Fluffy hair
Nov 01
My hair is fluffy.
(After the weightiness of cardiac drama and car drama, let’s turn to something truly frivolous and inconsequential: what to do with my hair?)
When it was first growing in, it was cute: I used some product to make it spikey-sticky-uppy. (At least, I think it was cute. People told me it was cute.)
Now, at about an inch and a half, it is starting to look, well, helmet-ish. If I use product, I can get a good mohawk, or if I spike it all over I start to look too electrified for my taste. And default = helmet.
Not my favorite looks. Obviously. However, the mohawk does have some appeal, I admit.
If I let it keep growing with out some trimming or shaping maintenance, I will end up with a mullet. Even worse than the helmet look.
Growing in my hair, while overall preferable to being bald (though I do miss the no-muss-no-fuss of baldness), seems like it will require some maintenance. Honestly, I do miss the baldness. I think I wore it as a badge of honor that I was a chemo patient, and, actually, a kick-ass chemo patient. Strangers were also really nice to me. I’ve never had so many doors opened and held for me in my life. I wish I’d taken more bald pictures too. There are strikingly few. (Friends, if you have one, send it to me please.)
I’ve never bonded with a hairdresser. One of my girlfriends has been going to the same person since she was five. My mom had her favorite guy for over twenty years. I ricochet based on where I have coupons or gift certificates. I did learn the hard way that the super cheap chain places equals three months of hair pity, so I stick to the fancy salons. Any recommendations on where to go for a feminine haircut with super-short hair? Is there such thing as a post-chemo specialist in the beauty industry? Do I have to pay the same fifty-plus bucks I would pay when I only got it cut one to three times per year?
And to be clear, I am so happy, grateful, and blessed that today’s question of the day is: Hmmmm, and what about my hair?
I’m off to radiation number twenty-three today!
That’s a big question Jen ~ I wish I knew if there were hair salons that had the secret to after chemo hair ~ I use to be a hairdresser ( I don’t think they call it that anymore ) Some of my former chemo clients wore wigs ( that were awful back then, in the olden days ) until their hair grew out to about 3-4″ then we could shape it to where it didn’t look like a helmet 🙁 I know, sometimes that happens to me when I get a bad haircut & I say to myself HELMET HEAD 🙁 or refer to an old commercial ” I Look Like a Squirrel ” !!!!!!!!!!! If you can gel it down a little to look more like a pixie, it might help or wear a hat ~ You can pull that off well, as you are slender, young & beautiful 🙂 I can still see the photo of you on the beach w/o hair ~ I though ” How Stunning” As far as the hair question goes, his too shall pass 🙂 Continued Prayers & Peace 🙂
Try Bajon Salon in West Chester 874-9999…I know they are very supportive of cancer fundraising bc they have hosted St Baldricks events for the past few yrs…I think 1 of their stylists has a child that battled cancer, went thru chemo etc…the owners (husband & wife) have even shaved their heads for the event! Their entire staff is really nice too. Good luck!
What about a cut like Ellen? Hers is surely only 1.5 inches as seen on the Mark twain award on Tuesday night. Also, I love this being the worrying points today. We serve a joyful God!
ahh,hair. I do love talking about hair! I’ll admit that I’ve been semi-obsessed w/my hair since childhood. Mostly b/c I had none until I was 2yrs old, and then only thin useless cotton candy stuff until I was 15. Years of self taught processing and manipulation eventually culminated in an enviable crown of shoulder length,reddish blonde glory.
12 years ago I was diagnosed w/breast cancer and had a bilateral mastectomy. 36 hours after surgery I got out of bed, walked to the bathroom mirror and had a bilateral response. “wow that’s flat/gee, my hair looks pretty good”
9yrs later the cancer came back. Chemo to the rescue! I could not agree more w/the low maintenance beauty of baldness, but it eventually grew back. I did the same as you; spikey product do’s, that eventually evolved into comb over nightmares. I’m 2 yrs out from the chemo now and still have little to work with b/c of the estrogen blocker.
