Hair Hair Hair - Another question

Those of you thinking about coloring your hair, I say...do it when you feel like it.  Now, I wouldn't go pay a fortune to get it done at a salon.  But the 28-shampoo products are great, and you can get some color for $7 or so.  I don't regret doing it one bit! 

I did it!!!  I went to Sally's Beauty Supply and bought some styling pomade, went home (had a glass of wine) and styled my hair and then for the first time I went to several stores topless!!!  Earlier this week, I spent several hours on u-tube watching videos about how to style a pixie haircut.  All of the ladies used the styling gel or pomade.  It worked!  I still really miss "my" long hair, but I think I am going to give up the wig...sigh!  I can not say it felt liberating or great, but it was a HUGE hurdle for me.

I agree with luvRVing...if you want to color, you should just go ahead and do it.  I colored mine early and was glad that I did. 

MamaV, I hope you enjoyed your party and going topless.

McCrimmon - that is so generous of you.  And woohoo! for going topless.  But I agree, grandpop should be spared.  I tried that with my mom, who is 82 and has Alzheimer's, but ultimately it was too hard to avoid the topic when she was around with other family members.  So she saw my bald head once in a while.  Now she sees it growing back and I think she's handling it pretty well. I never had long hair to begin with so I think it's registering with her as just a very short hairdo.

MamaV - how was the party!  I hope you had a most excellent time!

OK, I'm going to try uploading.. my first time ever, bear with me! *Edited to add, I must have done my math wrong when resizing - please excuse the distortion!

The first pic is the cute haircut I got just a few days before I started shedding.  The following four are different angles of me today, 12 weeks PFC.  I took the clippers to my hair with the 3/8" guard to buzz off the fuzzy tips.  Thank GOODNESS my eyelashes and brows have come back full speed ahead.  The color is lighter (no dye before or after) and no evidence of curl yet, but it's starting to look like me again.

So... what do you think?  How soon before I can pull off the topless look?

Thanks, mccrimmon!  That is very kind of you to go to breakfast with the lady you met at rads.  You will probably help her more than you ever know!  Wearing the wig w/ grandpop is totally understandable.

kks, cath is right you can go topless now.  You do have nice coverage and color!  If it feels ok to you go for it.

Kat - I'm on the "now" bandwagon!  Looks really cute, what great color you have!  Tres chic!!!

Wow everyone, I am so encouraged.  Thank you!!  Still need to build up my confidence (although your replies definitely helped with that)... I do think I will give my caringbridge readers a preview soon.   Won't be long before I take the leap. 

Other than the resizing, uploading my pics was pretty easy.  I'll be sure to post more as things progress.

(((((All)))))

okay... i'm going to try uploading a photo here just because i'm so grateful to all the brave and beautiful gals who went before me. lol

kk... you're beautiful! your hair looks amazing!

edit...

first... before chemo:

10 weeks after chemo. it's seriously salt & pepper - mainly salt - but you can see i have hair!

thank you, shelley. i'm sure you look wonderful!

Kk and franken, you both look beautiful! I've just had my first tx of AC and cut my shoulder length thin blonde hair to 1 inch. Already ordered a shoulder length wig but think I'll change it for a shorter one.



I have a question, did you both lose your eyebrows and lashes?



So happy that you have gotten through tx and looking so wonderful!



Gives myself and others just beginning our journey great hope.



Laura

thanks, kay...

seacretgardn, i lost all of my eyebrows and the last of my lashes about 3 weeks after my last chemo. both had been very thin but one day they were just gone! thankfully they made a very quick comeback. i learned it was actually harder to lose the eyebrows than my hair. i can fake hair all day long but learning to create eyebrows was a serious challenge for me! lol

i was on FEC and D so i'm not sure what happens exactly with your regimen. perhaps you'll be one of the lucky ones who just gets thinning. good luck with your treatments. i hope it runs smoothly for you.

thank you, bak94. i too had peach fuzz at the 6 weeks mark. it wasn't hair as much it was very fine duck down. it never did arrive as stubble. it seems that the duck down just got more plentiful and then some of it started turning darker. somewhere along the line the down got coarser too. mine is probably just over half an inch long right now but it's visible. you'll be surprised how fast it actually changes now!

You guys are definitely rockin with your new hair - you look just awesome!  Go topless when you're ready but I know you can do it.

I always had someone shave my neck so my hairstyle looked "on purpose." 

Hi WaveWhisperer - I tried false eyelashes for a 70s party and found them extremely difficult to manage.  I did recently read a tip to cut the strips in half and apply a piece at a time, then use eyeliner to cover up the edges.  Actually, I read this in O Magazine while waiting for my rads treatment last week.   My eyelashes and eyebrows disappeared in about the middle of my DD Taxol treatments, after I had finished AC.  I picked up a stencil and some eyebrow powder at WalMart and that worked pretty well.  Now I need tweezers - I hadn't plucked my brows in more than 20 years but I seem to have some strays that need to be tamed. 

Achpurple - shaving the neck is a good idea...I've got a pretty low hairline and I can see/feel the hair at the base.  Plus like so many, my hair grows into a distinctive point.  I may ask my DH to do it for me.

WAY TO GO Frankenboobs!  You look amazing

Laura, I was on AC x4 and Tx4.  On AC I didn't lose many eyelashes or brows, they hung on until nearly the end of T.  For me, they lasted the longest and were the first to reappear!

I think 4-6 weeks PFC is some of the most difficult time... you know the hair is coming back and start to obsess over when it's going to happen.  And when it does, it doesn't look anything like hair!  It's hard to remember to be patient..... it WILL come back very soon after that point.