It Will Grow Back...

So. The day that I never thought would happen has finally come.

No, I'm not about to go back to the 9 to 5. Nope, baby A has not yet made my day by uttering those long-awaited words; 'I am a child prodigy'. And nope, I haven't awoken from a sleepy, six month coma to find that my current predicament was all an anxiety-induced dream.

No, no, no ! You see, today I have realised for the first time in half a year that I really, really, badly need... a haircut.

After my adventures with wigs, headwraps, turbans, scarves and all things sculptural, I have finally arrived at the day when the hair that grows on my head has outgrown me. No longer do I have a short bone-straight crop that sits sensibly on my scalp and just seems to grow into a shape that one work colleague described as 'chic' when she came round to visit me. It seems that my follicles are at long last, remembering the curl pattern of my previous afro hair and rebelling against the straightness brought about by the hardcore chemo. My curls are coming back, fast and furious and in the meantime, my hair has gone from stylish to scruffy in just a few days. At long last, I'm beginning to understand the plight of my caucasian sisters who seem to often moan about needing a haircut every couple of days, while I'd sit there twisting the ends of  hair that hadn't seen a pair of scissors in years. I have discovered that unlike afro hair, straight (or straightish) hair does not hide a multitude of sins or bad hair days. My current hair, which once hung down has now decided that it wants to hang out and I am currently sporting a look that is somewhere in between a pixie cut and a fro. After all my rants about not being able to find a wig that replicated my own natural curls, it seems ironic to admit that I'll miss my short, straight hairstyle. It was low maintenance, cheap and made me stand out from the crowd. It chose me rather than the other way around, but it seemed to work. I received more compliments about my current hair than I have ever done in my entire life. And while I welcome the arrival of my old afro hair, since it will signal the removal of all those nasty toxins out of my system, I think I'll miss the new identity that often comes with a radical makeover. What I didn't realise before (since I've pretty much always had hair) is that to other women, a daringly short, peroxide looking hairstyle on another woman suggests confidence and creativity. It's not competitive in the way that weaves, or the more elaborate 'i spent £200 to look like this' hairstyles are. And the best thing is... you can generously apply copious amounts of make-up and no-one will ever accuse you of being vain. I have truly enjoyed my sojourn into the land of the crop.  

But now, I need a trim and the dilemma that I now face is... who can I get to cut it ?  At the moment, it doesn't really have the texture of afro hair so a visit to my local Afro-Caribbean barbers' is out and I just don't feel right getting it cut in a European hairdressers since I have never done this before and wouldn't even know what to ask for. So I've compromised. I've heard of an Asian hairstylist who is very good and who cuts both. I've made an appointment to get it cut tomorrow and I'm damn well hoping that I leave her salon looking a lot better than when I entered it. I am aware that this could all go horribly wrong, but at least there's one thing that I know for sure... however badly things might turn out, this time it will grow back.