Come join others currently navigating treatment in our weekly Zoom Meetup! Register here: Tuesdays, 1pm ET.
Take our poll: Caregivers, what do you find most difficult about caregiving?
Weigh in: What are the best and worst gifts for people with breast cancer?

Hair Hair Hair - Another question

1…1920222425…864

Comments

  • wishiwere
    wishiwere Member Posts: 934
    edited November 2008

    Yes, do a search on Thyroid symptoms and you'll see that hair thinning is one of the symptoms.  IT's a simple blood test to get checked for your levels of TSH and T4 normally.  Just be sure the doctor doing is up to date on the levels considered.  It used to be .5-5 and now (since 2002) is .3-3 for abnormal thryoid.

  • Springtime
    Springtime Member Posts: 3,372
    edited November 2008

    I got the Nioxin, online, by googling it. I could not find something called "rejuivinating serum" but I did find both Scalp Treatment and "Intensive Therapy Follicle booster" - So I got both. (I found allstatebeauty.com had the best prices when I looked). 

    I've been on synthroid for tyroid for years, and yes, it does seem to cause hair thinning - but nothing like all your hair falling out from chemo!!!    :O

  • artsee
    artsee Member Posts: 701
    edited November 2008

    The follical booster and scalp treatment from Nioxin , are all like the rejuvinating serum. I think they like to change the name to keep it ' salable". The follical booster is supposed to be the  most potent. Nioxin can be found in most Professional Hair Salons.

    I don't know if the AI's are the cause of brow and lash "fall out"after chemo has come to an end, because a couple of BC friends have been going through the lash and brow fall out every three month and they did NOT have to take the AI's. I am taking the "AI's" and my hair is thicker than it was my whole life. So I can't say why the thinning of hair other than something that has nothing to do with BC after chemo, could be causing it.

    Artsee

    Hope you all can make sense of this.

  • otter
    otter Member Posts: 757
    edited November 2008

    Artsee, it isn't the AI that's making eyelashes and brows fall out after chemo has ended--it's the chemo.  Not from another covert poisoning, of course.... 

    My understanding is that the first major fallout is the result of chemo.  I don't know why it takes so long, except it did take 2 or 3 weeks for that first dose of chemo to scare our scalp hairs out.  Chemo supposedly synchronizes the lash and brow hair follicles, which are normally way out-of-phase.  Once synchronized, the lash and brow hairs all re-grow and fall out again at the same rate and same time.  Ordinarily, they have a fairly short growth cycle (hence they usually aren't long enough to be braided), and they fall out and re-grow without us even realizing it.  When they're in synch, though, the loss is much more noticeable.  :)

    I think my scalp hair is at least as thick as it was pre-chemo, but I'm not sure because it is so short (still).  I can't believe yours is 3 inches long by now!  Mine is only about an inch, which is way shorter than I thought it would be, this long after my last round of chemo.  My last chemo was (...otter takes time out to check her iCal...) 23-1/2 weeks ago.   My dh kindly reminds me it took a really long time for my hair to start growing after that last chemo, and I remember that the first re-growth was not all that impressive (fine, colorless fuzz).

    I am going commando all the time now--not just around home, but everywhere (stores, gatherings, restaurants, traveling).  I've seen women with intentional hairstyles as short as mine, and mine is kind of neat--I actually like the mix of brown and dark (charcoal) gray and light gray.  The brown is coming back, thank goodness.

    BTW, I am not using Nioxin or anything else except regular shampoo.  I am taking Synthroid, but I've been on it for 7-1/2 years.  My dosage is being re-checked this week.

    otter 

  • gramadeb
    gramadeb Member Posts: 66
    edited November 2008

    My lashes are falling out again - 3 months since the last fall out! One good thing is that they grow back relatively fast.

    I had my first post chemo hair cut about 3 weeks ago to give my hair some style. I love my really short hair - and so do my family and friends. As long as it stays curly I may keep it short. Very easy to take care of.

