Four months

On the left, Shave Day (you can just see the offending mole on the side of my neck).  On the right, a picture taken yesterday, July 16th, showing four months of hair growth. I am now able to style with gel or hair paste to make the back spike out. Bangs can be swept to the side while wet and will stay in place (mostly) on their own.

Back on the wagon!

Sorry for the blurriness, but here I am at the end of April, approaching a sea-urchin-like state of hair.

Full-on sea urchin! Taken in May (2 months of growth).

Post-surgery, taken early June (3 months of growth).  The hair has finally started laying down somewhat on my forehead and covers my ears when I don't tuck it behind them.

Hello, if you're still out there! Since my last post, I have been on a journey that has left me thankful to be alive, as well as aware of my lack of hair posting.  My hair has grown out considerably since the last picture, so I present to you, without further delay, a quick photo-rundown of the last couple of months.  And so that you will not be alarmed should you notice a new scar on my neck, be assured that though I was diagnosed with melanoma in early May, it was removed last month.  I am now cancer-free, thanks to a keen-eyed dermatologist and an excellent surgical oncologist, who fought my battle for me.  I had a hard time turning my head to take any sort of decent picture and didn't feel much like smiling for a while, so I apologize for the lack of photos here. But I'm back, and better than ever! The hair is about an inch and a quarter long now, and has still not been cut or trimmed since Shave Day.  

My favorite wig, with my old hair kerchief- neither of which have made it out of the house yet.

Almost 3/4 of an inch of hair gets squashed by a headband now!

My apologies for the extreme delay- I've been quite far away on vacation and unable to upload pics here. But the hair has grown a bit. Folks aren't making comments like they did even a couple of weeks ago, so it must be starting to look like a more common hairstyle.

Folks are starting to say, "That length looks good- have you thought about keeping it short? How long are you going to grow it out?" The first answer is, "yes", and the second answer is, "I'm not sure".

The hair near my temples has grown out- literally, straight out the side of my head- so far that it reaches the back side of my ear.
While at my son's school today, one of the aides (who is an older lady) mentioned that she'd noticed my hair, but didn't know until just yesterday about the reason why I'd gone bald (children's cancer research). She congratulated me and said I was very courageous, and is so far the only person who's commented and beamed about the reason behind the shave without a single word about my looks.
That single comment not only intrigued me, but really meant a lot.

Day 18

Maybe you can see the softness? It's lost its sandpaper feel entirely now.
My short hairdo compelled a stranger in Walmart to courageously tell me that she was facing chemotherapy for, and had recently undergone surgery to successfully remove, breast cancer. I was able to then explain my own experiences with the shaving (which she is considering doing before her hair falls out on its own) and encourage her about how low maintenance the style is and how much fun trying on scarves and wigs can be. We had a long, sweet conversation, and before she left she said how truly glad she was that she'd met me and that she felt newly encouraged facing the chemotherapy and baldness.
So thank you, buzzed hair, for allowing me to humbly connect with a woman at just the right time. Who knew a simple hairstyle, or lack thereof, could do that?

Day 16

I think I've got a quarter of an inch of hair now! I wore the wig out for a quick errand and felt way more self-conscious than when rocking the buzz, not to mention the annoying feeling of the bangs touching my face. I'm sure I had wig hair when I took it off, but it fluffed back out in less than a minute.

Day 15

Fun with wigs. I can honestly say I no longer recognize myself WITH hair!

Day 14

Gettin' fuzzy! I just learned how to blog from my mobile phone, so expect daily pictures with shorter descriptions, unless I'm feeling particularly inspired and actually sit down at the computer to write.