The point of my story is that I have a wonderful hairdresser!
His name is Andy Schaefer at Classic Hair Design
1830 Dixie Highway, Ft. Wright, KY 41011. Ph. (859) 393-2597
It’s a lovely little low cost/high result hair salon. Not only has Andy kept me looking normal throughout my cancer treatments, he is a wonderful person. I guarantee that Andy will become your hairdresser for life!
Jen, again we share common ground…My “helmet” is ≈ 2 1/2 inches. It is hard to get the perfect look. Time and patience…but it is getting cold. I think a b-ball cap can be elegantly “rocked” with an awesome scarf. If you have TJ Maxx, Marshall’s, Ross etc. (Discount designer labels) you can find some really cute hats. I am sure there is a stylist out there just waiting to make you gorgeous. Also ask where did you get your hair cut if you see one you like. Good luck:)
Ask around the chemo room for hair tips! Or go back to wearing the scarfs… bonus door holding and no hair fixing.
As someone who has worn a spikey hair style and let it grow out….more than once, I have a bit of experience. I think the helmet look comes from having (the longer back and) full sides without the top being long enough to shape it well. Does that make sense? Since you have to cut the bottom and sides over time to catch up with the top, you might as well go for something like Ellen’s hairstyle or a pixie like suggested above. Either would be darling!!
agree, you definitely need to keep cutting the sides and back while the top grows out to avoid the mullett! i’ve had the super short do several times and it is a pain to grow out! seems contradictory to keep cutting the hair you are trying to grow out, but you definitely have to keep getting it cut to maintain some sort of cute shape. you’ll rock it!!!
Having just gone through the period you are in now, and passing on a friend’s advice to me who has also gone down this road, cut the fluff–as hard as it is to let go of the fact that you now have hair–the more you cut it the thicker it will come in. I have always had short hair and have gone to the same person since I moved to Cinci years ago–she does specialize in short hair. Her name is Mary Blair and she is at Salon Concepts in Oakley. You can even book online with her. She only charged me for a “man’s haircut” the first 2 times I went after my hair came back. She’s great.
What a delightfully frivolous problem! Hair is the bane of all women; it’s too short, too long, too thin, too mousey, too curly,too frizzy, too straight. Show me a woman who adores her hair, and I’ll lay you odds she just stepped out of a high end salon with about $350 less in her wallet! There is a fabulous stylist in Mason at Kim Harper’s Salon (it’s the owner, Kim Thal, who was a former Beckett resident from Eagleridge Drive). I guarantee she’ll turn your helmet hair into an outragously smart, sexy, sassy “do”. When I lived in Cincinnati, she did my hair and finally begged me to stop recommending her to others as she couldn’t keep up with the demand. (Nice problem to have, huh?) The style, ironically, was like Ellen’s only a tad longer in the back so it was actually like a wispy shag. Every hair lay perfectly in place with very little effort. (Sigh!!!!!)
Jen, you’ve faced life-altering challenges in the past 6 months. You were routinely forced to make important decisions that could impact the rest of your life. Don’t let finding a good stylist throw you for a loop. 🙂
I’m currently having an identity crisis with my post-chemo hair too!! I’m 6 months out and have an uneven mullet! :/
Just for fun: I wish I would have dyed my hair pink as it was growing back. How fun when its super short!!!
Add a cute clip to the front to pull your bangs to the side.
Love that this can be a problem after so long of such seriousness… Good recommendations above; hope one of them works out for you.
Little story-my sister of another mother who is in radiation/post-chemo as we speak said the other day, “I’ve never been so happy to see my chin hair grow in !~!” Forgot to ask if it was curly or straight ! Her baldness has been the most beautiful I have ever seen her in three decades of friendship and love.
You are beaming in your recovery too. We live in wondrous times of medical research and development, don’t we ?~! Feel the love.