It has been ten months since I stopped taking the chemo that makes your hair fall out and I am starting to see some significant growth. In the back, my hair is about three inches long when I stretch the curls out. But the bangs . . . sigh . . . the bangs. My bangs continue to grow slowly. If I were to be generous, I would say they are about half the length of “too short bangs.” And then there is the “Einstein effect” as I like to call it.
I have never had curly hair, and I admit, I haven’t been very sympathetic to people who have complained about curly hair. My theory was that the rest of us spend all our time trying to put curl into our hair, so what did people with curly hair have to complain about? When my hair started coming in curly, I thought, “Yippee for me!” It turns out that curly hair is not maintenance free.
For several months, I have washed my hair, towel dried it, and gone on with my life. Boom, I’m done. But as I have started to get some length in my hair, the Einstein effect has taken over. As my hair dries, it starts to grow. It gets bushier and bushier until I look like I have a 1970’s afro. By the end of the day, I look like a crazy scientist or Albert Einstein. The only problem is that I don’t feel smarter.
As I was talking to a friend about the problem, she told me that I was supposed to use “product” on it to keep the frizzys away. Who knew? I did find some hair paste that tames it in the morning, but by evening, I’m back to the Einstein effect.
I find myself wondering what other people think of my hair. Do they think I went through a catalogue at the beauty salon and said, “I want that one?” Or do they think I have a particularly bad hair stylist? For years, people have asked me who cut my hair and I have referred them to Shawn, the magnificent. I often tease him that I want to be on commission. But as I think about it, no one has asked me who my stylist is for quite some time. Granted, I was bald for most of a year, but I have hair now. I sort of feel like I should wear a disclaimer that says, “It isn’t Shawn’s Fault!”
