If cancer has taught me one thing, it is that life it too short to not to take risks. It’s too short to not live fully and appreciate each moment! Prior to my diagnosis, I was the most cautious risk adverse person you’d ever meet. I was very insecure and fear controlled the majority of my decisions. I avoided the unknown, fearful of failing. After losing my breasts, my hair and most of my control, I was forced to accept a different approach to life or spend the rest of my life missing out.
In the last twelve months, following my active treatment, I have taken more risks tham I did in the past 28 years of my life. I stepped out of my comfort zone, met new friends, traveled to new places, took on new responsibilities and challenged myself to find new approaches for how I view my body, my happiness and my future.
My newest risk taking endeavor has been my hair color! After losing your hair their are two common reactions as it grows back. One approach is to protect the hair fiercely. No haircuts, no coloring and no alterations allowed. This approach makes sense. Having lost your hair, many people feel fearful to do anything that could lead to any additional loss or damage. I initially started my hair regrowth journey on this path, but as time went on my feelings quickly changed. I began to see my hair regrowth journey as something I could control and something I could have fun with. New styles, new colors, and new personas I could adopt. Over the past 12 months of my hair regrowth, I have sported many looks and while I consistently longed for my longer hair, I worked hard to love myself at each stage. I tried to embraced the persona I took on at each length and adjust my fashion accordingly.
My newest adventure included a fun new color – PINK. How fitting, since pink is my favorite color. I wanted something classy and fun without a long term commitment. My hair stylist was able to achieve all of this with a SHAMPOO. No dye was involved and the best part is there was no damage inflicted on my already color treated hair. We used the Viral Colorwash shampoo and mixed the colors pastel pink and lavender to achieve an icy pastel hue. The lighter areas of my hair picked up more of the color giving it a highlighted look, which was the perfect subtle look I was going for. The best part, is it washes out in a few days. I can’t wait to go buy full bottle of the color and keep it up.
For reference, I started coloring my hair blonde at 5 months post-chemo with an ammonia free dye. My stylist was extra concerned about protecting my baby hair as it grew back in. As time went on, I have continued to color my hair using hair care products that protect and hydrate. Pureology is my favorite line and has helped keep my hair healthy throughout all of the experiments. It’s a little pricey, but well worth the money. I am able to make the bottles last forever. For other hair care product recommendations, styling tips and tricks check out my Youtube channel tutorials or the hair posts linked below.
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