The (Punk) Haircut

Unfortunately I destroyed most of the pictures of me with
short hair. I do have a few in the storage unit, but
graduation pics last forever (I stole this one from my
sisters' FB photos).

     Right after I found out about my cancer, I had a couple of close friends contact me privately with some carefully thought out advice. "Have you considered cutting off all your hair before chemo? You could donate your hair to locks of love..." it went about like that, but more compassionate! Anyway, I love my hair long. I cut it short once in High School and well, it just never looked right. I never got the hang of styling it. I grew it out as soon as possible, and it was terribly, horribly awkward for most of two years. I swore I would never - NEVER cut it shorter than my chin again. Unless I had cancer. ;)
     I was also a bit confused about what to expect regarding hair loss at first. People kept telling me they knew someone who didn't lose their hair during chemotherapy. Like, they lost some hair, but kept enough to look normal. I did some research and discovered something like 80% of patients lose enough hair to shave it (actually, there was a LOT of conflicting information about numbers of patients with hair loss, but it was almost always in the strong majority). I thought, "Well, I will take the chance that I'm one of the 20% then..." But, when I spoke with my oncologist he made it sound like a for sure thing. "You will lose your hair around day 21." There was not a "most people" or a "chances are" or any qualifier on that statement. It made me uncomfortable that he seemed so certain. So, I did more research, and this time, I included my chemo drugs (cytoxan and taxotere). I found on the Cancer Research UK site this little gem:
Side effects:

• Hair loss – in 8 out of 10 people (80%) hair falls out completely but it grows back once the treatment ends

Notice that word 'completely'. Yeah. That means 2 in 10 still experience hair loss, but they might not lose every hair on their body. Maybe they keep their toe hairs! I read a lot of forums too, and the consensus was that patients start losing their hair on day 14 and by day 21 if they hadn't shaved it yet, they gave up and did!

Free online virtual makeover but don't get started
unless you have hours to spend playing with
the different styles!

     So, I decided if I was that likely to lose it all and shave my head anyway, I might as well get rid of most of it. I all ready struggle keeping my house clean - I don't want to add a full head of hair lost strand by strand to the mess! I did a virtual makeover or twenty. I searched pixie cuts, knowing it was likely I'd want some kind of style as it grows back in as well as while losing it. And, who knows? Maybe it'll come back in super curly - which is quite common! 

     How many times in life does a woman know she's going to lose all her hair? I figured I might as well take advantage of the experience. I pinned images to Pinterest and started speaking with my amazing sister-in-law/hair-stylist, Nateal, about what I might be wanting. (Just as a side note - I have 3 amazing s-i-l/hair-stylists. Nateal just happens to have lots of experience with the kind of style I want to go for.) She didn't even question me, but said "Okay, yeah, we could do something like that." She admitted to me as we got started today that it did make her just a bit nervous, but when she spoke with my brother about it, he reassured her by saying something like "That's just Megdalynn. Once she decides something, she jumps in with both feet. Don't worry about it, she knows what she wants or she wouldn't tell you." I love that he knows this about me! 

Aw, look how old I got!

     I'm actually sitting in the salon, writing this post as we get ready for the next step. By the way, Nateal is still taking clients at Relik Salon & Spa in Orem. Give her a call at 801-22-1947, she's got skillz! And let her know I sent you! (Yes, she can do NORMAL stuff too.)
     The best part about this? I CAN'T WAIT to see people's reactions!!! My kids, my husband, my classmates, my gym friends, ... my primary class.... Oh boy. Too late now! The box of color has already been opened. Might as well do it right! 

     Honestly, the virtual makeovers did not do a lot to build my confidence for this. It didn't help when I showed my dad the images and he said, "That doesn't even look like you." I replied, "I know, but it's me." "Well, what picture did you start with? Are you wearing any make-up?" LOL! My dad, bless his heart, does not like short hair on women! 

     Here are a bunch of pictures from the salon.

    I thought I would cry today, especially as the locks started hitting the floor - but what burst out of me instead was an intense fit of the giggles! 

 I like the cut way better than I thought I would. It doesn't add 20 pounds to my face the way the one I had in High School did. Or, at least, I hope it doesn't! The funny thing is, even if it does, the attitude it incorporates screams "I don't care!" anyway!

I laughed all the way through the cut, and had to take a little break to collect myself before the fade design - so it wouldn't get messed up by my laughter!

Original hair design by Nateal Ernst, Relik Salon, 801-225-1947

I loved it when my friend shared my video post on FB and said "she's fighting like a girl"! I think that will be my motto this week. It's going to be a long one, filled with doctors' offices. I'm earning that spring break!