These are my very favorite, with a major shout-out to The Cottage Basket of Homewood, Alabama. Had they not carried them, Banded2Together would never have been on my radar.

Chemo hair re-growth is a funny and unpredictable thing. It is just another delightful example of this particular fact of life – control is but an illusion.

One month you’re GI Jane, the next you’re Pigpen a la the Peanuts gang.

And just around the time you’re starting to get used to rocking a pixie style, hair growth hits overdrive (unevenly, but still).

Some of it’s wavy, some is honest to goodness curly – and a better humidity gauge than Accuweather.

All of it is simultaneously indecisive/noncommittal about texture, so you end up with this bizarre mix of sort of thick frizz.

You stop wearing headscarves because it’s either A.) too hot, B.) you have enough hair that it gives you a super unflattering flathead. But you still feel a little stark walking around with this rapidly evolving helmet that is clearly more than peach fuzz but also less than a style that looks like you chose it on purpose.

Enter the almighty headband. Normal ones are cute – I own several – but I can’t go more than half a day before my temples start to hurt from them.

On a trip back home to Birmingham last fall, I had a little extra time before the return flight. Having said goodbyes to family and with a little down time in one of my favorite parts of town anyway (lookin’ at you, Homewood), I popped into a cute little gift shop I’d never heard about before – The Cottage Basket.

That’s where I found the headband that became my hands down go-to style – specifically the Five-Star Headbands for Women. Rather than fabric being wrapped outside a hard shell (hello, self-induced headache), these are held together by a soft band – and they don’t slip.

That day in Homewood, I picked up a Jeweled Luxe Headband (black and gold and definitely not like anything I’d worn before). I wasn’t sure if it would be an occasional piece or what, but let me tell you I wear that at least three times a week, and always feel polished, presentable and pretty when it’s part of my ensemble.

I loved it so much that I ended up ordering three more of the Original 1″ Headbands for Women, and I will stand in my closet and build an entire outfit around one. Yep, they are that practical, comfy and cute.

I’ll probably keep wearing them long after my hair gets back to messy bun length. It’s windy as all get out in Texas, and I don’t always want to deal with the ballcap look (or the slightly obstructed vision you have to put up with when you wear one).