3 Ways to Tie a Headscarf & Coping with Hair Loss

3 Ways to Tie a Headscarf & Coping with Hair Loss

I went through 5 months of chemotherapy after my cancer diagnosis and like many people who undergo this treatment, I lost my hair a few weeks after my first treatment. I had a few weeks to come to terms with the idea of losing my (ahem, quite long) hair and thought that I was going to be a mess when my hair actually started falling out. But, for some reason, I just shifted into “figure it out” mode and started to experiment with tying headscarves. As a life-long lover of fashion, I just knew that I could find a way to make my new reality work for me. I did some research on YouTube and spent hours experimenting and trying to replicate the looks that I liked best. I also bought myself some pre-tied scarves from Etsy and a new makeup palette as a treat. At the beginning of this process, a little retail therapy really helped me cope!

Below are some of my favorite methods for tying a headscarf. Now that it is summer here in NC I have not been wearing the 2nd and 3rd styles below since they require the use of 2 beanies. But, the classic style still works great. If it is too hot outside, you by no means need to use the beanies that I am using in the video!

Classic Style with Beanies for Volume

Large Bun Inspired by YouTuber Glory Okings

Small Low Bun

The Experimentation Phase

Below are a few selfies that I took while I was in the experimentation phase. At some point when I had lost enough hair, I decided that I needed to cut my losses (literally) and at least preserve a ponytail of hair so that I would have a record of my natural hair color in case it grew back all gray! At that point, I took the opportunity to see what a pixie-cut might look like on me. I took some selfies of a long pixie style, which was a totally happy accident, that was just the right length after the ponytail was cut off. Then I did a very bad job of cutting it to the length of a short pixie-cut just to see what that might look like. All the while I was texting my favorite photos to friends. This process really helped me to feel better about my situation and helped soften the blow of losing my hair.

Coping with Hair Loss due to Chemotherapy
Before my husband shaved my head (an improvement to the patchy hair that I was sporting) I had him cut a ponytail of hair so that I would have a record of my natural hair color. I also took the opportunity to see what a pixie-cut might look like on me.
Coping with Hair Loss due to Chemotherapy
Coping with Hair Loss due to Chemotherapy