I was so looking forward to writing this post but have feared that it would not turn out as good as I’d hoped. Let’s see shall we?
Another brief but well deserved warning. If you thought the last post had TMI just wait!
Let me start by saying that the docs warned me I’d be losing my hair. Armed with that information, I decided I wasn’t going to watch it all fall out, so I shaved from top to bottom, stem to stern and got rid of it all. And let me tell you – I absolutely loved being bald. I’m not vain nor a girlie girl. It would have been more difficult for me to learn to tie a scarf or wear a wig than to walk around with my, if I do say so myself, perfectly shaped bald head.
So, now, off we go.
The question is do you lose *all* of your hair, everywhere? Technically, the answer is no you don’t. But visually, yes you do. And it is *everywhere*.
Here’s how it works. Your hair does not technically fall out. What happens, due to chemo, is that your hair, all over your body, goes away. Your hair continues to grow and comes up through the follicles but once it breaks the surface of the skin, it is so fine and weak that it can’t stand up; it bends, and breaks off. Even when I was perfectly bald, I still had hair loss – tiny hairs, like dandruff flakes, were constantly sloughing off. At work, I have a high backed, black chair I often slouch down in, and when I’d stand up, there’d be little tiny hairs left behind. There was also one spot on the crown of my head that looked completely bald, but when you felt it you could feel stubble… weird.
Okay, since the purpose of my blog is to share all this new found knowledge I’ve acquired, let’s talk about how much hair you actually have on your body and the reason why it’s there. Get ready because I will address all body parts, even the ones that might make less intrepid bloggers squeamish!
Let’s go top to bottom.
Head: It’s there to keep you warm and make you look styling. No big deal losing this portion of hair except when you have a bald head rain is really wet (yea I know, no shit, Sherlock), and when rain hits your head without hair you not only feel it but you hear it… ask any bald person. There is absolutely nothing to stop the rain from running down your face or more importantly your neck. Remember I was bald through the winter and spring months, and there was plenty of rain. A collared shirt is your worst enemy as it not only channels the rain down your back but also collects the wet. Tee shirts work best – they don’t funnel or absorb nearly as much.
You’ll be told that when your head hair starts to grow back, no matter your age, it will come back white and curly. Liars! At least to date in my case. Mine is coming back a brindle color – keeping in mind that I’m sure I had a lot of gray I didn’t even know about since I’d been coloring forever – but the curly hasn’t happened yet. I’m still hoping though. I’ve always wanted curly hair. It’s too short to tell yet.
Eyebrows: As far as I can tell these have absolutely no purpose whatsoever. Maybe had I lost them completely rain or sweat would have gotten into my eyes, but who knows? These seem to be the slowest growing hair on your body. I made it all the way through chemo and still had some left. On the upside I didn’t have to have a wax for six months. Interestingly, eyebrow hair is the first to grow back.
Eyelashes: I never lost all of mine but I did lose enough to make a difference. Eyelashes keep a bunch of crap out of your eyes. You don’t realize how protective they are. Not having them your eyes water A LOT. Honest to goodness, buy stock in Kleenex as you will go through a large box a week. People will think that you’re crying all the time because you will constantly be wiping your eyes. And, if you can believe this, the partial solution to the problem is to buy a product called “Tears.” Putting Tears in your eyes several times a day keeps them wet and clean, and then they don’t water as much – in theory. (It never worked for me). Honestly, I never found anything that worked for me except making sure I had Kleenex in my hand, pocket, purse, etc., at all times. The condition disappears about fourteen days after your final chemo treatment.
Nose: Nose hair filters the dirt coming in and the sinus-related fluids going out. Take the hairs away, and there’s no stopping the stuff that wants to come out. A runny nose gets crazy with only Kleenex to stop it. And lets be clear – it runs like a faucet, you have no control, sniffing doesn’t work. Keep a Kleenex handy because all of the sudden you will look like a two-year-old, nose running, no warning. Luckily it’s a very clear, thin discharge, so, if desperate, your sleeve will work with no noticeable evidence. You don’t really notice when this hair starts to come back except that your nose stops running.
Arm Pits: Yes it goes, and yee haw to that! It’s gone, gone, gone and absolutely no shaving for months and months. I think I was post-chemo about six weeks before I actually wanted to shave and that was just because I could feel nubs there. It was so light and fine it really couldn’t be seen. And the old addage, “if you shave it, it will grow back thicker” isn’t true. It still grew back fine and light. I’m now four months post-chemo and where I used to shave every day I can now go three or four days. I do it every other day just because I think I should.
Bikini/Pubic Area: Yep, you’re going to look like a pre-pubescent girl. Now, I’m not a thin flat bellied woman. I blame it on child birth rather than on me never exercising, but had I been one of those women who could wear the low ride jeans, I would have been golden. Also, if you want to jump into a bikini you won’t have to think about it for one second. Again, no waxing and shaving for months after treatment finishes. When it returns, the hair comes back in the original color. I was glad to see that. Just as I remembered, I’m more auburn than brown and I wasn’t just fooling myself with my hair dye. One strange thing, so far, this hair hasn’t come in curly it’s straight, which is a little disconcerting to me. Still, I’m going with it… things could change.
The butt and the nether regions: Yes, we all have hair down there and it absorbs quite a bit of natural secretions. I was unaware of how much a butt crack can sweat but it does. Don’t worry, it’s not so bad that you have to wear Depends or pads but you will or can get a light case of diaper rash when it’s hot outdoors – who knew I’d be using baby powder on myself at 48 years old? Also, if you don’t already shave the area, you’ll notice that less vaginal hair means less absorption of normal secretions. Your body is working overtime to keep everything lubricated. It’s used to being moist in these areas and the drugs are drying everything – eyes, skin, nose, the nether lands – so it produces more water to try and get the balance correct.
On the upside, if you’re a Brazilian waxer you won’t need a treatment for six months – say bye to the “ouch that hurts like hell!”
The legs: This was interesting for me. I, for years, needed to shave below the knee daily and above the knee about once a month. I shaved my entire leg – which being 34” long is no mean feat – for the final time about two weeks after chemo began, but my legs always felt like there was still stubble there so during chemo I kept shaving about once a month. Now, four months after chemo, if I shaved only when I could actually see stubble, I’d shave probably once a week. I do run a razor over it once a day even though it’s probably not needed, and I definitely enjoy the fact that I can go a day or two without shaving. How cool is that? I can actually put off shaving by a day if I put on a good layer of aloe lotion each morning when I’m straight out of the shower.
The feet: Luckily I did not and do not have hair on the bottom, or top, of my feet so I can’t speak to that personally but if you do, I’m sure that the hair will go away and come back eventually.
So now you know the truth – ALL of it – about chemo and hair loss. Enjoy being hairless (which now you know, you aren’t really) while you can!
This picture was taken just after we had our heads shaved.
