How Long After Treatment Began Did You Lose Your Hair?
I lost my hair on day 13 after the first treatment.
Did You Lose It Gradually or Very Quickly?
Very quickly.
What Was Your First Reaction When You Noticed the Loss?
I washed my hair on day 13, blow dried it and began styling it and realized there was "alot" of hair in my brush. Then throughout the day, at work, I left a trail of hair everywhere I went. By late evening, I had big bald spots in my head. By the next morning 3/4's of my hair was gone.
Were You Tempted to Shave Your Head? Did You Do It?
The morning after most of my hair was gone, we did shave the rest of my head.
Did You Choose to Wear a Head Covering or Not?
I purchased a wig and some scarfs and a bunch of ball caps (in every color I could find). I wore the wig maybe 10 times during the whole year I was bald. I wore more ball caps than anything. I had them to match any color I was wearing, and they were a lot more comfortable than the wig and the scarfs. Scarfs were fine, but they slid around alot, so ball caps were just easier. While I was at home during the evenings, I would wear a night cap or turban. It really was okay after a few days getting use to it.
How Did Losing Your Hair Affect Your Everyday Life?
Emotionally it tore me up for the first few days. And I worried about it when we went to special events like funerals or special church services (my husband is a pastor). But once people saw me with a hat, that's just how they expected to see me.
Otherwise, being bald was okay. Hey, I could sleep an extra 30 minutes in the morning and I didn't have to pay to get a cut, and I saved on shampoo and conditioner. It really was okay.
Advice
- The best advice I can give is to just roll with the punches. Once I lost my hair and I got over the initial shock, I was fine with it. I loved just putting on a hat in the mornings and going on my merry way. People did look at me with eyes of sympathy, and some people even made remarks that wasn't so nice. One lady at the gym told me "you need to wear more makeup - you look to pale without hair", now really, who worries about wearing makeup to the gym!!!! I've said many times since I got hair back "bald was really easy!"
