When an act of service for a loved one goes wrong and makes them feel worse, you end up feeling terrible too.

Local actress Sheila Sim took to Instagram today (July 10) to share that she had used her SkillsFuture credits to attend a haircutting course. In the Reel, the 41-year-old goes about cutting, combing and styling a mannequin head's long hair under the guidance of other hairdressers.

The catalyst for her taking up the course was a bad trim she'd given her four-year-old daughter Layla. Sheila, who is married to non-celebrity Deon Woo, also has daughter Skyla aged two.

In her caption, she wrote: "I've actually been cutting my daughters' hair since they were babies. But as they grow, their hair length and texture have become increasingly difficult to manage.

"With no formal experience, I attempted to trim about 5cm off Layla's hair… which ended up being more like 10cm.

"The moment she saw herself in the mirror, she turned to me and said, 'I hate my hair'. Even though she was smiling when she said it, and even though she reassured me three days later that her hair was 'starting to look like hers again', those words pierced right through my heart."

She added it wasn't that her ego was bruised, but it was knowing the girl would had to "live with that awful haircut".

Fellow local celebrities took to the comments to show their support for Sheila's endeavours, including actors Desmond Tan, Felicia Chin, Lin Meijiao and entrepreneur Tjin Lee.

Sheila herself underwent a hair transplant procedure last November to fix her "permanent bald spot". Lasting over two days, she documented the journey in a Highlight on her Instagram page.

She shared that "addressing my hair loss has been both exciting and nerve-wracking" but she was confident she had made the right decision.

kristy.chua@asiaone.com

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