Hair Hair Hair - Another question
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Hi my sistahs!!!!! Thanks again for the compliments.
It seems that I have not answered all your questions in regards to extensions. My hair is about 2 inches long at the connection tuffs. The extension lengths were ranging from 4 to 7 inches. However you could go longer if you would like. It just makes your hair thicker and longer. (OH YEAH!) The hairdresser that I went to is really expensive. I only went there because I had a gift certificate. I know that I could of gotten a better deal if I had of shopped. I would recommend this process for anyone that needs a boost in image or self esteem. Interesting thing is that some women just need more hair than others. It is challenging.
Chevel your hair grows like a weed. Your always morphing and always beautiful!!!!
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I took my wig off at work today to show of the ladies my hair. They thought that I should start going with out the wig or scarves. It is still so short, but I do have a nice covering, I just want it a little longer. The ladies were very sweet about it and I think they were sincere about what they were saying. Maybe in about a month, I will just have to wait and see.
Thanks for everyone that is sharing their pictures or pictures of others. They are very interesting to see each step of hair growth.
Juannelle
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I wore a scarf today to the SEC tournament in Nashville. It was sorta cute, but it kept making my head sweat so I finally took it off. I'm very surprised at how comfortable I am just going commando. I have great eye make up on, pretty lip color and long dangly earrings. So I still FEEL pretty.
Anyway, my hair came off completely around the sides and back first, like in a band from my temples all the way around. Then some came off center back at the bottom. There are chunsk missing on the crown and on the very top, so they will probably be the last to go completely. Just some stubble there now.
My guess is that is how it will grow back in, sides and back first, then top/crown. Oh well. It is what it is.
I took a couple quick pictures of my new look, but they are on my home computer so it will have to wait til I get home before I can show it.
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Juanelle - I think Im very similar to you re hair growth and time frame! I finished chemo 30th dec, 6 days after you. Housemate thinks my hair is fine to go out in public without any hats or scarves but I really think I would benefit from another few weeks. Im back to work on april 1st and REALLY want to be wig-free so fingers crossed!! Hoping for major hair growth in the next few weeks!
I take a photo of my hair every friday, its really encouraging to see the growth. When I look in the mirror every day I dont see am major change but when I see the photos and compare them to previous, Im really happy and see the progress....
Nails are still in a bad way though, the ends separated from the nail bed a week or two after chemo and Im still waiting for them to grow out, they are hideous!
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Juanelle - I took my scarf off when my hair was very short and I just had a covering and I found that once I had been out in public once, I was fine. I also found that it started to grow in more quickly when it was uncovered!
Enjoy! Hugs to all for a good weekend, Judy x
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Ultra short hair is "in"..no one need know it is not an on-purpose hairdo. Judy is right, the first time you may be self-consious, but after that, hold your hair up high (as high as you can gel it), and feel the air and the know you have earned the right to be free of worrying how others will react, because what I found out, is most don't give a c**p - they're too busy worrying about how their hair looks, lol0
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I love short hair I jsut need the thickness everyone says its getting longer longer is not what i need I eed it to spread like cancer wants to if I had a thick head of short hair I would be the happiest person in the world besides being cancer free and living long enough to be a grandma some day those are all the things I want to hold all the grandbabies some day my kids will have. The reward for all those sleepless nights and worries to have them remember me and my head full of thick hair so I have a way to go my kids arent even married ha I dont want cancer to take a future away from any of us we all deserve it amen
Maura
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Treadsoftly, I think it will be a couple of weeks or a month for me to go out with out something on my head. I am feeling pretty good about my hair growth, but it does need to be a little longer. I am really ready.
Judy, I have just not been brave enough to go without. I know I will not wait much longer, but maybe if I had at least 1/2 in more, then it would not be so bad. I have really thick hair, so I don't think it would look too bad. Maybe I should go with out something at home to start getting use to it.
inthemoment, I have been looking at really short styles and I think they are really cute. Before BC, my hair would not lay flat. I had too much and it is very hard to manage, not curly but frizzy. It will be interesting to see what I will be able to do with it and if it will be a different texture after it comes back in.
Maura, I do hope for you that you hair starts to get thicker. I know this worries you and keeps you stresses and that is the last thing you need. About those grandkids, they are great. I spent the day with my grandson, took him to the museum and he really had a good time. Well, we all had a good time. You do need to get those kids married off.
Hope everyone is gearing up for a great weekend.
