I have been saying since my hair came in (first white, now a mix of gray, silver and black) that I was done with coloring. It is what it is. After nearly a year of harsh chemicals flooding my body, radiation and a five year commitment to Tamoxifen and all of it’s lovely accompanying side effects, I’m just not feeling the urge to slather smelly color on my head every 4-6 weeks. For that matter, I’m not going back to many of the products I’ve used in the past. During radiation I started using Tom’s natural deodorant. Once you get used to not smelling like a meadow at sunset or a tropical beach it’s not so bad. If it’s safe to use during radiation, I’m good. I am slowly cleaning out my environment as well as what goes into and on my body. Will it prevent a recurrence? No idea. Did I get cancer because of my dying my hair and using deodorants with aluminum and parabens? No idea. I’m even cutting back *gasp* on alcohol. Okay.. that’s not that hard. I drank very little through the months of treatment and after an emotional week around my sister’s birthday when we had several evenings out, averaging about 2 drinks a day, I really felt kind of sick by the end of the week. I don’t have to be hit over the head with a swizzle stick to know why. I’ve given up diet soda and my caffeine intake is pretty minimal. My diet was pretty good otherwise, lots of fruits, vegetables, grains and protein but there is a lot of room for improvement (always).
Oh yeah.. back to my hair and the reason for this post.. the reason there is no turning back now is my license is due for renewal this week. Yeah.. I get to have my picture taken at the DMV while just getting my hair back after chemo. That’s gonna be a whole lot of forehead. DMV photos are so lovely to begin with. This should be good. I could renew on line but I haven’t looked like my last photo (2006) in a while and never will again. My hair is long and black. I was about 25 lbs heavier. Anyway, feel sorry for the clerk, I will have no shame in playing the cancer card to get her to take my picture over (and over if need be) if it’s as bad as I anticipate. Wish me the DMV luck.
mainelyhopeful 
You are truly braver than I was! My license also came up for renewal just as the chemo curls began to sprout up like short curly grass–I opted for online while I still had the chance. It’s the cop’s problem if he can’t figure out it’s me! As to all the removal of toxins/chemicals in the diet and on the hair and skin, the only one I haven’t removed is the hair color, but the stylist managed to find one that’s not too damaging/smelly/toxic (hopefully!) just because my hair and skin coloring changed so drastically that the hair color no longer looked natural with my face–weird!! But the rest of my world is now filled with lots of natural, organic products. Who knows if it makes a difference, but it makes me feel like I’m trying, anyway! So glad to hear you’re hair is coming back and you’re life is getting back to the normal day-to-day! It’s good to be alive!
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I’m brave or lazy. Probably a combination of the two. I’m sure there are many hair products on the market that are safe and everyone should do what feels right/good to them. And yes. It is good to be alive 🙂
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It’s funny, just after I finished chemo I also had to renew my license, and chose to wear a wig (one of the few times I wore it). I hate the picture, but I can’t be bothered to re-do it.
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I have enough hair to make a wig uncomfortable. Not that I was ever comfortable with it. I only have to live with this picture for six years *sob
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It’ll be okay. Who looks at license pictures anyway? None of those people really care (or will remember) what you look like.
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True. It’s not like I get carded anymore.
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Good luck! My license came up for renewal in the middle of chemo. I remembered just in time and raced to get it done…..with a full head of hair. Two days later it was shaved off. LOL! Stand tall and be proud, I commend you for going with natural products and not dyeing your hair. Just might have to get on that bandwagon myself.
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Ooh.. good timing! I have put if off as long as I can. I was hoping for another half inch or so 😉
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I use Tom’s! I love the lavender or something (I noticed that most of them have Propylene Glycol and I still do all I can to stay away from that)….and then one of my docs said stay away from Secret. Then the other said – not enough data. But…I’m not commenting to talk about that. I’m commenting because my hair was kind of growing out from my surgery and then my silly girl who does my hair cut it too short and I feel it’s growing in all over again! GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
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oh no! Hopefully it grows fast.
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HAH. I hope so too! My mom assures me the scar isn’t visible…so that’s the main thing to me. 🙂
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After coloring my hair every 2 weeks, I stopped about 5 years ago. And, I love it. No more smelly, chemical-ridden concoctions. The last dye I used was a white blond to color my hair after I bleached all the faux color out of it. It didn’t take long for it to fade into a nice mellow color that ranges between gray, white and a bit of pale yellow. Sounds hideous, but I get more compliments on my natural hair than I ever did with the died mess.
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Actually, it sounds beautiful!
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I’ve been hoping that my hair would stay this white color, but from what I read, that’s too much to wish for 😉
Good luck on the license picture 😉
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I was hoping to keep the white too. Oh well.
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