Lupus hair loss: making the most of the moss

I am thrilled to say that the hair I've lost due to last year's flare is growing back. Hurray!

I have a very nice layer of hair all over my head - a layer that I affectionately refer to as "moss." It's fuzzy, thick, and a little curly - all the makings of world class ground coverage. Thus, my days of masking my bald spots and hiding my oh-so-white scalp between strands is officially over.

Now, it's time to embrace the moss stage - appreciating the girth that it adds to my head, while creating new strategies for dealing with my evolving head of hair.  I keep thinking I should pay a visit to my hair dresser, but I've decided that I'm not ready for that. The significant length and fullness I still have in the back has been paramount for masking - and I think I want to leave myself with options. Once the moss really takes off, and sprouts turn into strands, then I think I'll find myself seeking outside assistance. Until then, I'll stick with my amateur, yet comfortable approach to hair styling in spite of hair loss.

In celebration of my significant hair growth, here's what I'm thankful for:

a) Inconspicuous hair loss: I have to be honest. I was lucky this time. You really haven't been able to tell that I've lost a ton of hair. Although my family knows differently - from both the strands of hair that appear EVERYWHERE, and the fact that we scrutinize my incremental hair growth often - most people probably wouldn't know. They might suspect something is amiss - simply because I haven't had a good hair day in months. And the fact that I don't really have a style at all. It's just kind of...there. Most of it hanging on for dear life, in fact. My friends and neighbors might also wonder why I've been wearing my hair in an up do every day for such long time, but that's okay. The fact that I maintained comb-over strands over the top of my head during this time kept the secret safe. The baldness wasn't all that noticeable, and with the arrival of the moss, I'd say I'm home free.

b) Natural hair color: I was worried about this one. As I continue to age (and why hasn't someone done something about that, by the way?), I know the grays are coming. I consider myself lucky that I haven't started coloring my hair, but I know it's around the corner. I figured with this latest round of hair loss, my body just might move up the clock on that one. So I prepared myself for my hair to grow back lighter, or even completely gray. But so far so good. The moss is my natural dark brown color - which makes these stages of growth all the more manageable.

c) Hair accessories: One really can't complain when it comes to options for adorning your hair. They really do have everything out there - from my favorite baby clips to headbands to jeweled barrettes. I continue to move with the times -  and thus my choice of hair accessory changes bi-weekly. After the middle of the summer, I was losing so much on the sides, those baby clips weren't working. So I switched to sweeping it up in the back with a little claw clip. And now that the moss is thickening up and fuzzing out, the up do is less than flattering. (Up close, the loose curly cues look pretty ridiculous!)  So although the baby side clips still don't have anything to grasp onto up high, I've started pulling my sides straight back, behind my ears. Eh, voila! A cute new way to wear my hair...until the moss is on the move.

I can hardly wait. Can you?