Sara West gets the chop

A couple of weeks ago, Belvoir invited Time Out to witness the ceremonial haircutting of 22-year-old actress Sara West. West went under the chop in preparation for her role as cancer-stricken teenager Milla in Rita Kalnejais's Babyteeth, opening this week.

The ritual is increasingly becoming a Belvoir rite of passage for young actresses: in 2010, Yael Stone similarly had her head shaved for her role in Belvoir's The Diary of a Madman.

West, whose long blonde locks, I think, could be accurately described as 'luscious',  told Time Out that she couldn't even remember ever having hair above her shoulders. Still, she smiled through the process like a trouper, mentally prepared to end up looking "like a 12-year-old boy" (possibly Home Alone-era Macaulay Culkin). Director Eamon Flack and co-star Eamon Farren dropped in at different stages to offer emotional support.

Twenty minutes later, it was all over and (almost) all off. “That was the quickest kilo I’ve ever lost,” she said.

Check out West's transformation in the slideshow below. We think you'll agree that the new look is positively rockin'.

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