After I lost my hair, my number one internet search, pretty much daily, was How long does it take hair to grow back after chemo? or Tips to make your hair grow fast. Losing your hair sucks. And yes, just as everyone tells you, it will grow back. But it can be frustrating.

In December of 2014 the hair (or more accurately, peach fuzz) on the top of my head started growing back while I was on Taxol (even though my eyebrows and eyelashes continued to fall out). About halfway through April, my hair stopped looking like a shaved head and I began to comb my hair over to one side (using men’s hair cream — ha!). It takes time. For me, it took about 4 ½ months to look like I had a very short “hairstyle.”

Is my hair different after chemo? I don’t know. It’s still too early to tell. I was born light blonde, and as I got older my hair turned dark blonde. Now, my hair is definitely ash brown (but I died it back to blonde!). I don’t know if this was the natural progression of my hair color or caused by chemo. My hair was also pin straight, but as it is growing back, my hair appears to have a slight wave. I definitely do not have “chemo curls,” but it seems a little different. It doesn’t lay flat like my old hair did – it’s actually kind of bouncy and really thick! My husband jokes that getting breast cancer was my elaborate plan to get even better hair.

There are vitamins and supplements you may be able to take to help your hair grow back as fast and healthy as possible (remember, your body has been depleted of nutrients from chemotherapy). However, speak to your doctor and ask your oncologist to recommend a dermatologist who specializes in cancer for safe vitamins to take in order to grow your hair back as healthy as possible.

I used to spend time searching hair inspirations such as Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, Gisele Bündchen and Blake Lively (you see the connection — long, beautiful blonde hair). But now I am proud to say that I have new hair inspirations in Mia Farrow, Jean Seberg and Anne Hathaway. Although your new short hair may not be what you always dreamed of, it can be utterly beautiful, and the “wake up and go” styling ease has been a welcome change from the countless hours I spent styling my hair prior to losing it.

I started taking pictures to track my hair growth at the end of January. My goal was to take a picture every week, but some weeks I didn’t keep up with it. I’ll be posting the pictures soon…and I hope they will give you an idea of how quickly your hair will grow back! I finished chemotherapy on February 6 and it is now the beginning of August, and I for sure have a great pixie cut, which is definitely in style!