My first chemo was on 9/12... 2 Thursdays ago.
So, like clockwork, my thick, curly mane waited until Thursday to start falling out in earnest.
I normally wash my hair every 4-5 days. (I know... You guys with the straight hair are all thinking, "Gross!!" But, seriously, my hair is really dry. If I wash it more often, it gets damaged and brittle, and it's just no good.)
The only time my hair gets rid of what it sheds is when I get it wet (wash it) and thoroughly comb it out. All the curls just stick together and all the hair I shed normally just gets trapped in all the curls until I physically remove it. So, normally, when I wash it, there's a good amount of hair that gets trapped in my comb in the shower. But, like I said, it's less than a handful, about once a week or so.
Wednesday morning, I washed my hair, and the normal-for-me amount fell out. I thought nothing of it. Cut to Thursday...
Thursday, at work, I noticed that my hair was really frizz-looking. I had a bit of a halo of strawberry blonde curls. I decided to rinse my hair and throw some conditioner in. When I combed my hair, about a handful fell out.
Friday, the same halo happened, and I decided to rinse it again, condition again, and comb again. Another handful and a half fell out.
This morning, my hair looked noticeably thinner, but no halo, so I went with MJ to meet her mom and sisters for shopping (I sat at Panera Bread and crocheted while they were shopping,) then Breaststroke for the Cure, then to our local watering hole to watch our local college's football game. At some point during the game, I realized that my hair was falling out literally while I was sitting there. I proceeded to obsess over it...
I went home, rinsed my hair again... This is what came out when I combed it:
That's a lot of hair. I couldn't bear having to do that again. I promised myself that I would let it go when it was time to let it go. So, then I called my friend D, who promised to shave my head for me when it was time. I made pigtails out of what was left of my hair (which, honestly, was still quite a bit of hair...) and I went to D's house. He cut off my pigtails, and then shaved the rest of my hair off. I think my other friend W got video, even though I probably will never want to watch it.
I kept one of the pigtails. I gave the other one to D. He always said my hair smelled so good, but since it was on my head, I never really smelled it. After I took a good look at my newly bald head, I finally got a chance to smell "my" hair. It did really smell amazing...
I'm still a bit in shock about my bald head. I put on my platinum bob after I got a good look at my head, and I wore that wig home. I took it off once I got home, though. I'm going to pick up a few scarves tomorrow afternoon, and play around with those for a bit while I'm hanging around the house, doing laundry.
I'm lucky that I have a nicely shaped head, so maybe I'll just get used to being bald for a bit. If not, I have some great wigs to play with until my hair starts growing back in about 6 months.
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