Snip Snip

I gave myself the short short cut on Day 17 of Chemo 1. I found that for the first couple of days this offered great relief from the annoyance I was caused from hair loss with longer hair. It seemed that less hair was falling out, the scalp tenderness disappeared, and the itchiness was almost non-existent. I was very happy that I decided to take the clippers to it. By day 19, however, I woke up with a pillow coated in little half-inch hairs. It was amazing how much hair was coming out. I would pinch out a fingerfull of hair on the top of my head and the whole little bunch would very easily jump into my grip ... not even a tug was necessary. I found this fascinating, as did everyone else around me that tested it out. The funny thing was that I still looked like I had a full head of hair, even after coating my pillow with it and tugging on it out of mere fascination.

By the 20th day I was noticing small little patches about the size of a dime showing up on my head. They weren't complete bald spots, but were definitely thinner than the rest of my head. I decided not to wash my hair for the next couple of days, for fear that every hair on my head would come out with the water. I thought to myself that if I were to towel my hair every last one would probably come rushing out. I wanted to hold on to my hair as long as I could.

By day 22 (Friday) it seemed impossible to hold on any longer. The patchiness was already becoming more visible, and the itchiness was now returning. The little hairs were trickling down my neck and back and my whole body seemed to tickle and itch. It was definitely time to remove the hair. Once again, Mike got out his clippers, this time on a different setting (a setting that created the next best thing to completely bald), and shaved off what was left of my precious hair.

He was shocked at how easy it was for me to take, but I again give credit to my being prepared. I thought about this long and hard, did everything I needed to do to make the transition more comfortable for myself (i.e. purchased wigs and head covers), and convinced myself to embrace the change which would only be shortlived. It also helped to be surrounded by such amazing people, who convinced me that I would look beautiful bald and that my little head and face would be perfect for the look. My wonderful boyfriend made me 100% comfortable with shaving it all off--ensuring me that he thought I would look beautiful and that he couldn't wait to see the new look. I was amazed at how awesome he handled this and how much better he was able to make me feel about it all.

With all of this, becoming bald was not so bad. I will now begin wearing my wigs and hats and having fun with all my new looks (and bald will be one of those looks!). Before long, chemo will be done and a whole new head of healthier, revived hair will be covering my now bald head.