Hair Hair Hair - Another question
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Char I hear ya I am hoping my stylist can work a miracle tomorrow. I am still going to use a semi perm just to be more gentle with my new hair. I am hoping she can do something so I don't need the wig. i go back to work full time at a clients in 3 weeks and really dont want to wear the wig but don't wanna feel ugly either.
My stylist always says she's a beautician not a magician but I am hoping she has a little new year magic.
Di
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Lady- am 4 weeks post chemo and my last one was also Dec. 6th I had TCH I have some stubbles but it looks white : ( I know it takes time.
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I shed the wig on New Years Eve with my family and closest friends around me. I am a little over 3 months out and have full coverage, although its really short.
Today is my first day running around town, but I'm trying to be brave. I just wanted to leave everything about 2010 behind. It's totally a mental thing with me. Wish me luck
Jennifer
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I start work next Monday and a lot of people have no idea why I was off.....wig or wigless???
DiDel- I know what ya mean, the thought of wearing the wig everyday is a pain in my ass, but at the same time, I want to feel good about myself....uuuggg if only I had a couple more months...lol
I'm afraid once I wear the wig it's gotta be everyday but my short hair is just not 'there' yet as far as looking like a haircut vs regrowth....what to do... what to do
Another question for those of you still wearing the wig once your hair is a couple inches....my wig has combs on the side that snap into my real hair, making it REALLY comfortable, but at the same time, I'm getting scared that it is making my hair thinner in those spots with the combs...anyone else find this.
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I have had a wig for 3 weeks now. I HATE it. It looks very good and real however the minute I get home I rip the thing off my head. My head is very sensitive, I'm thinking that will go away soon?
I have a teenage boy and I know he is very sensitive about the issue so I wear it in public when I am with him. The other day I went to Safeway with only a baseball cap on. I must admit it felt very liberating to not give a crap what other's thought.
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That's so great Jennifer! I'm in eager anticipation of getting where you are now. I need about another inch so I can get past the buzzcut look. I went hatless/scarfless at a big family dinner last night though and I'm 9 weeks out. I don't have enough to venture out in public like this yet but enough to be comfortable around my loved ones. I colored it yesterday too to get rid of the bits of weird chemo gray that grew in during chemo. It turned out great! I used Clairol Natural Instincts and it covered everything nicely and it's so soft. It's ammonia free and non-permanent. I obviously didn't need the whole bottle so I poured equal amounts of color and activator in a dish and applied it for 20 minutes.
On a sad note, I've lost most of my eyelashes in the last week. The new ones are already growing in at least!
ladym13 - If I were you I'd get my hair styled/shaped and go with the short do. That's just my personal preference and probably stems form my discomfort in a wig. Do what is most comfortable for you and don't worry about what anyone else thinks.
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ladym - I understand your dilema very well. I worked through the whole treatment and wore a wig the whole time and still do. Most people do not know I was diagnosed with BC. So now I am debating when do I start going wigless and how will I make that transition. People will definitely know something happened. I have been done with chemo mid-June and my hair looks similar to the last picture you posted - just seems thinner in the front than yours.
nora - When I started wearing the wig - my head hurt a lot and I has red spots in front from the wig. Over time it all went away and the wig is very comfortable.
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I am a little over 3 months PFC and I ditched my wig on my return to work 2 weeks ago. I was feeling pretty good about having coverage - as long as I had some hair I was happy. And the reality is that this IS what I look like. Most of my co-workers were very supportive of the "short do". I have just enough to cover my scalp, almost an inch but not long enough for a short pixie. I can tug on my hair with my fingers to give you an idea of how long it is. I had long hair past my shoulders pre BC.
I work in a hospital so I do work with a lot of people. Of the people that do not know what happened to me, they would look at me and gasp "What did you do to your hair?" or "Why on earth would you cut it so short?" Some people would ask my co-workers why I chose to chop off my hair because they did not want to ask me directly, with the undertone that I am feeling as "it looks horrible".
