I was amazed by how many choices there are. I was also astounded how many wigs made me look like Phil Spector even when the style didn’t start out that way.
This was a shop which specializes in medical hair loss. There is quite an art and science to getting an off the shelf wig to work on the average person. The staff was very empathetic. I go back in a week and they will shave it all off and give me the special scalp protection cream. There is also a large variety of goo to use to style the wig–they claim the wigs only last 6 months.
Currently a highlighted blonde–going strawberry blonde to better match my kid’s heads.
I start my fourth week on monday. So far I haven’t lost any hair, but I guess this week is when it’s supposed to start. I’m a guy, so I’ll just whack it all off if it comes to that.
I like some of the hats that the gals wear.
I don’t know, I think completely bald women are kinda sexy in an exotic way. Short hair doesn’t do much for me but bald can be nice if they’ve got a cute head.
Best wishes on the chemo treatment. From personal experience I know it can be anything from mildly unpleasant to very rough, but having the support of friends and family helps a lot.
As someone who’s lost his hair to chemo four times, I do have one bit of advice. When you’re done with chemo and your hair starts to regrow, keep shaving your head for a few weeks anyway. I just used my electric razor that I normally use on my face. Kind of silly, but it works. Your hair doesn’t all recover at once, and can grow back really patchy at first. When it starts coming in thick enough, you let it grow out.
Then you just have to deal with it being curly instead of straight, or a different color, or whatever wierdness your hair decides to do.
My aunt had fun with her wigs. She was naturally dishwater blonde, hair long and thin, and I remember bright red bobs, black, etc. It was a long time ago and I was very young but I still remember.
My mom starts chemo as soon as her mastectomy incision heals sufficiently. Wishing you guys the best in all things. I will say a prayer for you, unless you’d rather I didn’t.
Miss Gypsy, you may already be aware but there are several organizations that will take your donated hair (all 20 glorious inches of it) to make wigs for patients. Locks of Love is one but there are several others. Thanks goodness for people like you willing to donate your tresses.
Parsnip
My wife occasionally wore wigs when we were going out somewhere but said they were too warm and made her sleepy. She liked playing with them though. A blond or red-headed Asian woman looks very different!
My wife mostly wore colorful silk scarves, the brighter the better. Her favorite scarves were some I got from Hermes.
I’d second Goblinboy’s idea on keeping the head shaved for a while after the hair starts to regrow. I’ve seen some very cute women with shaved heads.
Good wishes are always welcome. How you choose to send them is your perogative.
Best to your mom.
I’ve often thought, since I was diagnosed and started on this battle, how those who have gone before and suffered through the evolution in chemotherapy and radiation treatment, have made us today more fortunate. My mother died of cervical cancer in the early 70’s and the love of my life, of lung cancer in '86. They, and many, many others, had a very difficult time. Their sacrifices and contributions to the advances in cancer treatment have made it much easier for us today.
When I experience discomfort from the treatment, I remember them and it makes my difficulties seem rather trivial.
My late aunt told a story about once when she was getting out of the car on a windy day. A gust of wind plucked her wig off and sent it tumbling down the street…with her shi zhu in hot pursuit! The dog caught it and shook it in his mouth like a toy. She had to bribe him with a treat to get the damn thing back. She laughed and laughed about that.
Good luck! I have a friend who had a wig made from her own hair (ovarian cancer at age 21!). I remember her saying that having a wig done that way was going to be really expensive, but I didn’t ask her how much.
I have a friend currently in the midst of chemo for breast cancer, and she reports that the wig is too hot and itchy, but that turbans totally rock. And there are lots of them available on the Internet.
She has a complete wardrobe, and looks sensational in them.
If anybody would like a soft knit chemo hat, I have a couple of great patterns and can knit one up in cotton yarn very quickly. One is even a turban-like pattern, so you can adjust it as tight or as loose as you want. Always happy to help a fellow Doper/Doper relative!
I have the feeling I will only be wearing the rug to work on days I have to meet with a customer. I am going to try to work at the main office as much as possible during treatment and they won’t care if I show up in a cap.
They do seem like they will be hot, but maybe that was just the existing hair.
It cracks me up to think of driving to work with my stryo buddy in the next seat.
I tried on the $3000 human hair jobs, and they just didn’t look good on my pin head.
My heart goes out to everyone one here. My father died of leukemia and the chemotherapy was rough. I know it’s different for everyone, but my thoughts are with you.
I looked into Locks of Love, but it seems they want fairly exact ponytails of 10", and I can’t figure out how to do that with my hair, by myself, and my husband is too squeamish to cut off 10" of my hair, let alone 20".
Are there salons who would be able to do this, to get two hair donations from my mane? Heck, my hair is so thick they might get three or four. Thanks for the info, Ruby.