Having a clipping done. Front left temple area. They said they would make a c shape incision behind my hair line…
My surgeon only cut about an inch or two wide strip within the hairline from the right side of my forehead to right in front of my right ear. Because it is within the hairline, I was able to part my hair and have it cover it completely once it was healed enough to do so. It is not noticeable at all and no one ever believes me when I say I had brain surgery. The hair does take a long time to grow back though. I am 8 months out and I have about two inches that have grown out so far. This was one of my worries as well but the surgeon assured me that he would try his best to make it as cosmetically appeasing as possible
Nope, no shaving here! Same kind of incision, but on the right side, for my clipping. It was a longer incision than I expected (maybe even 5-6 inches? I never measured it), but you really couldn't see it, with my longish hair. My surgeon made a big point of telling me there would be "no shaving!", like it was a huge benefit, and at the time all I could think of was "yippee, that's great, but I'm a lot more worried about what you'll be doing inside my skull than outside of it!" But once the surgery was over, I was so glad to have my hair...vanity took back over, and it was good to feel as normal as possible as soon as possible.
I did have some extra shedding-type hair loss in the weeks/months after surgery, just extra strands coming out when washing/brushing it, sort of like what happens after you have a baby, if you've ever done that. I think it's common after any major surgery. I have pretty thick hair, so it wasn't noticeable to anyone else but me, and it did grow back, for sure. I did have a lot of scalp numbness and some itching for months after surgery. It's been almost two years and I still think the crown of my head feels a little different that it did before surgery. I also had some weird sensations with the eyebrow area muscles and nerves on the surgery side-- a little twitching, it was a little harder to wink/blink, etc., some major dry eye and tears, for a few months. I don't think everyone gets that, but don't freak out if you notice something that way. It also took a while to resolve (but it did!)
Good luck!
Thanks! I know it’s such a vain thing to care about during all this but we are still women and once I accidently cut my hair too short and cried for months… Lol
At first I hated how I looked but over time I am learning to accept it and know how blessed I am to have come out of this whole ordeal unscathed. I still do get upset at times when I look at myself and am still very self conscious about it. I am hoping that I can embrace it and show it off sometime soon! There’s nothing at all wrong with worrying about this aspect, but focus on staying strong and getting through the recovery. Cosmetics are always fixable!
No full shaving for me, just the c shape about a 1/4 inch wide. I cannot grow hair there any longer but I went short and grey and love it! Nobody can even notice it unless I point it out. Good luck with your surgery we'll be here cheering you on! Carol
Thanks so much everyone! Finding this group was one of the best things ever! You are all so amazing and so strong and really help!
This is a picture of me 6 days post clipping taking a 1+ mile walk in SF. I was 65 then and I have had no problems since my clipping a year ago.