1 March 2012

Things I've Learned About Hair

Having almost all of one's hair fall out is not a common occurrence.  There was so much I did not know about it when I started this.  Having done it I feel the need to impart some of my hard earned wisdom on the subject.

There are pluses and minuses to being suddenly bald:  While in chemo, when my body was having difficulty regulating my temperature, it was handy to be able to cool off/warm up by pulling off/putting on a hat. But I really felt the cold when going outside.  There are definitely two classes of hats - indoor and outdoor, and one needs a variety of each.  Hair falls out constantly for days.  I was pretty proactive about my impending baldness, but that led to 1/4 stubble everywhere.  And when I first shaved my head, it was itchy like crazy.  This can be managed with a lint roller.  Less hair to comb, more face to wash.  Showers are a breeze and I saved a bundle on hair care.  It took a while for my scalp to figure out what was going on.  I had some pretty major head acne for a few weeks.  People treat you differently when you are bald.

Some oak trees lose their dead leaves gradually in the fall, while others retain them until the new buds come out in spring and they drop all at once.  I thought I was out of the woods with my eyelashes when they did not fall out through chemo, but evidently they are more like a live oak tree.  All of my eyelashes fell out in the last two weeks ( ok, not all - I have about 7 left on my right eye and 10 on the left,) and I have 2 millimeter lashes all around.

While I did not feel the need to wear a wig, with a number of social engagements pressing I decided that I would invest in some fake eye lashes. Here is what I've learned:
1. Yes, the $10.00 lashes are worth it.  The $2.00 ones look like crap, (if you can even get them to stick on your eyelid.)
2. If you are going to get all glammed up with fake nails and eyelashes, do the eyelashes first.
3. Just putting on eyeliner works almost as good as messing with the fake lashes.

My hair is coming in, (as my sister puts it,) light black.  In other words, dark grey.  I also have some light grey left over from before the mass migration.  I haven't decided whether I'm going to color or not.