My close friends and family have reassured me that my hair is fine and my features are so that I can pull off a short do. But it was still a kick in the gut when I returned to work. My patients that do not know me tell me they love my hair and wish they could pull off a short do. Now I'm wondering if they are just "fishing" for a way to ask me about my hair. I think they are being genuine though. I think my mind is just playing tricks on me now. Just when I thought I was getting some confidence, away it went. . . . .Anyways, not to be a downer on those that are thinking of ditching the wig but just wanted to give you an idea of how insensitive people really are out there.
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ladym - I know how you feel. I returned to work in Sept. after being off for over nine months. I returned with my short hair and am glad I did. Wearing a wig and then not wearing it after will draw a lot more attention in my opinion. I stopped wearing my wig at 12 weeks...it was short but nobody looked at me strange. Not at all. Remember, you are not your hair and you are more sensitive than others around you. They'll just think you got it cut short unless they know. I also sent you a PM asking if you wanted some Nioxin 2 that I have but never heard from you. Did you get the message?
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I only ditched the wig for work when summer came and it was just too hot to wear it. People assumed I chose a short cut, not that it was chemo. Once you do go without the wig (you could say you just cut it) people will notice more but you don't have the luxury of going back and forth without drawing attention to it. I recieved both horrified stares and complements when I went short so be prepared.
Wearing a wig while growing my hair didn't effect it at all, but I didn't have the combs.
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Ok ladies, I was thinking of you all on Saturday when I went for a New Year's Day walk in the woods. It was tough going trudging through the snow and in some places because of the way it drifted, it was up to my knees. But someone had walked the path ahead of me, which made it easier so I was able to step into their footprints. I figured that's like our journey here where the efforts of those who've gone before help those of us who come later.
Anyway, I only met one person. I turned a corner and there he was... a solitary snowman. He was sporting some acorn buttons, a stick nose and acorn eyes. He also had a few feathery seed heads on the top of the head but remembering how I felt this time last year with my bald head, I felt I could help out in that department. I scrambled around and found more seedeheads and added to his hair covering. Then, in honor of all us!, I added some eyebrows and eyelashes. As a final touch, I took some nice clean snow and moulded some boobs. I regretted that I left my camera in my car so I could show you the final work of art!
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MaryNY: That is so great!! I wish you had your camera too, but it will forever be in my mind's eye anyway.
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Maureen813, I did weekly Taxol and my hair started to grow in around week #6 on Taxol. It continued to grow and I had a full head of hair (about half to 3/4 inch long) by the end of chemo. I am 2 months PFC and my hair is about 1.25 inches long.
I look like a clown. My hair is curly and sticking out on the top and sides near the ear. I dyed my hair dark brown, but it faded to a dark red (my natural hair is dark brown with red in it). My hair looks very patchy in color (like my calico cat). I have really dark hair growing in now, then a layer of gray then the red ugly color on the ends. Lovely, huh? I'm going to Sally's this week and dyeing my hair again. This time I'm using a darker brown color with no "warmth" to it!
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Is anyone starting to have their sideburns stick out under the wig? I have a short wig and my (grey) hair is now long enough that it's beginning to stick out. I am loathe to cut it so this may be time to ditch the wig. I am gettng my hair colored this weekend; I'll decide after that.
MaryNY - Great story.
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Hi everyone I love hearing about the hair stories and seeing all the pics. I shaved my head on Christmas day. It was just falling out and I could not handle it. You would think doing chemo once before and having to do this a second time I would be prepared. I do not think you ever are. I did get a wig that I actually like this time. Looks a lot like my own hair color is slightly darker. I have red pimply bumps all over my head this time. Last time in the summer I rocked it bald. Now that it is winter it is to cold to do that. So hats and wig it is. I got rid of my wigs from last time figuring the cancer would not return.
MaryNY: love the added features you described on the snowman. A pic would of been nice.
Hope everyone had a nice holiday!
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MaryNY, love the mental pictures of the snowman, NY!! I live in Western NY as 4 other women, where in NY?
Kittycat, thanks for the tip, I hope my hair stays as I definitely feel stubble!! I'm only on Taxol #3, 9 more to go, then I'll celebrate and move onto radiation for weeks. I cut this into segments to prevent the overwhelming feeling. 4 A/C done!! 3Taxols done!! We can do this!
