Brave The Shave - One Month On!

It has been just over a month since I shaved off all of my hair for charity, so I thought I would do a little update on how I've been getting on.

It has been strange having no hair, and I've found myself going through different stages of acceptance.

My shave day was obviously a real high. I live streamed my shave on Periscope, and I got an amazing amount of support. I ended the stream feeling fantastic, and posed for lots of photos, absolutely beaming from ear to ear. I was so proud of myself, proud of the money I had raised. I think I was still smiling when I went to bed that night.

The following morning I was brought back to earth with a bang. With the excitement over and the makeup washed away, I looked in the mirror and didn't feel quite as fantastic as I had the night before. I didn't have much time to reflect on the situation because I had to go to work, and wear a wig for the first time. I'd chosen the wig a while before I shaved my hair, and had decided to mix it up and get a blonde wig. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but on the day after shaving my hair and feeling like I'd lost my identity a bit, it didn't feel like such a good idea.

I felt weird, looking at my reflection and seeing a blonde person I barely recognised. I couldn't help but think it looked so much like a wig, and I was conscious of it all day. It was such a relief to get home that evening and get the wig off. I still felt rubbish though, so I replaced the wig with a hat. The hat stayed on my head for almost week. A week.  Instead of feeling proud of my appearance, I hid my head with a hat. I didn't even have the confidence to bare my head around the house, and only took it off for bed.

When I posted the first pictures of my shaved hair on to social media I got such an overwhelming response from people. So many comments on how fabulous I looked, and that I really carried the look well. Honestly though, once the excitement of the event had worn off, I didn't feel fabulous or beautiful. I just felt a bit rubbish about it.

I've had some pretty whacky hairstyles and colours in my time, and I've pulled all of them off with confidence. I really though this would be no different, that I would just embrace the style and rock it, but it didn't quite work out that way, not straight away at least.

I think it was just a bit of a shock to the system, it was a pretty big change after all. And sometimes, big changes take a bit of getting used to. And that is exactly what I'm doing, getting used to it. It's short, and it's going to be short for a while, so it's time to accept my new look and just go with it.

It has grown about 1cm since I shaved. I have been taking a selfie every day so I can see it growing, and while it doesn't feel much longer, you can really see the progress in the photos!


1 month of hair growth

The above left was taken the morning after the big shave, and the photo on the right shows my hair on the 28th of September, which was exactly one month after. 

I can't wait until it's long enough to start playing with it a bit. I'm planning on having a bit of fun with my hair, and I'm going to bleach it and add in some colours, but that's a long way off yet! 

As a final note, I would like to say how amazing it is to be able to step out the shower and just rub my hair dry with a towel. I've gained so many hours in a eek that would previously have been spent washing, drying, straightening and curling my hair. What a chore, I'm not missing that at all! I would like to tell you that I'm using those extra hours to do something awesome like write a novel, but that would be a lie! Oh well...





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17 comments:

  1. WOW I had no idea you did this, where the hell have i been he he. I have to say your are an amazing person doing this I know for a fact there is no way I could do this so your amazing hunni. You look lovely too it suits you although to you it will feel so weird. xx WELL DONE!!!

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  2. You should be so incredibly proud of yourself Lauren, this was such a brave thing to do and i'm in awe of you. I don't think i would ever have the right amount of courage to do this myself so well done. You look amazing too and totally pull this look off so don't be so hard on yourself! xxx

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  3. I am in awe of your dedication to the charity! Seriously, well done! I know I would miss my long hair so much too, and it does feel like a proper sacrifice to give something like your hair up. x
    | www.ibelieveinromeo.com

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  4. Wow - I hadn't seen that you'd done this. Fantastic and yes total dedication - it's looking good and hope you are more comfortable with it.

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  5. Wow! Well done on doing this. I'm not sure I could be that brave as I have always had long hair.

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  6. I am in total awe of your bravery. It such a BIG deal for a female to shave off their hair and you should be very proud of raising both funds and awareness for Macmillan. Well done you.

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  7. Such a wonder and brave thing to do.
    I can understand why you went with the wig but honestly you look fabulous

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  8. Such a wonder and brave thing to do.
    I can understand why you went with the wig but honestly you look fabulous

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  9. A huge well done. I don't think I'd be able to do it. For what it's worth, I think you look fabulous! Xx

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  10. I admire anyone that does this, because selfishly I just couldn't bring myself to do it! One of my students who is 13 recently did this and managed to raise in excess of £3,000 in five days! Very inspirational xxx

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  11. I think what you have done is amazing and that you look fantastic. I totally get where you are coming from though as I think it would take some getting use to going from long hair to none. xx

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  12. I bet this has been a really strange thing to get used too, but it's lovely what you have done and how you are embracing it. I can't wait to see what you do with it next

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  13. You have the most stunning eyes, don't feel down because you have sacrificed your hair to help others and that is a truly beautiful thing to do x

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  14. I missed this somehow! Well done to you - you are braver than me! You look amazing though, gosh it suits you. Kaz x

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  15. Such a great job doing it. Very brave and I'm not surprised you're feeling a bit lost without your hair.

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  16. You are so brave! The amount of emotions you're feeling are normal and I understand it can be very overwhelming. I think as soon as it gets bigger you'll rock a pixie style ;)

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  17. You look fab beautiful lady! and do you know what, this really shows off what gorgeous eyes you have. You should be so proud of yourself xoxo

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