My hair is so long now that when I put on a "wig cap" (read: oversized cut-off toe-part of a knee-high stocking)   many little individual hairs poke through it.  The Velcro effect is still there, but the hair is certainly softer to the touch now.  It's at a length that apparently makes strangers think this is my typical hairstyle vs. recently bald.
I briefly put on the wig yesterday for fun and genuinely DON'T miss all the shedding hairs and weightiness that comes with long, or at least shoulder-blade-length, hair.  I also don't miss the hair getting in my face and tickling my apparently sensitive skin and eyes all the time, or tucking it behind my ears.  Feels very free.  Another very small and unexpected blessing is that when I pull a shirt over my head, I never have to worry about messing my hair up, or it getting caught in the tag, or doing my hair just-so and then deciding to change my outfit, meaning I have to re-do my hair... again.  For someone who goes through many clothing options before making a decision, I've swapped at least several "getting ready" hours for "doing" hours in the past two weeks alone.
Oh! I definitely got hat head for almost a minute after I took my hat off yesterday... before my magnetized iron-filing hair stood straight back out.

Day 13

Yesterday I received my favorite and most unexpected comment yet, from the least likely of people:
Me: "Hi there, I'd like to look at a few wigs."
The wig shop employee: "WHY?!?"
Yes, you win!
To answer her (and perhaps your) question, I'd had a moment of uncertain self-esteem as I remembered that one of my grandmothers had specifically requested pre-shave that I wear some sort of wig when I visit her because she "doesn't like a bald head", and I figured trying on a couple of hairstyles would be fun anyways.  I had an absolute blast at the wig shop, even found one that fit the bill, and the best part of the day was realizing I genuinely LIKE my own buzzed reflection just as it is, au naturel, without a wig or the memory of my own hair to feel "pretty", which I never have felt (or seen as a goal) anyways.  I just always felt like "myself", and when my young daughter asked me why I was buying a wig, I could honestly tell her that it was fun to wear and would make Great-Grandma more comfortable, without so much as a hint of "because I need it to look good or feel good about myself".  Plus, she'll get it for dress-up when I'm done with it.
By the way, rockin' the now-buzzed look in 80+ degree heat is FANTASTIC.
 

Day 12

It's slowly growing out! The hair is slightly softer, and I got the slightest bit of "hat hair" where a few of them were smooshed down in the front after taking my baseball hat off two days ago.  We were out of town for the weekend, and I couldn't blog from my phone, so I apologize to all my many faithful readers (well, mostly Beth!) for sticking it out.  :) Thanks, guys!  Here's a picture from this morning.
As a side note, if anyone out there knows how to take pictures and blog from the iPad 2, PLEASE tell me. It will make this process much more streamlined and easy for me to post more often.

Day 5

The luck of the Irish- here's the four-leaf clover I just found in the back yard.
A hat is still a necessity at this point, since after on a few minutes out in the sun I can feel my scalp heating up.
Positive hairdo comment from a teacher at my daughter's school today: "I love it!"
I am almost able to post another comment, but while I was checking out at a register today, the cashier just kept darting her eyes back and forth between my head and my "Ask me why I'm bald" pin, but never said anything.

Day 4

This morning my son's bus aide said, "It's growing out already! Yes, I can tell."
My hair feels every so slightly softer and thicker today.
A package came for me today from Etsy seller FavMoonGirl with my my new favorite pair of earrings- they are the slightly dangly ones you can see with the little beads.  Each earring is a simple swirl that can be inserted either the normal way or backwards to give a certain look, and the beads are interchangeable with other charms or to be left off completely. I love them and feel very feminine wearing them, which is helpful because I still feel quite masculine when I catch myself in the mirror.

Day 3

Though I have been having an absolutely wonderful nearly-no-hair day with beautiful weather, open windows with no hair in my face, and purely positive feedback ("Wow! You look great! You're gonna keep it that way, aren't you?") from my regular grocery store acquaintances, I am reminded that some days I may be tired, so I had better come up with a neutral face that I can repeatedly take pictures of for many days in a row.  So I present you with my best Mona Lisa expression, or as they called it when I had to renew my driver's license a few years back, DMV Neutral.

Day 2

With glasses, which is my usual look.  I just dropped the kids off at their respective schools since the time change has thrown us off, and when I got to one of the offices I got the BEST reception.  The two office ladies, whom I see once every week when I volunteer at the school, have been checking in with me and knew that this past weekend was the big shave. They gave me huge smiles and both kept saying, "You look adorable! Really cute!" and things of that nature.
On the road, I ended up next to the mom of one of my other child's classmates while we were stopped at a light. She did a double take, gave me a huge wave, then we rolled down our windows so I could hear her say, "I almost didn't recognize you! You look awesome! You know, if my job would let me, I would totally spike my hair. I used to have it like that in high school and I loved it."
Great start to the day.

