Hi my name is Karl, I am taking my final shave on Tuesday 30th April along with my father-in-law Robert, and we will not be having any more shaves or hair cuts until Friday 31th May to raise awareness and funds into research for a condition called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.

My wife Lyndsey has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome which is a rare connective tissue disorder due to a collagen deficiecy. Collagen is a protein, which is one of the body's main building blocks for muscles, ligaments and tendons. Its estimated that EDS affects around 1 in 5,000 people, both men and women of any ethnic background, however research now suggests that it affects more. There are six type of EDS and one of the rarer types, Vascular EDS can shorten your life expectancy.

Testing for this condition is quite difficult which is why we are raising money for Ehlers-Danlos Support UK who are continually fundraising in a bid to help raise money for better testing as well as providing conferences for medical professionals to help raise awareness.

Along with their superb efforts to raise awareness and money for funding, EDS Support UK also provide invaluable support to sufferers of this condition like Lyndsey, pointing us in the right direction when she has a problem, allowing other members to make friends, share tips and advice, as well as just speak to someone with the same condition (which is very rare believe me!).

This is why Robert and I are takling the pledge to grow our hair and (highly) treasured beards for the whole of May 2013, just to shave it all off on the final day of May! 

Please show your support and make any donation you can. All donations are greatly recieved and will go a long way to help Ehlers-Danlos Support UK to increase awareness of this conditon and help fund research.

Also, please remember to tick the 'Gift Aid' option, because for every £1 you donate, JustGiving will donate an extra 28p!

I am really looking forward to our challenge, and I hope you will support us along the way! If you would also like to see my wife's challenge and support her to, you can find her JustGiving page at www.justgiving.com/lyndsey-bingham

Finally I would just like to say a big thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.