Juannelle
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i shaved my head again 10 days after my last chemo. i believe that in doing so i got rid of the poison hair and have now started from scratch with hair that has no toxins in it. i lost my hair/shaved around halloween (first chemo 10/8/09) and i had about a quarter inch or so grow by thanksgiving, but it was pretty much all white. it was also a little weird, some oddball long hairs here and there sticking out by the time the 4 mos of chemo went by. it stalled in growth at thanksgiving and by the time i finished chemo on 1/21/10 i had nothing new. so i broke out the Bic and swiped it clean and let me tell you, i am glad i did! the hair that has sprouted since has come in the salt & pepper it should be, for one, and it is growing like MAD. i can almost see a difference from day to day. i just wash and condition it with olive oil shampoo. it feels nice and it isn't doing anything weird this time around. i truly believe that getting rid of the chemo hair made all the difference in the world and it only tacked on another 3 wks bald. it was worth it.
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I was told to use Baby shampoo when it starts to grow back. Anyone else using baby shampoo or are you using regular shampoos?
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I used a gentler shampoo when my hair first came in (white, like so many others), more because I was so afraid that I would anger it if I treated it badly
After a month or so, I went back to my regular shampoo, and have stayed with that since, and it has been fine. I am 6 months PFC, but still on Herceptin. Hair is great thickness, and just had it cut again yesterday. I have always had short hair, and am keeping it that way. The hair color has changed as it's grown from all white to white with dark roots and I will keep it that way - everyone thinks I've had it "done" like that.
Hope this helps
Geri
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Marion - I was all ready to use baby shampoo when my hair started coming in and my barber said "no way!!" it's actually a very harsh product that strips all the natural oils from your hair and the chemicals used to make it 'non-tearing' for babies are harsh also. Wish I had known this when my son was young. When we have our grandaughter overnite I now just use my regular Suave on her hair and she does not complain. PS - I don't tell her mother - lol.
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I was told to use any shampoo as long as it is not clear. I guess the milky-white shampoos have some kind of extra conditioning agent in it that the clear ones do not. I also remember reading somewhere that the more a shampoo lathers up, the harsher the detergents that are in there. Has anyone else heard this?
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Thanks for the answers! I guess I'm going to stop using baby shampoo!!
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I've been using the Nioxin 2 products - a shampoo, a conditioner and them a foam you apply after you dry your hair (or your stubble!). I also take 5000 mcg of Biotin 2x day. I think this regimen is helping the hair cover my scalp more quickly.
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Juanelle - all in your own time....you have to feel comfortable.
You are beautiful which ever way you choose...
Hugs to all, Judy x
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Hello Geri,
I am 6 weeks PFC (since my last chemo treatment) and I have white baby fuzz growing at the top going towards the crown at the back and at the sides (not a whole lot). I am hoping that within 6 months I too will have the amount of hair that you have - to enable me to go for my first trim and that the hair will also go from white to with dark roots at least. I hate the idea of all white. (does not suit my complexion in my opinion). Previous to chemo I was salt/pepper if I did not dye it.
Charmaine
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Judy, thanks, I just have to give my self time and all will be well.
Charmaine, I had had the fuzz growing, but now it has settled in and growing nicely. I don't notice the fuzz anymore. It is going to be salt and pepper color, that is the way it was before I lost it. I guess we are all waiting to see exactly how it will turn out.
Hope everyone had a great weekend.
Juannelle
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Hi ladies
I wonder if anyone can tell me about their experience with their hair regrowth after finishing herceptin. It has been 10 months since finishing TCH (6 rounds, every 3 weeks, I finished this in late May 2009). I continued heceptin (every 3 weeks) and finished this 6 weeks ago (late January). The worst issue for me is my hair. I feel so discouraged about it. After all this time it is only about 1.5 inches on top and VERY thin (you can see my scalp shining through). My eyebrows fell out about a month after my last TCH treatment and have not returned. My eyelashes are still really short and again very thin. I have read here that others have found that their hair came back very slowly.
I would so appreciate hearing from anyone who could tell me what happened to their hair after stopping herceptin?
Thank you so much!
Diagnosis: DCIS, stage 2b, HER2+
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my shampoo is specifically for those on chemo. it was sent to me in a chemo care package. the name is Alra mild conditioning shampoo and it contains aloe vera gel, panthenol and oil of rosemary. it is specially formulated for people with cancer whose therapy caused hair loss. it's for sensitive scalp and dry, brittle hair (chemo hair). like i said, though, i shaved off the chemo hair i had and started fresh 10 days after my last chemo. the shampoo and conditioner i use is organic made of olive oil and my hair is coming in thick and fast. it looks nothing like that bad hair i shaved off. good luck all!
i used a $12 product called Double Cils on my lashes and brows all during chemo and only lost about half of each at worst. it "helps grow and thicken lashes". you just put it on just like mascara 2x a day and i can at least vouch that i kep my lashes during and past chemo. i am seeing little lashes and brow hairs sprouting right now. i am debating trying Latisse but need to read more about it.
