A Tale of Hair Loss - 10/11/09

Oct 10, 2009

 I have fine textured and what I thought was thin hair before surgery.  I am nearly 5 months post op now and I've been losing my hair for at least 2 months.  I know all the reasons why hair loss happens; resting phase vs. growth phases.  I've done my best to combat it by getting in my protein and don't feel that I experienced a significant length of time where I didn't get in the minimum 50g protein (as outlined by my surgeon/NUT).  Maybe the first 2 wks but after that I was able to get in enough protein shakes and food to meet and exceed that amount.  I think there's a good deal to the surgery trauma theory; that the body is shocked.  I haven't resorted to taking Biotin or buying hair growing shampoos, etc.  In my 6-mo. pre op classes, we were told none of that works and then they stressed the importance of taking our supplements because that does help make the re-growth healthy and shiny.  My hair has gotten pretty thin in the temples and front crown area but I'm not ready for a wig despite the fact that I literally have handfuls of hair coming out in the shower.  For some reason I seem to lose more when it's wet.  I don't know if warmer water temperature relaxes the hair follicles like it does to skin pores but I definitely notice a difference in the amount wet vs. dry both during shampooing and in brushing it out.  On days that I skip washing it (usually Sat.), I can dry brush it and I don't lose nearly as much.  Weird. 

Well, call me vain but I felt freaked out about it more this week for some reason.  I had read another post about hair loss and it was suggested in one response to go for a cute, short haircut.  It's been at least 10 years since my hair was above my shoulders.  I haven't been inside a beauty shop in nearly that whole time either as I trimmed my own.  This was a big step and change for me.  I had all one length, sans a fringe of bangs, mid-back length hair until yesterday.  And because of being so heavy for so long, I was hot and sweaty all the time so it pretty much stayed in a ponytail or pulled back in a clip all the time.  But I'd had enough of seeing those long strands wrapped around my fingers.  At least a short cut will make it seem that less is coming out.  So it was with my near 70-lb weight loss I found myself ready for a mini makeover and decided to get it cut really short yesterday.  Now I'm sporting an angled swing bob.  Losing weight is also making me brave.  I walked into a salon, picked out what I thought was an experienced hairdresser and told her my story and asked her to give me something easy to take care of, with movement but disguise the thinning sides & top.  She was so nice and very understanding......and knowledgeable.  Holy Cow was it hard to hear/feel that first snip!  But I gritted my teeth and just let the experience happen.  She wanted to know more about my surgery and so we chatted as she sheared me.  LOL.  Little did I know the entire salon was listening in to our conversation.  By the time she was done with me the rest of the beauticians had been joined in with questions, etc. and I damn near got an ovation when my hair was all fluffed and styled.  They went on and on about how cute it was on me, etc.   I really do not like being the center of attention and found myself so embarrassed by it but I knew it was coming from a good place in their hearts.  But best of all I'm not shell-shocked by the hairstyle.  I really like it and I'm about to go shower and see if I can make it look as good as she did.  I hope to see far less hair during the shampoo process too.  Boy are my co-workers gonna be surprised tomorrow! 

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