Pigs must be flying somewhere because I caught myself saying something recently that I haven’t said in about 18 months…..I love my hair!!!

It’s been a love-hate relationship with my hair for so long now, so it came as quite a shock to say that 4 word statement.  Love because well, I’m just happy to have hair at this point.  And hate because growing hair back from bald is a painfully slow process.  The sadness that goes along with losing my hair is still very fresh in my mind sometimes, and there’s not a day that goes by where I don’t miss the long hair I once had.  And not that I need to remind you, but losing your hair is TOUGH process to recover from!

So what prompted this new found admiration for my hair?  Well, I had my hair styled by a professional and, oh my goodness, what a difference that made!  I’m happy to say that the No Country for Old Men Look (thanks to my brother for pointing that comparison out) I once had has finally grown out.

The similarity is a little creepy!!  Thankfully, I learned some new tricks to take away some of the issues with frizziness that I’ve been dealing with lately, and more importantly, she taught me some ways to give my hair a little more shape and style than the wash and go method I’ve been using the last year has provided me with.  And that shape and style actually makes me look like a girl!!

I took some photos of my hair in the “I love it!” state because 1) well that’s what I do these days….take pictures of my hair, 2) if I want any chance of replicating it on my own, I would need some visual guidance, and 3) if I’m never successful at making my hair look like this ever again, I want to have proof that I actually had a good hair day!!

You may look at those pictures and not really notice a change, but I think it’s drastic and I really do love it….which is I guess all that matters right?!  I’ve attempted the new styling technique (which essentially just involves using a curling iron to flatten out and loosen up some of my chemo curls) the last 2 mornings now…and while it’s not nearly as good of a finished product as the pictures above, it still makes me feel better

It seems silly, but something as insignificant as getting my hair styled a certain way enabled me to do something that I haven’t been able to do in the last 15 months……it helped me to finally embrace and accept my short hair. Not like I really had a choice before in the matter….but I’m more comfortable and confident with it now.   And further evidence that I’ve embraced the short hair, I took down my old school facebook profile picture where I still had long hair, and replaced it with a more recent photo of me and my short hair.  I’m no longer clinging to the hair I once had….huge step in my personal opinion!

OH, and I almost forgot.  You may have noticed in my photos, or you may have not, but regardless….I had my hair highlighted for the first time since chemo!  Nothing too drastic, just lightened it slightly…enough to make me feel like my old self

Photos from 69 weeks post chemo are below (caveat:  I hadn’t attempted my new styling techniques yet, so stay tuned for the next set of photos to see how I actually do on my own)