Head BAM

Hooray! Our first contribution to the Chemo Chic Project.

BAM Bamboo Beanie - review by Sue Mercer

Since losing my hair I have tried a lot of different headwear. At first I wore 
scarves and practiced with tying different styles but I always had the nagging 
fear that the scarf would come undone and I would be unawarely walking 
around with a half-exposed bald head - not a good look. After a while I learned 
to be bald and proud and had no difficulty in walking around with a bare head  
- especially in the summer when the warmth of the sun felt particularly 
sensuous and healing. However there remained a fear of being 'caught out' 
unsuccessfully trying to conceal something deemed socially unacceptable. I 
likened it to a time in Bangladesh when I had gone out wearing a very 
modest, long pashmina, wrapped around me like a skirt, only to catch it on a 
wing mirror and end up standing in the crowded street desperately trying to 
conceal my legs amidst assorted children, cattle, amputee bands and 
rickshaw drivers whilst my teenage son accused me of turning it into a circus. 
However, I digress ... 


I tried a couple of beanie hats that were ok, in that they stayed on my head, 
but I always thought that they made me look vaguely like a channel swimmer 
and I am someone who can swim without getting her hair wet anyway. 
Ordinary hats were not suitable at all; my head had strangely shrunk since 
losing my hair, so the hats tended to fall down over my eyes. 


Now the BAM is cool! It's more generous than a regular beanie. It looks stylish 
and I can dress it up with a fancy pin. I would actually go so far as to say it is 
elegant - certainly not a word I would use to describe a regular beanie. Mine is 
a lovely grey colour and well made. It is double layered and stretchy. I can pull 
it down over my eyebrows if they are looking particularly werewolfy (no-one 
ever told me that when your eyebrows grow back they can grow a little curly 
and in my case with white stripes) and it still looks good. It's generous enough 
to be able to turn up the brim or pull up at a jaunty angle that I like to think 
looks very 1930s movie star. 


The hat is made in Turkey of 68% bamboo, 28% cotton and a bit of stretchy 
elastane. Bamboo is a natural fibre that does not damage the environment 
and most importantly does not add any toxic chemicals to my delicate head. It 
is very soft and warm and does not make my head feel stifled. 


Mine is a lovely grey colour. I am very pleased with my BAM beanie and will 
be keeping it to wear even when my hair comes back. 

Sue Mercer was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia in December 2010.  She underwent three rounds of chemotherapy and then went on a 3 week healing retreat at Hippocrates Health Institute, Florida before having a bone marrow transplant on July 1st 2011.  She is now recovering well.

Editor's note: The BAM Bamboo Beanie is now on sale at only £7.50