a kind of silly question..but it'd be nice to know..

[makaylasmom]

I have very long hair- and I must say it is a pain in the behind now. Whats hardest for me is the length of time it takes me to dry it! I am seriously thinking about getting a good majority of it cut off. How does one donate to that charity? Locks of hair?

[LEELEE85]

Angela - How come its a pain now??? Are you just over long hair or since you've had an op its more harder to look after????

Cos my hair is long i think it ends exactly half way down my back and i really dont want to cut it or get rid of it.....

Lee

[bbest]

My hair is shoulder length and super curly. I had a wonderful nurse in the hospital who would comb it for me and put it in a ponytail. When I got home, I would twist it and clip it in place with one of those hair clip things everyone wears these days. I just didn't feel like messing with it.

[abhbarry]

Locks of Love

Thanks to all who replied to my question about cutting hair before surgery. I'm still undecided, but to answer another question, Locks of Love is a charity organization that makes wigs for those with cancer. There is a website for it: http://www.locksoflove.org

It gives directions on how you can donate. Your hair must not be colored though.

Best,
Anya

[CurvySAT05]

After my first surgery we (my mom and I) decided to use the waterless shampoo to keep my hair clean. That stuff worked wonders. Another tip to keep it looking fresh is baby powder. If you sprinkle just a little bit up towards the roots it can make oily hair look fresh again (just a little something I picked up along the way) just make sure to work it all in the hair otherwise you will look grey and then there goes your hairstylists work.
After my second surgery I decided to stray away from the waterless shampoo and go to the salon. I didnt want to just put chemicals in my hair that would not wash out for 2 weeks, I needed to feel clean. The amount of time that it took to wash/rinse was not that bad for me (and I am fused T4-L2). I guess it all depends on the person. That day they washed, dried, and straightened my hair. Probably took an hour. This was less than 2 weeks post op. It will depend on how you are feeling, but if you are up to it and it is ok with your surgeon, I dont see why you couldnt go have your hair colored. Get yourself pampered. Maybe even get a manicure and a pedicure (on a different day of course so that you are not up for too long).
Good luck with that and I hope your nurse enjoys her biscotti.

[Shari]

I think the hair thing is an important issue for us. When our hair looks good, we feel better about ourselves. Some salons now have ways to wash your hair without leaning backward or forward.

I got a perm right before my surgery, thinking it would look good for a while without having to mess with it. I couldn't hold my arms up long enough to do my hair for several months. For me, my hair was an issue.

Shari

[sweetness514]

Some salons now have ways to wash your hair without leaning backward or forward.

Shari

That's interesting, never heard of it. I am going to the salon today to get a haircut and it hurts my neck too much to lean backwards so I will ask her to wet it with a bottle(spray), hope it works well. I'll ask about if they ever heard of this you're talking about but knowing them they'll be clueless,

Edited to say: I asked and they were clueless lol

[lelc2002@yahoo]

I had another question for my surgeon's nurse so I did e-mail her about the hair question...she said I could do it in the shower because at 7 weeks, the incision is well healed up...or go to the haircutters/salon & I would be fine leaning back(straight) WITHOUT my brace(yippee) so she says...think I'll try the shower thing first.........Ly

[SandyB]

Post-op Haircut

I made arrangements with my hairsytlist to come to my house after my surgery. It was probably about 6 or 7 weeks after. She cut it on my porch; I didn't ask her to color, but I have very thick short hair and needed a haircut desparately. She was very nice to come, but I paid her well. It went straight into her pocket as it was not through the salon.

[katiev25]

I was getting foils by week 4 and just this weekend i was able to go fully back to blonde. The hairdresser's didn't want to do it too early because the peroxide and aneasthetic apparently react badly together and your hair can fall out. Happy to say, It's all there. As for the sink to have your hair washed over, I was practically sitting upright with packed towels in between me and the basin.

[sweetness514]

Hair loss

Since this is a hair thread, I had been wondering if any of you had experienced hair loss for the first year after surgery. It never fails, with all three surgeries it happens to me-I lose a lot of hair, nothing that is too dramatic but a pain to pick up-and it's like when a woman gives birth, with the hormone changes the hair falls. I read this when it happened to me the first time after I had stopped taking birth control in my twenties, and on a panflet about hair loss it said that anesthesia causes it. Just another one of those weird side effects.

[summer]

Hmmmm.......I thought my hair was falling out more than usual. I colored my hair at home and went to the salon 4 months post-op without a problem.
I cut my hair short before surgery and was soooo glad I did. I just felt it was easier to manage

[Shari]

I had quite a bit of hair loss after my surgery for several months. I would comb my hair after washing it and find a lot of hair. Everyone told me it was because of the anethetsic. That problem went away after a few months.

The ones that grew back at my age are now mostly gray.

Shari

[lelc2002@yahoo]

shari----glad you said that! I just noticed yesterday while going to Phsyical therapy, I was combing my hair in the car & could'nt believe all the hair coming off on the brush!!! thought it was related to the surgery....Ly

post-op-about 8 wks...& bored now...want to do more & can't.....!!!!

[Shari]

Hi Lynne,

At first my husband helped me with my showering, and the combing of my hair. When I finally started to do it myself, my comb and brush would be full of hair. When I asked him if it was happening when he was combing my hair, he said yes, but he didn't want to tell me.

It does stop after a while, but it did make me a little nervous at the time. I would take a shower, then go sit on the deck to let my hair dry. Every time I would run my hands through my hair, I had hair in my hands.

Shari