I tend to keep my hair tied up, off my neck, because of the sweltering heat in Singapore. But now after chemo and without hair I still tend to forget, & my hands reach back to retie my pony tail and then I remember. I actually feel my pony tail and phantom hair that I used to have. It’s not anything sad. Actually it’s rather nice to have that lightness of no hair especially with the weather. I might feel different if I lived in a cold country where hair keeps you warm.
This whole experience teaches me that beyond our vanities hair has a biological function. I have zero nose hairs now so tend to be sensitive to dust. Without eyelashes my eyes too feel sensitive and dryer. Hair protects us, even the unwanted hair that we remove. Arms tend to feel colder in very low temperatures, without those fine hairs.
But I sure am happy that bath time is such a cinch now without the shampooing conditioning and shaving that was the previous routine. I can be done in less than 10 minutes. And I still think it’s sexist that the pressure is on women to remove unwanted hair and not men, perpetuated by the media.