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There is a salon nearby me that sells the Olive Oil shampoo and I am considering on purchasing it...
I am 6 weeks post chemo and was going to shave off my chemo hair, but everybody that I spoke to locally and some people on site messages I have read suggested keeping the hair hmmm - so just gonna see what happens with my hair as it grows more. At the moment my hair is white and feeling kind of soft and growing mostly on top.. Never heard of this chemo shampoo you speak of, was it offered thru the hospital? Charmaine
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RE: peach fuzz. I shaved the peach fuzz last month and again this month. It does come back with some stubble but it's white/clear and does not show.
My hair is about an inch long and covers my scalp. The sides are straight but the top seems to be growing in swirls. Very odd.
Before chemo, I colored my hair for 10 years to cover the gray so no one knows me with anything but brown hair. Now the natural color is mostly salt with some pepper and I do not intend for anyone to see it that way! Since I have several good looking wigs from tlcdirct.org that's what the outside world sees.(I like the wig liner from TLC too) At home, I don't wear a wig as they are too warm for me. Last weekend my husband was taking me to dinner in San Francisco for my birthday. It had been a busy Saturday running errands and such so when it was time to leave, I changed clothes, grabbed my purse and we headed out the door. We were down the street when I reached up to scratch my head and noticed I didn't have my wig on! I told my husband to turn around so that I could go back for it. He said he had noticed I didn't have it on and thought I looked fine and since I would not see anyone I knew that night, what better place to go without a head cover, So off we went and had a nice dinner. DH refers to it as my coming out party with him as the only guest.
Juli
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Juli -- great story! Nothing could be more natural
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Ladies I am have been reading oyur posts with great interest as I finished chemo in Christmas Eve and now have a very short covering of hair - and debating whether I am brave enough to go 'topless' yet at work. I am in a new job and only started there one month ago so nobody there has yet seen me with my bald / short hair look. I think I will wait a couple more weeks and then go for it.I am getting a bit braver lately, for example going hatless to my swim centre (at least until I put the swim cap on) and also yesterday popped into the pharmacy without my scarf. It does take courage doesn't it? My DH calls it a badge of courage actually and I think he's right!
ALso TreadLightly I have the same nail issues as you. Just horrible. I long for the ugly damaged chemo nails to fall right off as they are truly unsightly especially on my right hand for some reason. And on my left arm and hand I have to wear a compression sleeve and glove for lymphedema so I feel a bit self conscious of both hands when I go out.
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Wonderful story Juli xxx
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Julie I did the same thing the other day - walked out of the house without my wig!
I only got as far as my driveway so I did go back up the steps and grabbed it off the candle holder I keep it on when downstairs.
I wish I had more hair or was a bit braver to go topless...
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Hello Juli-CA and MarieK!
I have walked out of the house without my headscarf on twice now! Thankfully, I noticed it right away (it was windy one day, cold the other!) so I went back inside to get it.
Is it a sign that I'm confortable enought to go topless? Maybe! I actually have an inch of hair growth right now. I'm going to color it in 2 weeks. Once I get rid of the "chemo color" (salt and pepper) and am blond again, I think I'll be ready.
How long after chemo can you color your hair? I had read we have to wait 6 months but my oncologist said I could do it as soon as I wanted to. Did your oncologists tell you anything about that ?
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Juli, good for you! It's really not a big deal. I know we like to think our hair defines us, but it doesn't.
I have had no hair since last Tuesday and have been out of the house a gazillion times since then, to the store, to the post office, picking up the grandkids, to the SEC Tourny in Nashville, to dinner at really nice restaurants. . . Only about 3 of those times did I have a head covering on.
I find that most people see strength, not weakness or illness when they see a woman walking around with no hair.
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Ezsc - I totally agree with you. I went commando the whole time and found it to be a great conversation starter. Granted, I bought wigs and scarves and fully planned to wear them but just found them uncomfortable, itchy, hot - whatever. It's a personal choice for everyone so we all do what is right for each of us. Congrat, Juli on you celebratory dinner. BTW Ezsc - you look fabulous without hair!!
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Good for your DH Juli, now that's a lovely man!
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