What took years to grow was gone in seconds.

2007 Williamsburg High School graduates Sarah Banzhaf, Ashley Fox, Ashley Childs, and mother Lissa Childs, gathered together on May 26, pulled their long hair back into ponytails, took a collective deep breath, and, in an instant, felt the pull and cut from a pair of scissors as their flowing locks were severed.

With those quick snips, four locks of love (56 inches total) will now be donated to “Locks of Love,” a charity that provides real human hair to be made into wigs for children and teenagers who have lost their hair to cancer or other illnesses.

Ashley Fox, who has not cut her hair in a year, considered the idea of donating their ponytails to Locks of Love last August when her mother lost her battle with cancer.

“That definitely motivated me to do something to help others suffering with cancer,” she said. “Plus, it’s only hair.”