A TikToker preserved the real hair she lost due to cancer for 2 years and turned it into extensions to use once she was in remission

• Allie McGuire lost her hair in 2021 while undergoing chemo for non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
• She preserved her hair and sent it off to be turned into extensions once she was in remission.

Allie McGuire waited nearly two years to have her hair back.

McGuire was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2021, as she told Insider, and she went into remission in 2022 after undergoing chemotherapy.

McGuire said her long hair started falling out after her first round of chemo. Instead of just shaving her head, McGuire cut her hair in long strands with the goal of creating extensions for herself.

"I have been waiting for my hair to grow long enough for extensions since then," she said of the moment she cut her hair off. Her hair was long enough for extensions in 2023, so McGuire found a stylist who could work with the strands she had preserved.

"I sent my hair off to her in the mail and got back the extensions," she said. "It was then pretty difficult to find a local stylist who would install the extensions, because most stylists only install ones from certain brands. Luckily, I was able to find Mindy Queen, who installed the extensions, and did an awesome job."

McGuire documented the process of turning her real hair into extensions on TikTok, garnering over 5 million views on her first video about it.

McGuire explained her thought process on saving her hair in the video, saying, "My hair was everything to me."

As she documented in another TikTok, McGuire had the extensions installed on April 18, finally getting her old hair back.

"I am literally over the moon," she said in the video. "I can't even put into words what it feels like to have my hair back on my head. This is so incredible."

"It has been a really crazy process and feels surreal to have my old hair back," McGuire told Insider of how she felt after having the extensions installed.

She went on to say that showing other cancer patients they can save their hair has been rewarding.

"It's been amazing to be able to share this experience with my community on TikTok, and to be able to spread the word that preserving your hair is a great option when you start cancer treatment," she added.