Hair loss doesn’t happen for everyone undergoing chemotherapy but I’ve been told to expect TOTAL hair loss – that includes eyebrows, eyelashes, not to mention any hair on my body – my initial reaction was, crikey, shouldn’t have spent all that money on laser hair removal, but it is supposed to grow back after your chemotherapy stops so perhaps it was a worthwhile investment.

So, pre chemo, I got obsessed with getting my roots bleached as they hadn’t been done since March, just before lockdown. I couldn’t get into my usual hairdresser for colour, but my friend Chantelle, despite being based in NYC, googled and checked and made two bookings for me to get it coloured before my first session. So, I spent 5 hours getting it bleached and then went and got it cut really short. Still – I felt like I was hitting up chemo with A-game hair, and it’s all about how you feel no?

Losing your hair is an emotional thing from what I understand. People place quite a large emotional attachment on their hair – you only have to look at that gif that shows what you consider 1cm to be for a hair trim versus your hairdresser – we’ve all been there “just a trim, only take off what you really need” and then coming away thinking someone has hacked off a foot of hair, when in reality it’s a tiny amount!

But hair, has long been a symbol of femininity and beauty. Even in the bible, hair is considered a ‘crowning glory’ –  in 1 Corinthians 11: 15, “but for a woman, if her hair is abundant, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given to her for a covering.” Think back to how many times you’ve had a bad hair day (okay – am talking to the women here) and it puts you in a bad mood for the day? When your hair is too fine, going grey, falling out, too frizzy – you name it, it impacts our self-esteem – and this isn’t to say that men got off scot free – I know plenty of men, who panic when the receding hairline starts kicking in, or they start thinning out on top.

Anyways, back to the present day, and whilst I have had long lustrous curls, I had not long cut all mine off in an asymmetric undercut and bleached it, so at least I’m not going from mermaid length hair to nothing. I think I’m more upset about losing my eyebrows if I’m honest!

BUT – it’s all well and good me saying I’ll take it in my stride until it actually happens – am sure you’ll read about me crying about it in a week or two… and wondering how I didn’t realise I probably have a weird shaped head, so, in anticipation, I made myself an appointment at a wig makers, which I was led to believe is one of the best in London.

On Friday, with the assistance of my long suffering friend Dana, we ventured to Raoul’s in Paddington and was met by the delightful Martin, who assured me we would find something amazing. The team there really make you feel quite special – it’s you and the stylist (in my case Martin, who seemingly owns a shed ton of wigs himself), and he explained what they were going to do, starting with a chat about where I was in my treatment cycle, but also trying to find out what I wanted in a wig.

The majority of people seem to go for something similar to their own hair, which is why they like to see you before you start losing it. This way, they can see whether its thick, fine, curly, straight etc. and I can see why. For the majority of people, they don’t want people to know they are undergoing treatment, and by having a wig that looks like their own hair, people will not notice it – there is after all that classic chemo chic look that transpires with any associated hairloss.

I think it’s also worth mentionning, that courtesy of our wonderful NHS, in England, synthetic wigs are free of charge on the NHS as long as you meet any of the following criteria (as at the time I write this):

• you have your treatment as an inpatient (meaning you stay in hospital overnight)
• you’re under 19 years old and in full time education
• you’re getting Income Support, Income based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income related Employment and Support Allowance
• you’re getting Pension Credit Guarantee Credit
• you get Universal Credit – this will depend on your earnings
• you have an NHS tax credit exemption certificate or HC2 certificate (Help with Costs certificate)
• you have a War Pension or Armed Forces Compensation Scheme exemption certificate

Anyways, whilst spending a few hours trying on various wigs, I learnt so much about them, which I break down into the following categories (bearing in mind I’m not a wig expert):

• You can get a fully synthetic (acrylic) wig (the cheapest), a real human hair wig, and a mix of both – as I found out European hair was super expensive as not many people want to give up their long locks and naturally blonde European hair was primo expensivo!!!
• The hair (synthetic or otherwise) can be hand knotted or wefted (or a mixture of both)
• The wig cap construction can be varied:
  1. Standard & Capless Construction – teasing at the crown or hair root gives lift and volume purposefully to conceal the cap underneath (this will be more budget friendly)
  2. Monofilament Construction – This is where individual hairs are tied to a fine mesh material that allows both light and air to pass through and blends with any skin tone, therefore looks like real hair growing from your scalp. It also means the hair comes out of the cap the same direction that natural hair grows, and the big upside is that you can style and part the hair in any direction!
  3. 100% Hand Tied – AKA hand knotted – the crème de la crème – yes, someone tediously hand ties every piece of hair onto the wig cap – you can literally style it as if it was your own hair
  4. Lace Front Wig – this is where the front hairline of the wig features a lace material with individual hairs tied to the base. The rest of the cap can be made using any of the above methods I mentioned in A-C. This gives a natural looking front hairline and allows hair to be pulled backwards from the face!

After trying on some super comical wigs – think Herman Munster from the Adams family and a serial killer librarian look (which thankfully Dana managed to get pictures of and I share here for giggles), I decided to go for a wig (to other people’s surprise) that resembled how my hair was when it was long – I think, in part, because I figured I was very unlikely to ever have that hair again, and so may as well have something I could wear in the future, even just to change it up on a night out! Also, as someone who loves to braid hair, I got obsessed with having one that was hand knotted and with a lace front, so I have the option to braid it, change partings, curl it etc, and because its human hair, I can colour it too……..

In any event, I left Raoul’s feeling happy with my choice, but wondering given how hot it had been when I would actually wear it…….

Stay tuned to find out when it starts to fall out!!!

Todo

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Graphic design

Graphic design is the paradise of individuality, eccentricity, heresy, abnormality, hobbies, and humors. — George Santayana

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