Some more pictures from this weekend

 Even the actress on the tv screen behind me in this last photo is starin' down my 'do!

Day 1

Today my parents, sister and toddler nephew saw my hair in person for the first time.  I also went out with a longtime (since childhood) friend of mine.  The reactions between the five of them varied between the mostly positive and the curious:
"You can still tell your hair is red; you sort of have a glow around your head."
"I don't know what you've been reading, but you need to lose the makeup and earrings."
"Aaaahhh! Looks great!"
(silly giggles and head-patting and rubbing from my nephew)
"Oddly enough, it makes you look MORE Irish."
I've counted three outright stares from strangers, even with my "Ask Me Why I'm Bald" button.
For sleeping, I've found a knit night cap to be very comfortable- it sticks to my head like Velcro, but it keeps the ceiling fan wind from blowing across my scalp.  I picked mine up off of Ebay from a seller named English Traditions, and it's really comfy.
So, although I have been trying to figure out how to wear makeup (I must have missed that phase in adolescence) and have been wearing earrings, here's a truly au naturel pic with no makeup and no earrings.  If you squint, you can see the circular patch just above and in front of my ear where my hair grows white- I wonder if this will become more obvious as the hair grows out.

After, or before

My husband and I raised over two thousand dollars, and I got THIS to show for it! The buzzing of the clippers felt very unusual, but nothing could have prepared me for the feel of the wind blowing across my scalp. I don't recognize my reflection, but I feel strangely liberated, empowered even. Maybe it's just the adrenaline speaking, but it was quite a rush to finally see my head by itself for the first time. I decided not to razor-shave it, so I have the shortest of peach fuzz- it feels great to run my hands over it. Here we go!

Today's the day!

Today's the big shave day! I'm feeling nervous. Didn't sleep well. I feel a little silly, because it's just hair, but there you have it.

There is a strict no-straight-razor policy at all St. Baldrick's events, so I will be buzzed as low as the stylist can get me today, then later plan to borrow my husband's electric razor and take the rest off. So I'm nervous, but curiously excited. Oh, the anticipation!

T minus five hours until I arrive at the event...

Welcome to The Bald Ginger

I will be going bald in two days. This is sort of out of the norm for a girl I suppose, but I'm pretty excited about it. Today I am a natural redhead with lovely locks that always seem to be the first thing people notice when they meet me. I am always appreciative of their comments on its color and thickness, but honestly, I have nothing to do with it; it's just the hair that grows out of my head. I've always loved to braid it, put it up, wear it down or get fancy for a wedding or special occasion. Like many other women, it's somehow more than just a part of me- especially being ginger, I have even come to appreciate the many jokes and myths associated with a flaming mane. I imagine I will feel naked without it, but in two days it will all be gone. At least, temporarily.

Why am I doing this?

I don't have cancer.

I don't have alopecia.

I don't have trichotillomania.

I'm not going bald from emotional distress.

I'm not going bald as a fashion statement.

I don't have to shave it for health or occupational reasons.

So, why am I doing this?

Although I stand behind every person who can say the opposite to at least one of my previous statements, I am specifically raising awareness and funds for children's cancer research through the St. Baldrick's Foundation, which awards more dollars in grants to fund children's cancer research than any other organization besides the U.S. government. Essentially, I will be a walking supporter of everyday children and their everyday families who are experiencing the terribly out-of-the-ordinary health challenge that cancer presents in a young person's life. I'll even wear an "Ask Me Why I'm Bald" pin on the front strap of my crossbody messenger bag. Might even wear one on the back, too, now that I think of it.

This will be my diary of what I experience in terms of individual reactions to my female baldness as well as my own thoughts on the growing-out process. There will be one photo added every day, and I hope to combine them into a flipbook after one year.

So come on in, take your hat, wig, scarf, cap, turban, beanie, and vanity off, and sit awhile. I'm glad you're here. Let's make bald beautiful.