    Deb

  • artsee
    artsee Member Posts: 701
    edited November 2008
      "I 'm wondering if some of the losses of eyebrows and lashes you ladies have AFTER chemo is from the Ai's also and not just chemo induced? "

    Are some of you losing your eye hair doing so after going on Ai's? (wishiwere question)

    Otter..I was just trying to coment one way or the other to "Wishiwere's" question above.

  • LorenaB
    LorenaB Member Posts: 91
    edited November 2008

    I had my eyebrows waxed yesterday for the third time since chemo. Pre-chemo I would start getting shaggy-looking after 3-4 weeks, these days it takes around two months before I feel the need to wax -- which is ok with me!  Anyway, the first two times it hurt like crazy, which was reassuring because I knew the little hairs really wanted to stay in there.  Yesterday it hardly hurt at all.  It was a different person/salon and she may just be exceptionally gentle, but the lack of pain worried me. I've been so lucky about my eye-hair -- never lost it totally, so I haven't had the cycle of total fall-out and regrowth.  But maybe now it's starting, six months post chemo?

    Isn't it weird what this experience does to us?  I'm actually complaining and worried because something DIDN'T hurt!

  • lisa39
    lisa39 Member Posts: 8
    edited November 2008

    ShellyJo...that Groucho Marx comment was too funny!  Your son is very cute. BTW. I have two boys (ages 6 and 8) and they had been telling me to wear my wig because I look like a boy too.  Funny. I am 4 months post-chemo and my hair is short, but it finally looks like I did it on purpose.  Sort of pixie-ish.  Not great, given my hair was past shoulder-length before chemo, but it's hair and I'll take it.  It came in much darker than my natural color (auburn), so I colored it.  A girl's gotta have some fun.  I'm still on Herceptin and will be until next April.  I heard it slows down the hair growth...so trying to be patient. 

  • nancyd
    nancyd Member Posts: 557
    edited November 2008

    OK, new development. The center front section of my hair is now growing faster than the rest and has developed a kind of cowlick I'll call a "Skeezix" after the character from Gasoline Alley (am I dating myself?). Anyone else having trouble training their new hair to be feminine?

  • artsee
    artsee Member Posts: 701
    edited November 2008

    So what's a Skeezix? My front and center is the very curliest on my head. Everywhere else it's flip flopping kind of 'cutsie', but the front is so curlicue that i can't control it. I keep pulling but it just seems to grow slower that any other on my head.

  • otter
    otter Member Posts: 757
    edited November 2008

    I found Skeezix (use Google images to see a pic) and I have to say that the hairstyle would be a challenge.  The biggest problem I'm having with mine is that it is curling up all over the place in the back.  But, all things considered, I'm thinking that's not a very big problem....

    Oh, Artsee, I'm sorry I credited you with the question about brow/lash loss and AI's.  Wish must have asked it on a previous page and I wasn't paying attention.

    My brows are just as patchy (think "moth-eaten") as they were at their worst, right after my last chemo.

    otter 

  • guitarGrl
    guitarGrl Member Posts: 150
    edited November 2008

    ukkelly - it probably is just one of the lovely symptoms of menopause - chemical or other wise. Look at how many women have thin hair (me included)

  • ShellyJo
    ShellyJo Member Posts: 53
    edited November 2008

    Nancy I am envious you even have bangs in the front. Must be someway to control the curl. What about a tiny round brush to smooth out the curl and make it go in one direction? Some gel perhaps. What about those stretchy headbands and push it all back? Anyway. All my growth is going into my eyebrows it seems. They are getting thicker and thicker and I can't bring myself to take a tweezer to them. I want plenty in reserve for when they take their second nosedive.

     Thank you Lisa. I have a 14 year old too. When I tell them to do something and they don't listen I threaten to show up at their school wigless and walk through the halls. That interestingly has worked..lol 

    On a good note I do believe the shiny spots are gone on my scalp. A solid head of hair is emerging! now for some length..YA RIGHT!! 

  • nancyd
    nancyd Member Posts: 557
    edited November 2008

    ShellyJo, they're not exactly bangs...wish they were. More like a cowlick in front that won't lie down. Right now it's going straight up with a little curve at the end. Skeezix is an exaggerated version, LOL. But the same idea...short all around exept for the center front.

