The haircut

From the moment I knew that I would need chemo, I made the decision to cut my hair off at the beginning of treatment, long before the chemo had a chance to make me bald. I figured I would donate the hair to my favorite agency: Children With Hairloss. (And no, the irony of that is not lost on me!)

Today was the day for that haircut. In order to get the most hair, I sectioned my hair into ten little sections and braided each one. Then, DH did the honors of chopping off each of the braids.

I ended up with a somewhat disastrous look,

so I immediately called the hair salon close to my house, explained the situation, and made an appointment for an hour later to get an an “evening out” hair cut.

When I walked into the salon, I felt totally out of place. I was easily half the age of all of the patrons and I thought, “Hmmm . . .I’m not sure they’ll know how to deal with my hair.” But, I kept an open mind. An older gentleman came over and asked if I was there for an “evening out” cut, and I said, “Yes.”

As we are walking back to the chair, he comments: So you are donating your hair?

For some reason, I stumbled and hemmed and hawed in the explanation and finally blurted out: Well, it’s all going to fall out anyway.

Barber: Wait? It’s all going to fall out?

Me: Yeah. I’m going through chemo therapy.

Barber: Oh, I am so sorry. I have been there myself.

And then he proceeded to share his story and offer encouragement and we spent the rest of the haircut talking cancer-stuff. He was polite enough to make sure I was cool with talking about it. Of course I said yes, since I’m a cancer story junkie these days! During the course of our conversation, he said that there would be no charge for the haircut. “You have enough to worry about. No need to add extra.” Such a lovely gesture! He also said that if I ever decide that I want to just shave it all off instead of waiting for it to fall out, he’d be happy to do that as well. He even went so far as to offer a private room so that the world wouldn’t have to watch me lose all my hair. Although that could be construed to be creepy, I thought it was another lovely gesture!

After the cut was finished, he walked me to the door, wished me luck and gave me a big hug. I walked out of there feeling 10 feet tall with the biggest smile on my face! That is not at all the experience I expected to have, but I’m so glad I went to that salon as it improved my already really great day!

So having really short hair is new for me. Heretofore, the the shortest cut I’d ever had was a chin length cut. This is soo very different. Not sure if I like it, but in the end, I think this is going to be a better place from which to go bald.