About Getting My Hair Shaved Off...

There has been a lot of talk lately about my hair in its eminent (albeit temporary) demise. Some of my more snarky friends have made a few comical suggestions; pink Mohawk, buzz cut with gangbanger designs shaved into it…..A few of my more practical minded friends have suggested that I now start to cut it short, then cut it shorter…and so on and so on until it is all cut off. The theory behind this is that I can practice with shorter styles now so that I will know what I like and what looks good once I am done chemo and my hair grows back.

All of these suggestions have merit to them. Personally, I would love a pink Mohawk, and yes, experimenting now with a shorter hair-do would be a smart move. But I am not going to do any of these things. The pink Mohawk is, in theory, quite funny and would certainly make a statement but really, it’s just not me. And cutting my hair and experimenting with shorter do’s is, in theory, a smart move and could quite possibly come in handy as I ring in 2013. But I’m not going to do that either. And here is why:

1)      Now is not the time to spend money on hair that is going to eventually fall out

2)      I do not, under any circumstances, want my hair to fall out.

And I do have a choice here folks. One of a few choices that I actually have. Yes, I am going to lose my hair. No, it does not have to fall out. I can shave it off. Or, more correctly, I can have someone else shave it off.

It is very possible that waking up one morning to a handful of hair on my pillow would be my complete emotional undoing.

Now, you know I hate/love my hair. And you know I am really not vain about it. It doesn’t define me the way it defines some other women. I’m not ‘in love’ with my hair the way some women are. But it is my hair and I have been fighting with it for 39 years, so yeah, I kinda want to keep it where it is. But I can’t. no choice here….oh sure…I could be one of the “lucky” women who don’t actually lose all their hair, it could just…you know…thin out by like…oh, I don’t know…75% or so….yeah….I’d rather be bald.

So I am getting my head shaved. On July 10 I start chemo and soon after that I will have my head shaved. Yep, before it has a chance to fall out I will shave it off. It might grow back some, sure, I know that. And then it will fall out. But at least I won’t have 12+ inches of hair falling out all at once. And I can easily shave off any regrowth at home.

To my sisters in pink that allow their hair to fall out naturally: I salute you. You are braver then me.