    I'm at the point where I'm trying to decide if I should go back to coloring my hair, or live with it as salt and pepper/going white. I was coloring it for so-o-o long I had no real idea what it was, although I knew my original red was probably long faded away. That was why I started coloring it in my early 30s. It's been 25 years.

    Well, if nothing else, losing my hair and growing it back has fulfilled three curiosities: what I would look like bald, what I would look like with a Mia Farrow-style cut, and just how gray my hair has gone.

  • Unknown
    Unknown
    edited November 2008

    Ha ha.  I had the Skeezix look at first, too.  It does go away over time.  Well, actually, it doesn't go away it just gets incorporated into your new mass of hair.  If I look at my hair now, over a year out of A/C chemo, it is clearly growing up in front before it flops over and goes down.  This is the same way it was before chemo, just never really took note of it.

    BTW, my brows only fell out once about 5-6 weeks after last dose of A/C (no taxols) but my lashes fell out fully four times, then a little at a time for a sixth time and now are falling out very, very slowly and coming back at the same time so it isn't noticeable.  This has been happening every three months.  Grrrrrrr.

  • wishiwere
    wishiwere Member Posts: 934
    edited November 2008

    Why is it we didn't notice these 'cowlicks' before treatment? I just don't get it! My hair is straight as a board, yet I never knew I had this!  Strange....I'm blaming the cowlick on the chemo.... :)

    My eyebrows and lashes go through itchy times, I wonder if it's b/c I'm losing them and don't even know it, as the others are growing in as fast?  I know my lashes are seemingly fuller on top than the bottom, but it's always been that way, so not sure about that either.  Just wish this hair would settle on ONE style instead of every week needing something new b/c it's growing in a new way.  Waves on top, curls in back, very slight waves on the side and straight out if I don't tame in areas!  I'm so glad I never had to deal with this the first 50 years of my life.

    So a question?  How long before MY hair returns and this wave/curly/unruly is a memory?

  • LorenaB
    LorenaB Member Posts: 91
    edited November 2008

    It's interesting how different we all are -- my hair was always wavy/curly/unruly and now it is consistent tight curls everywhere.  I'm looking forward to more length and hopefully some relaxing of the curls.  I always wanted curly hair but... be careful what you wish for, LOL.

    Lauren

  • mumito
    mumito Member Posts: 2,007
    edited November 2008

    Its been four weeks since my last chemo treatment.  Had my mast last week. I hate looking in the mirror so generally i don't.  I have no hair anywhere on my body.  I have been seriously considering tatoos for my eyebrows.  Would tatooed eyebrows look bad when you have no eyelashes.  This should probably be on the makeup tips thread.

  • wishiwere
    wishiwere Member Posts: 934
    edited November 2008

    I wonder how thick the eyebrow would appear after its grown back in?  Although mine are so thin, and help would be great! :D

  • NatsFan
    NatsFan Member Posts: 1,927
    edited November 2008

    I know what you mean about the cowlicks.  I have a prominent one in front on the right side. I never could get my hair to fall correctly there.  No matter what I did to tame it inevitably it would go its own way, and I never knew why.  At least this has solved the mystery!

    And the eyebrows appear to be thinning a bit, but the eyelashes are hanging in there so far, 5 months after chemo is done.  

    Nancy - love the 3 questions!  It's so true - I had no idea how grey I'd gotten! 

  • kerry_lamb
    kerry_lamb Member Posts: 77
    edited November 2008
    Girls, I've been peeing my pants reading these posts! After months of being bald, we are all doing what girls do best: whining about our hair! I can't wait to have HAIR to whine about, instead of this intruder-growth that was clearly assigned to the wrong head! Mumayan, I don't know if the tatts fade eventually, but it would be worth finding out. Imagine TWO sets of eyebrows when your own grow backSurpriseda-r-r-r-g-g-h-h-! I was devastated by my eyebrow loss, I can tell you. (And don't get me started about eyelashes..whatever THEY are!) But I've got the hang of the eyebrow pencil and my wig has a longish fringe so I look ok. I do frighten myself first thing in the morning, though! (Think one big boob, a glowing white face and some weird whitish wiry fluff on top...shudder...). I think the thing I hate most about bc is that it has introduced me to the world of makeup. I now spend more time in that aisle than in the organic food one. Feck.
  • ShellyJo
    ShellyJo Member Posts: 53
    edited November 2008

