Napi Horsemanship

Below is a picture of my hair a few weeks before I started chemo. I had always preferred shorter hair and even purposefully shaved my head twice. Of course the one time I was enjoying my long hair then cancer happened. I was in rough shape when I started this journey with cancer so when I was told that my hair was going to fall out I decided two things: I didn’t have the energy to take care of my hair anymore, and I wanted to donate it while I still had the chance.

I ended up cutting 8 inches an off in the hospital and donated it. The chop also helped me transition to being bald. I noticed a few hairs starting to fall out ten days after chemo. It wasn’t anything drastic like the clumps I’d seen people pull out in videos.

(Side note) This is my cancer shirt. Night sweats was a symptom of my lymphoma and the scene in Napoleon Dynamite where Pedro shaves his head from sweating had never been more relatable to me. So instead of a normal cancer sucks t shirt, I bought myself this one.

No one told me that losing your hair could be painful. I must have sensitive skin because it ended up being an uncomfortable process for me. There were spots on my head that became hot and super sensitive. I was informed that usually this burning means that clumps may start falling out now. The hair shedding had picked up at this point and I struggled deciding if I should shave my head before I went in for my second cycle, around day 40 after my first chemo treatment. EPOCH involves a five to six day stay in the hospital while you receive your bags on chemo so I had to decide to shave before or after. I ended up riding it out a little longer and not shaving it. The most annoying part was the amount of hair I was shedding everywhere. I lost a lot of hair over three days and some parts on my scalp were thinner than others. I didn’t have time to shower in the first four days because the bags of chemo are continuous. Everyday I would brush more and more of my hair out. Around day five I got to take a shower and I lost another good chunk of hair then as well. When I got home from hospital I knew it was past time. My partner shaved my head and gave me the best fade in town.

I read a very helpful article that said when you make the decision to finally shave your head that you should start by brushing your hair to get as much off as possible. When you shave your head use a number one guard. Using one that takes it to the skin will encourage a lot of ingrown hairs. When your hair falls out from chemo there is no hair growing in behind it so any hair that gets stuck under the skin stays there and gets infected. After shaving she said you can take a lint roller to your head for any other loose hairs.

Skin is target by chemo because it’s a rapidly dividing cell. Chemotherapy made me take a plunge into skin care, which I’ll get more into in another blog. I wanted companies that created good stuff for your skin. I found this company and wished I had gotten this before I even shaved my head. The shampoo is cooling and the conditioner is borderline lotion, in a good way. It has helped my scalp with flaking skin so much.

This goes on after my shower and again, another great product. It’s very light weight and helps with the dryness of my scalp.

ALSO! I purchased a silk beanie on accident at the beginning of this and it ended up being the best purchase for my hair loss. When my head got super tender it gave me relief at night for sleeping. Every time my hair moved it hurt my scalp so the beanie really protected my head while my hair fell out.

However and whenever you shave your head is your decision. There is no wrong or right way to do it. It’s your story not anyone else’s. There is so much diversity in every story I have read or watched a video on. Some try cold caps while others go and shave their heads immediately after diagnosis. I hope that my story might help or give you guidance if you’re going through a similar situation. Always feel free to reach out as well.

Thank you for reading! Long story short I am bald now!