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Hair Hair Hair - Another question

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Comments

  • Lilah
    Lilah Member Posts: 2,631
    edited December 2009

    Wow Goldie what a great journey that hair collage is!  I am getting excited now -- like maybe it really IS possible my hair will grow back :)

    And Trish thanks for that (knowing how I feel) -- I know you DO but it is nice to see it in print!

    Cheers,

    Lilah

  • JudyNaomi
    JudyNaomi Member Posts: 209
    edited December 2009

    I have really enjoyed reading all the posts over the last day or so!

    Suzette, my hair came in very gray, but I colored it - It was quite gray before chemo, but it was long so it didn't seem so noticeable. It is just fine to want to look good!

    Hugs to all for a good night - Judy xxxxx

  • suzwes
    suzwes Member Posts: 765
    edited December 2009

    Lori and Judy, thanks for the encouragement.  I think I'll have mine colored or highlighted at least.  I'm almost 12 weeks post chemo - any suggestions on when I should have it colored?  My hubby and I are taking a trip to Cancun in mid January and I'd really like it colored before we go.

     Thanks so much - Suzette

  • JudyNaomi
    JudyNaomi Member Posts: 209
    edited December 2009

    Hi Suzette

    I had mine colored just before Thanksgiving, which was around 4 months pfc. I used the most natural product that I could find.

    Good luck and hang in there!

    Hugs to all, Judy xxx

  • goldie0827
    goldie0827 Member Posts: 6,835
    edited December 2009

    Suz, I colored mine at 16 weeks with a non permanant color. Natural Instincts (I think) by Clairol. There were 2 kind, one that washed out rather quickly and one that washed out after like 30 washes, I chose that one. Then I think I did it a second time, and it was like it wasn't washing out, so I think that is when my own color started to come back. I had highlights/lowlights put in my hair the first part of Aug. So a lot of that has grown out. I would maybe suggest, if you were going with a permanant color/highlights, wait until it gets a little closer to your trip, you wouldn't want to have roots!!!

    Lori

  • ChrisC433
    ChrisC433 Member Posts: 70
    edited December 2009

    Lori...your hair really took off!  I love the Sept. pic with the flat iron.  That is how I usually style my hair and I can't wait until it gets long enough to pull off that style.  I am 6 months out and my hair is about 3 to 3 1/2 inches long and very curly!!  The think the Arimidex and then Aromasin has slowed it down some.  I don't do much to style...some mouse or curl definer and run my fingers through it.  Bangs seem to be avoiding me!!

    Take care and thanks again for posting!

    Chris

  • JanetH77
    JanetH77 Member Posts: 10
    edited December 2009

    I appreciate your hair journal, too, Lori.  I finished chemo on 9/29, have some hair growth, but not as much as you show in your first picture - so I am running a bit slower than you did with new growth.  I'm grateful for what I do have!  Is your hair still curly, or has the curl relaxed over time?

  • goldie0827
    goldie0827 Member Posts: 6,835
    edited December 2009

    Chris, you are quite welcome. I have found that taking the pictures, helps me out, to see my growth. Sometimes I feel as tho it is not growing much and I'll take a picture and when I compare it to the one before, then I can see the growth. I chose to do a picture every month as opposed to weekly. Did think I would be able to see enough growth to make me happy! Using the flat iron takes forever, especially since I never used one. So I don't wear it that way very often. I did ACT and currently am on Arimidex.

    Janet, unfortunately....the curls are still there. Tight little ringlets! The length is starting to weigh it down just a tad, and maybe if I were to cut about 3" off, it might be starting to straighten a little. But uh uh, no way! Not when I'm trying to get it long again. I have heard other girls say, that wear their hair short, that the curls are gone, and mine might be...if I were doing a short style.

    I stop by and read every day here, just don't post much. But I'll be back with another picture in about a month or so.

    To Hair...... Lori

  • suzwes
    suzwes Member Posts: 765
    edited December 2009

    Thanks for the advice Judy and Lori. Keep the posts coming everyone, I love reading them - they give me hope that my hair will eventually be longer again (even though the logic side of my brain knows it will grow - the other side of the brain worries a lot that it won't grow!). 

