No hair, don’t care!

The first indication that my hair was falling out was a tingling sensation in my scalp. I read somewhere that it was the hair follicles dying or whatever. That started happening a few days after chemo.

My hair didn’t start falling out right away, but I explained it in the previous post how it fell out the way hair sort of falls out when you shower or brush, just in a manner that was amplified. So I wasn’t doing any hardcore washing, brushing, or styling of my hair in an effort to make it last.

On Friday, and maybe even a few days before – I can’t quite remember, my scalp hurt. You know that feeling when you’ve had your hair up for a really long time and you let it down and your scalp just sort of hurts from the new position/direction of the hair? It was like that, and it was awful. I read that it was the follicles being irritated, like they want the hair to get lost, but there’s nothing really there to push the hair out. So Friday night, I brushed my hair A LOT!! And I pretty much shed enough hair to make a wig out of, or a small animal. By the time I was through brushing Friday night, I had the tiniest little ponytail left of hair. But my scalp still hurt. 😕

So Saturday was the day. The day I deemed no more hair day, or something like that. Really, it wasn’t a ceremonious occasion at all. I patiently waited for Brad to get home from work, and pretty much made him attack my head with the clippers once he arrived. I had had enough! 

That is NOT including the small animal I accumulated the night before. I seriously had a LOT of hair. It was always super thick, and I’m kind of curious to see how it will grow back.

Anyway, Brad was more emotional about this moment than I was. I was just over it and wanted it gone. It hurt, it was messy, I was done. Buh-bye!

So buzzing my head was neat. It felt funny, and the back of my scalp where it was super sore was very tender when he ran over it with the buzzer. I did not like that, and was leaning away from it with every swipe. But it was over before I knew it and oh, sweet relief. 

I’ve got some serious dry skin on my head, and I’m using Johnson’s baby wash due to the sensitivity. My head gets hot and cold quickly, so I end up going back and forth from wearing something on it to not. The thinner head covers seem to be the best, temperature-wise, at least for now. I’m sure the thicker ones will be nice once winter hits.

I’ve got lots of little scarves, hats, and headwraps, as well as a couple wigs! So I’m all set. I even ventured out Saturday and Sunday with no hair, just my caps, and it was no big deal. I’m adapted. I think I’ll actually prefer the hats and stuff to wigs, but we’ll see. I want a pink wig, and I will have one before this is over. Mark my words!

So my head looks totally crazy right now, and I tried to get a good picture of bald me, while still capturing the craziness that it my head. You can kind of see the light and dark patches, where I have already shed some hair and where my hair was still pretty thick. It’s like that all over. 

And I’m still shedding!!! The image below is a pinch of the fuzz on my head. And no, it doesn’t hurt at all, it just comes right out. I read online where some people got their remaining hair out with duct tape (ouch) or a lint roller (hehe). 

So, ta-da! No hair, don’t care. It was pretty anti-climactic for me – the whole head shaving thing. I guess I properly hyped myself up for it. 

It also helps that my super awesome hubby tells me I’m gorgeous every 90 minutes. 😁

Round two of chemo is on Tuesday! I’ll slip in some more side effect issues I’ve had, too, somewhere…