Hair Loss, Part II

I've decided that I won't look half-bad as a bald chick.

And my new look is slowly coming together.

My recommendations regarding hair loss to those who are starting chemo:

1. Don't do what I did and pay 60 euros to a top-stylist to get all your hair chopped short, unless you have plenty of money to burn. It is good to get it chopped short, but get a friend to do it for free because it turns out that the hair, if it's going to fall out (for some people, it doesn't), tends to shed like crazy already between the 12th and 18th day of the first chemo treatment. This usually happens most noticeably in the shower.

2. When this starts to happen, start immediately planning your new on-treatment look. I procrastinated a bit too long and ended up not washing my hair for DAYS because I didn't have my new look ready and still wanted to go out in public as a normal person and not as a cancer patient.

3. I highly recommend going to a neighborhood salon to get a complete shave (explain your situation and ask them if they can do something for you after-hours with the curtains closed; maybe you'll find it's no big deal, but it could also be more traumatic than you expect) or get someone to help you do it at home. I didn't go to a salon because I had already spent 60 euros on my hair just a few weeks before and figured that it wouldn't be so bad to have the hair fall out when it was so short. True that the shorter hair probably helped, but I still had way more hair to lose than I expected, as I didn't get a military buzz cut. I still had layered hair in the front down to my chin: a very stylish cut that lasted in its original form approximately 1 week.

4. I regretted not going bald sooner because my hair kept falling out in my bed and on the bathroom floor and in my food. Ugh. Also, when it does come out in the shower (and especially after not washing your hair for 4 days so that the hair is really READY to dive out of your scalp), it feels extremely creepy for it to clump up in your hand and get stuck to your body and pile up on the shower floor. I didn't cry, but I did have to recite all the things I was grateful for and keep my eyes closed while almost all of the rest of my hair fell out. I also had to take three showers in a row and emerge with lobster-red skin and pruney fingers at the end.

5. I found out that high-quality wigs are not hot and itchy like the wigs you buy at the costume store for Halloween. They are also very expensive (500-600 euros here in Amsterdam) and my insurance only covers 250 of that. I tried on a bunch; they all looked a little weird to me, especially on top, but I might be able to style them so they look more natural. We narrowed it down to three choices at the wig shop, one of which I wanted to see in a darker color, and they will come to my apartment for free after it arrives so I can try on the three again. I was told that shorter wigs are generally better because they are far less likely to get caught on things like sofas and jacket zippers. You apparently have to be really careful that they don't get pulled off or twisted.

6. But, there's also another cool option that was invented in Amsterdam, of all places! (lucky me again!) It's called a toupim: www.toupim.nl (you can click on a link on the home page for an English translation of the site) and it only costs 95 euros compared to the 500+ for a full wig. I had a lot of fun with this because I narrowed my options down to four and then emailed all my female friends to have them vote on which look they thought would suit me best. It was great because I got all kinds of advice and found out about clip-on hair extensions (http://www.headkandy.com/), which aren't too expensive and that I can add to my toupim when I'm feeling in the mood for a little jazzy color. I can attest to the fact that the hair is high quality and the hair band is very comfortable. I wish there was a little more hair framing the face in the style that I got (half-long Jasmijn) but I'm hoping that the hair extensions will help with that when I get them. Also, I must say that the customer service has been impeccable. I ordered my toupim online on a Friday evening, and it arrived special delivery (the owner apparently biked it over on her way home from work) one hour later. I emailed on Sunday if I could exchange it for a different size and the owner emailed me back the same night to say that would be fine; she'll drop by tomorrow to perform the exchange.

7. I fully intend to shave the rest of my hair off myself as soon as I get my wig (it's supposed to come today). Lurking on the Young Survivor's Coalition website (it's targeted for breast cancer survivors, but I find it helpful anyway), I learned that once you shave it, there will be stubble and the best way to clean off the stubble is with a lint roller!