When Sydney mother, Talia Gill, was faced with the prospect of losing her luscious locks to chemotherapy, she made a decision to take control of the situation and fearlessly embrace change.
The 39-year-old was diagnosed with grade-3 breast cancer in April this year, and was preparing herself for her first round of chemotherapy when she hit on a novel way to deal with her impending baldness; an inevitable side effect of the treatment.
A ‘hair-obsessed’ friend suggested Talia look for the ‘silver lining’ in losing her hair and see it as an opportunity to try out some shorter styles.
Talia Gill said losing her hair was hard but taking it in stages with a qualified stylist helped
She said she thought of the idea as a kind of ‘advent calendar’ to the big day’
Her oldest daughter was with her on the emotional day she shaved her hair
Their conversation, she said, led to the birth of a brilliant idea: ten haircuts in ten days.
‘I stared thinking of the haircuts as a kind of ‘advent calendar’ to the big day’, Talia told Femail.
‘It was my own weird countdown to baldness.’
The upbeat mum said her medical team had told her that once she started chemo she’d have limited time – around 21 days – before losing all her hair.
Stylist Lea-Ann Suthern supported Talia throughout her journey
The creative communications consultant wasn’t afraid to try a raft of styles including this punky Annie Lennox-inspired look
Although she’d never stepped foot into Toni&Guy in Newtown, she loved the salon’s punky feel, and decided to take a risk to ask if the trendy salon if they would consider coming on board.
With incredible luck on her side, Talia spoke with stylist Lea-Ann Suthern – who she later found out was the salon’s ambassador for the yet-to-be rolled out Pink Scissors programme.
The company’s initiative provides specialised support for those experiencing the emotional process of losing their hair through cancer treatment.
‘Cancer doesn’t run to a plan’ and Talia was beset by complications not long into chemo which pushed out her haircut schedule
Talia, and her new stylist Lea-Ann, settled on starting the ten haircuts just after she was scheduled to begin treatment.
But she explained, ‘cancer doesn’t run to a plan’ and that not long into her chemotherapy she was beset by complications.
‘The concept was for ten haircuts over ten consecutive days but we ended up having to stagger it according to what was going on with me.
‘It became an emotional and intimate journey with Lea-Ann because she ended up knowing so much about my situation.’
The red-head looked to other similarly-hued style icons for inspiration
Although losing her long hair was imminent, Talia’s recalled her first cut wasn’t too drastic.
‘It was progressive,’ she explained.’And strategic. Lea-Ann had worked with people who were undergoing chemo before so she knew more about the process of hair falling out.’
Part of the fun of trying out the different styles, the creative communications consultant said was trying out a raft of different styles.
The upbeat mum tried out looks from different era and then dressed up for photos
‘I tried out styles from a few different eras; Twiggy from the 60s, Molly Ringwald from the 80s, Annie Lennox from the 90s.’
A local St Vincent’s stepped up and ‘lent’ her clothing so she could dress up on the day and take a photo of her temporary transformation.
The pair were working against the clock though and as the treatment progressed so did the speed of the haircuts.
There was one day, she said where they had to squeeze in two looks, including the ‘big shave’ because her hair had started to fall out and get very patchy.
Her youngest daughter ‘freaked out’ after seeing Talia without hair for the first time
Her 11-year-old daughter couldn’t have been more excited at the prospect of so many different styles and even celebrated along with her at the salon when she shaved her head.
But her two-year-old, she said, struggled at first after seeing her without hair.
‘My toddler was a bit freaked out when I went from Molly Ringwald to Twiggy. But it was when I came home with a shave head that she completely broke down.
Talia’s message to others is to embrace change and take control of what you can
Now Talia’s half way through her chemo treatment – she still has three months to go – but the worst of it, she said, is more or less behind her.
She still faces more treatment – radiotherapy will be part of her follow-up – but her message to women who face a similar situation is to embrace change.
‘There’s no doubt about it, cancer sucks,’ Talia stated emphatically.
Talia hopes others faced with a similar situation will embrace her concept
‘You can’t change the fact you have cancer, and the fact you have to have chemo but the one thing you can take control of is how you lose your hair and what you can do about it.
‘In the early stages when your prognosis is uncertain, doing something like this can provide a positive distraction from endless medical appointments.
‘By embracing the fact I have cancer and being really open about it, I’ve been touched by so many people’s kindness and compassion.’