    Happy holidays to everyone.

    Suzette

  • JudyNaomi
    JudyNaomi Member Posts: 209
    edited December 2009

    Suzette, you are very welcome! It will come!

    Hugs to all for a good weekend, Judy xxx

  • hrf
    hrf Member Posts: 706
    edited December 2009

    Today I started using a product called "intragen" which is supposed to stimulate hair growth. I hope it works. It's a 6 week course of treatment that includes 1 ampule of product to be massaged in on a daily basis and shampoo to be used 2 times a week. The hairdresser says it works. The onc still hasn't called back with a referral to a dermatologist. Guess I'll have to call again on Monday but I hate bugging them.

  • JudyNaomi
    JudyNaomi Member Posts: 209
    edited December 2009


    Good luck with the new product Helen - let us know how it goes.

    We have been snowed in all weekend - it is quite something out there!

    Hugs to all for a warm night, Judy xxx

  • bbd
    bbd Member Posts: 18
    edited December 2009

    Thank you all for your replies and support. I did go short..even though my hair was only shoulder length it was a shock. I am glad I did. People have been kind with compliments.  I think it will help to have a new look to focus on while I wait for chemo.  Wig shopping next.....one adventure after another.

  • hrf
    hrf Member Posts: 706
    edited December 2009

    I will definitely let everyone know how the new product does. I'm assuming that I won't see anything for at least 2 - 3 weeks. The naturopath also gave me a product for hair growth -it's a Chinese herb but I won't start it yet because I want to see if the first product makes a difference.

  • Unknown
    edited December 2009

    Hi Ladies...question for anyone.  My treatments finished (chemo and rads) Apr 29/09 and the hair on my head has grown back just fine and dandy.  Not so much the eyebrows and eyelashes.  The eyebrows are so sparse I have to powder them to make it look like I have eyebrows. Any rough idea has to how long it might take to actually get my eyebrows back to normal.  I am seriously considering a tattoo technique called Feathering where they tattoo the eyebrows.  Thanks gals.

  • JudyNaomi
    JudyNaomi Member Posts: 209
    edited December 2009

    Hi Purpleme - I finished chemo in July and after my brows and lashes fell out, they came back quite quickly. But - I had my eyebrows shaped before Thanksgiving and they haven't grown back since, I am not sure why, I hope that I haven't done any damage...So I think that everyone is different and the whole lash and brow thing is very unpredictable.

    bbd - thinking of you - good luck! Hope the treatment is manageable for you.

    Helen - good to hear from you!

    Take care all, hugs, Judy xxxxx

  • Janet22664
    Janet22664 Member Posts: 18
    edited December 2009

    Hi,

    In the past you ladies  wrote that eyebrows and eyelashes fall out a second time.  Although I've tried to find those postings, this thread is just too long...  So I was wondering, when does the second "fallout" happen?  I'm about 15 weeks PFC.  Two weeks ago I was happy with my brows and lashes, along with the fact that my mascara actually had something to hang onto again.  But, in the last couple of days, I think they both have thinned out.  Am I crazy?

    Janet

  • suzieq60
    suzieq60 Member Posts: 1,422
    edited December 2009

    Hi everyone,

     I am having TCH every 3 weeks and my hair started to fall out after the first treatment. I got it buzzed and it continued to fall out and then stopped. I have a fine grey fuzz all over. I haven't lost any arm/leg hair, pubes still intact. I'm 2 weeks out from my 2nd treatment and my hair is NOT falling out but growing.  I must be tough. Anyone else have this happen?

    Sue

  • JudyNaomi
    JudyNaomi Member Posts: 209
    edited December 2009

    Dear all,

    I am almost 5 months pfc and my lashes are just starting to come out again. I am not happy about it, but it is what it is. I had heard that this would happen. I had my last taxol on 27th July. I am hoping that this will be the last time.

    I wish you all the best for the Holidays and a very Happy and Healthy 2010!

    Thank you all for all the love and support that goes around this board and for showing that we cannot be beaten!