Maureen
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Hi Maureen: I'm in Westchester County. Our snow-woman is in the Bronx.
Toni, I remember having that same issue with the sideburns which in my case were white and peeping out from under my brown wig. When that happened, I figured it was time to go wigless.
Elizabeth, so sorry to hear you are having to go through this a second time. I still have my wig. I figured it would be tempting fate to get rid of it.
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10 months out of chemo, I guess my curls are here to stay. But not in a soft, pretty kind of way. More like a bad home perm kind of way. Eh, small price to pay for being alive, though. I am happy.
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Haha I feel ya! I wish I could take back all the bad things I said about my naturally curly hair over the years...cause you're right...nothing NOTHING is worse than these fuzzy curls.
ALTHOUGH I forgot how much I love Sebastians Potion 9!! I used it today and blew out my frizz then flat ironed then curled with ceramic iron for shape then put my knit hat on to flatten...and VOILA a hairdo I can live with...until my hairdresser can squeeze me in for a trim.
Diane
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In_cognito, I know exactly what you mean. It's all so public, and I do really wonder if people are being genuine, or just fishing. I was all bundled up today and got "sir"--not fun. I'm so impatient waiting for what might someday resemble a real hairdo that I basically have given up and just try to look at presentable and pulled together as possible. Then, every once in a while, I walk by a mirror, and a series of expletives goes through my mind...I've found the outfits are so much more important now. I can't just pull off casual and look presentable yet.
And my hair is just SO SLOW. I got duped, I'm lucky, I didn't really get the short end on any other major SEs. But I'm where you are, In_cognito, and I'm 4 months PFC.
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Thx for the snowman story MaryNy!
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I bought a new blowdryer thing today at the grocery store. It's supposed to allow the user to dry, straighten and/or curl from wet and eliminate frizz. Sounds too good to be true but it was on clearance and I thought I'd give it a whirl. It's made by Conair. I'll report back and let you know if it helps my chemo curls!
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I am 15 weeks since my last chemo and although I have full coverage it is only about 1/2 of an inch long. I was on Taxotere and thinking that it takes longer to start the growing on this chemo drug than on others. I had some stubble at the end of chemo...4 weeks later it fell out and I was completely bald and I didn't get any growth until the 8th week when I got some clear hair. It seems to be growing quickly now...it just took it's own sweet time to start. My hubby says that I can go out with my hair like this but I won't. I am hoping that by Valentines Day I will have what looks like a pixie cut and I will go out with it then. I had waist length hair and my wig is long so I think I will get some "why did you cut your hair" remarks. I am not sure what I should say back. It is going to be difficult the first few times I go out in public.
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My hair is sticking out a bit too but my wig is long enough so it isn't that noticeable. I was thinking about just gelling those pieces back behind my ears. Without the wig I look like a guy wearing makeup, so I won't be ditching it anytime soon.
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toni30- when that started happening to me, i coloured my hair and made sure the colour matched my wig...it was great, because i could start putting my wig behind my ears and it looked so natural with my real sideburns there.
Sugar- i DID get your pm, i'm so sorry i thought i replied, (I suck on this site...haha sometimes I wish it was part of facebook..lol) I would love the nioxin, it's so sweet of you to offer (are you sure you don't want it?)
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ladym...NP...I prefer FB myself so emails as they come to my Blackberry. I don't need the Nioxin so I'll gladly give to you. I'll send you a PM with my actual email address so we can figure out how to get it to you.
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Sugar77: Great new picture--look at your hair!!! Really Cute!
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Love the picture
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Haven't posted in a very long time, but have been following along. This is my meager growth 18 weeks PFC. Gosh, I can't wait to have more hair so I can start coloring this squirrel hair. It is a too cold to go around looking like this so I have been wearing my wig when I am out and about, but have never worn anything at home. My husband says that its time to loose the wig, but I disagree.
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Joan: You have to do what you feel comfortable with.. you'll know when you're ready. I plan on ditching my hats as soon as I get enough to cover my bald head... which will be a while yet because I still have two more TC's to go. You look like you have really good coverage! It just gets better from here... congrats!
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