To be bald

This is what it is like to be bald. My head is always cold. I always wear either my wig, a scarf, ski cap or hat even when I am inside. When I forget to cover my head in the house, I can feel the air flow around my scalp when I walk. Odd. I cover my head when I am outside to keep me warm and to avoid the stares. I am fortunate that I am going through chemo in the winter here in Texas. I think it would be uncomfortable to always cover my head in Austin’s summer heat.

The skin on my head is soft and tender, not hard like David’s bald head. Also, my scalp is white, not flesh tone like David’s. I think the whiteness of my head is part of the reason I look so ghoulish without my hair.

I still have little wisps of hair around my face that I use to foil people when I wear hats. With my hat or wig off, these wisps of hair stick out from my head like they have static electricity. Nice, huh?

I recently put away all my hair things (brushes, combs, headbands, barrettes, etc.) and replaced them with my collection of head coverings. I used to admire women with small waists and flat tummies. Now I turn to look at women with lots of hair. Love big hair.

I still wash my head with my special designer shampoo just out of habit, but I no longer get to feel the satisfaction of big lather on my hands and head. I am sure I could get away with washing my scalp with just a bar of soap. Just like David, it now takes me less than 10 minutes to get ready to go out because I don’t need to fuss with hair. I never really have “bad hair” days--just “no hair” days for me now.