    Hugs to all, Judy xxx

  • hrf
    hrf Member Posts: 706
    edited December 2009

    Happy holidays to everyone and wishing all a very healthy new year. ....and quick hair growth to all as well...

  • JudyNaomi
    JudyNaomi Member Posts: 209
    edited December 2009

    I'll second that Helen, Hugs, Judy xoxox

  • Lilah
    Lilah Member Posts: 2,631
    edited December 2009

    Aw Judy sorry to hear about your eyelashes 5 months PFC!  I wish I had your hair :)  I have no hair, no eyelashes, no eyebrows.  It is SO fun (not). 

    Lilah

  • Vegasmom
    Vegasmom Member Posts: 3
    edited December 2009

    I too have lost my eyelashes & eyebrows, about 3 monthes after finishing my chemo. (I never lost them during chemo) I am still on herceptin.  My hair on my head is growing slowly but surely, and the eyelashes look like they are growing, but my eyebrows will not grow!!!  I too am wondering if my eyebrows will ever grow back or if I should get them tatooed.  Did anyone else have this eyebrow problem 3 monthes after chemo & did they eventually grow back???

    Suepen, just wanted to say TCH my hair started to really fall out on day 17 after my first chemo treatment. The majority of it was gone within 3 days.  Every treatment it just continued to fall out more.  Don't hold onto it, cuz  I did, what little hair that was left will fall out after chemo, when the new starts growing in.    

  • suzieq60
    suzieq60 Member Posts: 1,422
    edited December 2009
    VegasMom: My problem is that it started falling out 2 weeks after 1st treatment, so I had a No2 buzz cut. About half of it fell out, then it stopped. 2 weeks after 2nd treatment it hasn't started falling out again and it's growing!!! I'm not holding on to it, just frustrated that it won't fall out when it's supposed to - crazy!!!
  • Unknown
    edited December 2009

    Hey Vegasmom, I am 10 months post chemo and my eyebrows are soooooo sparse they may as well not even be there.  It appears to me that there has been absolutely no growth in months.  I am checking out the tattoo thing.  

  • hrf
    hrf Member Posts: 706
    edited December 2009

    I'm 6 1/2 months PFC. My brows thinned during chemo but didn't fall out. Following, they have fallen out twice. I now have very sparse brows but there is still some growth coming. I don't expect them to fully grow in. I have been pencilling them in .... but I've been pencilling in my brows since I was a teenager ... they just needed a little extra. I might look into tatooing now because it's a totally different situation .. it's not just a fill in that is needed...it's a real brow.

    I'm also having trouble with my hair so hair is a huge issue for me still. I think I'm the exception though. Most people do better than me. (this is my second time having chemo so I think my hair follicules have had enough)

  • JudyNaomi
    JudyNaomi Member Posts: 209
    edited December 2009

    Hi Vegasmom

    After I finished Taxol, my lashes and brows fell out but grew back quickly. I shaped my eyebrows around 4 months pfc and have not had to do it since.

    My lashes are coming out again now, 5 months pfc. I think the growth is generally unpredictable and it takes time for everything to sort itself out again.

    Happy Holidays to all,

    Hugs, Judy x

  • mjs
    mjs Member Posts: 1
    edited December 2009

     suepen

    Me too!!! I am on TC and when it started to fall out after the first cycle I had it buzzed because everyone assurred me it was all going to fall out very soon. Well I am 2 weeks past my second infusion and there is still a lot of hair on my head. Very,very,very short hair.

    meri

  • Jane_M
    Jane_M Member Posts: 932
    edited December 2009

    I am 11 months PFC and I have lost lashes X4.  The good news is that they grow back relatively quickly.

  • JanetH77
    JanetH77 Member Posts: 10
    edited December 2009

    I lost my eyelashes a couple of weeks after my last treatment on September 29.  Everyone (including my eye doctor when I had my annual exam last month) says eyelashes grow back quickly,  I see no sign of new lashes.  Please define "quickly."  I'm beginning to wonder if I will get eyelashes back.  I am slowly growing hair on my head, lovin' every stubbly little strand!

    Hope everyone had a blessed Christmas!