Swank wants women's hair for charity

Hilary Swank has appealed to women with long hair to cut their locks for a good cause.

The actress is backing the Beautiful Lengths campaign, which aims to provide wigs made from donated hair to cancer sufferers.

People with the disease often go through chemotherapy, a chemical process used to kill cancer cells which causes them to lose their hair.

"You just need to have eight inches [of hair] to donate," said Swank, who has given some of her own hair after chopping it off for movie Amelia.

"One in three women are diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes. A lot of my family members have had their lives devastated by cancer."