To cut or not to cut?

My post-chemo, newly curly hair had grown in clumps, making me feel a little bit like Bozo the Clown. I was faced with one of the most challenging post-chemo questions a woman can ask: Should I have my hair cut or not?

You see, women don't usually expect to go bald at any point in their lives. Okay, maybe some changes in texture due to biochemistry associated with pregnancy or menopause, but bald? That's for men.

So when I lost my hair to chemo, it was a shock in more ways than one. Not only did I not look like myself to myself, I actually looked like my father even more than in the past. (He started balding young, and I've always had his high forehead.)

Watching my hair grow back from practically nothing over the past few months has been a good reminder that even chemotherapy leaves the body eventually. I began to look more like myself to myself, albeit myself with the kind of 'do I used to pay money for. I still didn't have bangs, so my high forehead was clearly visible. My new curls gave hope to other women in my support group who lost their hair to chemo.

But lately even these new curls felt out of control, so today I took the leap and decided to have my hair cut. The new cut is a tad shorter than I wanted, but more even all the way around, and closer to the shape of my head. And since hair does grow back eventually, when it does, it will grow evenly and not in clumps.