Not everyone loses their hair during chemotherapy treatment … some lose all their hair, some only lose part of their hair, some people only get thinner hair. It all depends on the type of drugs that are used. I was one of those who lost all my hair.
About 3 weeks after my first dose of chemo was when the hair loss started. Once it started, it was only a matter of weeks before I had the full “cue ball” look going. I had been forewarned that this would happen before I started treament and thought I was prepared. I had wigs, baseball caps, floppy hats, and hair bandanas laid out and ready. But nothing can really prepare you for the trauma of reaching up to brush your hair and a huge clump comes out … or waking up and finding wads of hair all over your bed and pillow … or having your husband or child run their fingers through your hair and they end up with clumps of hair in their hand. For me it was a lot more traumatic that I had anticipated.
I not only lost the hair on my head, but also my eyelashes, eyebrows, under my arm, legs, nose hair and “you know where” hair. It took a while for me to quit reaching for my razor to shave my legs or under arms, but after a while it was quite freeing not to have to shave every day. Losing the hair on my head and my eyelashes bothered me the most. I soon discovered the wigs weren’t going to work for me. They slipped around and were hot, and made my bald scalp break out and itch. I could not wear fake eyelashes because the glue irritated my eyelids. So I quit wearing my contacts and got some tinted glassed to wear to cover up my “naked” eyeballs and wore hats or bandanas everywhere I went. Sometimes I wore a hat over a bandana because the baseball hats don’t cover the sides and back of the head very well. I found some bandanas like the motorcycle riders wear that have a little tail hanging down the back and it helped cover my neck. I still got called sir at restaurants and grocery stores when people approached me from behind. It was funny to see the reaction on people’s faces when they discovered that I was just a bald woman … I felt sorry for them because they were so embarrassed but it still gave me a bit of amusement.
A lot of women I talked to who went through the same thing said their bald head was a symbol of all they had been through with the chemo, and wore nothing to cover up the baldness. I’m not quite that bold, but did eventually loosen up around family. Although at first, I would keep my head covered even at home with my husband or kids or immediate family. Eventually I got over that but the first time they saw me it was quite shocking. They didn’t say it was shocking but I know it was because it shocks me every morning when I look in the mirror!
I’m 2 months post-chemo and my hair shows no signs of wanting to come back in, but folks tell me it can take up to 3 months to start coming in. I’m also told it will come back in curly and gray. I’m in my 40’s so I guess a little gray isn’t so out of the ordinary – although I will miss my blonde color. I’m a bit bummed about the curly because I worked really hard for many years to get my hair to be straight. But I’m just glad to be finished with the chemo and feeling good enough now to think about something so minor as hair (or the lack of hair in my case right now)! I can’t decide if I want to keep it super short or just let it grow and grow and not cut it. I’m open to suggestions so leave me a comment if you want to.
