Top Ten Worst Places to Lose Your Hair

When I learned that I would have to experience IV chemo, I confess that one of the first things I was concerned about was losing my hair. I've always had a lot of it and, frankly, it's always been one of those things that I love to complain about because I have a lot of hair and I do like it. Even though I'm not the most "girly" girl, it was mortifying to think about being bald, so the first thing we bought as I prepared for chemo was a wig.

I wore it once.

It's amazing how those things that you think will be huge and devastating aren't always as bad as you think it will be. Plus, Florida is HOT and wearing a wig in the summer (I had IV chemo in June/July of 2017) was just untenable, so I didn't.

But.

I didn't just lose the hair on my head, I lost my hair everywhere else on my body too. I had no idea and frankly didn't prepare for that eventuality, at all. So, this is my rather tongue-in-cheek list of the top worst places to lose your hair!

1. Pubic hair

I like to say that chemo is the cheapest and least painful Brazilian I've ever received. Thinking that's all I have to say about that. ;)

2. Toes

OK, so I have hair on my toes. Lots of people do. My toe hair didn't all leave and now it's fully back. I think I could definitely do without toe hair and I'm still mystified that my toes feel the need to have hair.

3. Armpits

This one is at the beginning because it's not such a bad place to lose hair. I was super happy during chemo when I didn't have to shave my armpits. The downside is that there's nothing to catch or absorb the perspiration that inevitably accumulates, so it's both good and bad, I suppose.

4. Random chin hairs

At the beginning, it's not actually a bad thing to lose random chin hairs. I also wish someone would send a message to my chin that it doesn't need hair and should not be producing them. Just like the toes, I'm quite mystified as to why my chin feels it must have hair.

5. Arm hair

I almost didn't notice that I'd lost my arm hairs until I noticed that I was getting more sun on my forearms than I was used to. Not such a huge issue, but I'm fair, and I live in Florida, so also not great.

6. Leg hair

I've never really liked shaving my legs, and this was the one area I thought I would celebrate when I didn't have hair. My thighs definitely got the memo and dutifully shed their hair. However, my calves did not fully understand the memo and only allowed patches of hair to fall out. Wasn't on my list of to-dos to shave my legs, so I dealt with patchy leg hair for quite a while.

7. Eyebrows

You have no idea how much your eyebrows define your face and assist with expressions until they are gone. I've always had rather bushy eyebrows that I had to pluck and pluck and pluck because my hair grows like it's in a contest for the fastest-growing hair.

My eyebrows didn't come back fully, and I've had to get comfortable with a whole list of beauty supplies I'd rather live without; also, I'm pretty bad at it still, so inevitably, I'll draw odd expressions on my face.

8. Eyelashes

These lovely and important hairs protect the eyes and frame the eyes, and it's amazing how naked the entire face looks without eyelashes. I lost my eyelashes last when I'd finally just gotten comfortable that maybe they wouldn't fall out. They've grown in stubby and sparse, and I've embraced the possibility of fake eyelashes whenever possible.

9. Head

This is the most obvious and visible place to lose hair, but what they don't prepare you for is how long it takes to grow back and how weirdly it grows back.

And, the last on the list because it truly is the WORST place to lose your hair...

10. Nose hair

My nose hair is normally quite well-behaved and stays inside my nostrils where it belongs, not escaping where it would need to be plucked. When I was nearly halfway through chemo, I realized that my nose was running nonstop and wouldn't stop.

I had to put Kleenex boxes all around the house, and I was wiping my nose on my sleeve the way I tell my kids not to and wondering why I had a cold all the time. And then I realized that that wasn't the case at all; I had just finally lost my nose hairs. Those nose hairs are pretty darn important, apparently.

Where did you lose your hair first? Where is the worst place for you to lose hair? Did you wear a wig outside or go hatless?