level in our 23 October issue after realising doing something dramatic would be the only way to really get the message across. And what better way than to rope in South Africa’s much-loved celebrities? So we asked local celebs Lee-Ann Liebenberg, Shashi Naidoo, Poppy Ntshongwana, Zakeeya Patel, Elma Postma and LeAnne Dlamini to show their support for this important cause: appear in YOU magazine without your hair. Go big, go bald and shout your message from the magazine’s pages.
'We wanted to do something that would really make everyone sit up and take note'
“It’s a big ask, we know,” YOU editor Linda Pietersen says. “For many celebrities, their hair is an integral part of their public image. So we love that so many have been brave enough to have our picture retouchers ‘shave’ off their hair.
“We often cover heartbreaking news stories related to cancer but we wanted to do something that would really make everyone sit up and take note. And our instinct to involve celebs was not wrong – the Cancer Association of SA says it uses celebrity ambassadors because they are so effective at getting the message across to the public.”
What amazed the editorial staff was the enthusiastic response from the celebrities – and sadly, almost all of them have been touched by cancer in some way.
Cover star Lee-Ann Liebenberg dedicated her shoot to her father, Allen, who beat the Big C. Read her touching story and those of our other brave celebrities in the new issue of YOU, out on streets 17 October or on flipsubs.co.za.
Visit cansa.org.za for more information on the Cancer Association of South Africa.