    Kerry I am all about the makeup now. I don't walk the dog without full mask on. Just like a drag queen getting ready in the morning, Fake eyebrows ( not anymore) fake eyelashes, fake hair.. The dog gets her leash when she sees my hair going on..I am about one week away from going topless. I still have  litte see thru patches in the back. I am feeling a little rebellious lately and the Shenaid O Conner Bad Ass look suits that perfectly.

    and Muma, I remember those blanket over the mirror days YUK! At least most of you are married,. I am single how attractive do you think I feel for dating? lmao

     xoxoxo to you all 

  • Sue508
    Sue508 Member Posts: 81
    edited November 2008

    Hi ladies,

    I have a question - it might be dumb or maybe it's been asked before - I haven't read all of this thread yet :)

    I just finished chemo yesterday (4 tx of TC).  My dh and I shaved my head bald after treatment 2, but I have since grown some peach fuzz.  Maybe some of that will still come out from tx 4, I don't know.  My question - should I reshave to bald so that everything grows in evenly or just leave what I have an see what happens?  Any thoughts?

    thanks!

    Susan

  • wishiwere
    wishiwere Member Posts: 934
    edited November 2008

    I only shaved mine once and that was it.  Some did it more often, but not sure it matters really.

    Good Luck with recouping!  :D

  • Springtime
    Springtime Member Posts: 3,372
    edited November 2008

    Susan,

    I have hairs of different lengths too... I never shaved mine. I was wondering the same thing. When I see a really long one, I get cut it off! I dunno... I just finished last Monday and I keep looking, but the shine in the mirror is still blinding!  :O 

    I know it's going to be a long wait!!! 

    Spring.

  • Joia
    Joia Member Posts: 25
    edited November 2008

    From all these hair-obsessed posts, I'd wager that I'm not alone in spending every morning examing my head from all sides to see how much my hair grew overnight.

    Susan, I only shaved my head once (left the sideburns, so that a few salt and pepper hairs could peak out from wigs and make it look more natural). And I was still losing hairs after the last chemo.

    Now, I'm 6 weeks out of chemo and have about 1/8-inch growth with lots of longer strands (that white "peach fuzz" that continued to grow throughout chemo. When no scalp is showing through and feel ready to go topless, I'll probably get it cleaned up and have the longer hairs trimmed.

    ShellyJo, it sounds like I am right behind you in terms of hair growth. Since you're in the Boston area, too, maybe we should get together and form the Bad Ass (single) girl gang. 

    I never lost my eyebrows completely, they just thinned. In the past 2 days, serious eyebrow "stubble" has appeared. With luck, I can retire the eyebrow pencil soon.

    Jo

  • TorchSong
    TorchSong Member Posts: 17
    edited November 2008

    Ack! I've just started losing mine... Day 13 after my first chemo. Drain clogged in the shower, sore scalp, full hairbrush. Yep. Good thing I planned  my Sinead O'Connor party for Friday!

    I seriously am having a bunch of my friends join me at another friend's salon to clip me short (not really ready for an actual shave, though).

    I'm getting more nervous about it, but even from just today, I know if I don't I'll be sorry. I have a habit of running my fingers through my hair, and every time I did that today, I had a bunch of hairs between my fingers.

    Of course you all have been through this already. And there does seem to be an end to the tunnel--eyebrow stubble and peach fuzz, roll on!

    Martha

  • wishiwere
    wishiwere Member Posts: 934
    edited November 2008

    If you are like me, you'll want some wax or something strong to hold them where they belong though!  Man, my eyebrows (which I didn't lose completely either) and the eyelashes (which again I didn't lose completely) grew every which way but loose when they came in.  And they hurt to move into position! LOL  What fun we are going through hey?

    I'm 9 1/2 months out of A/C and have a little over 3 inches and have had 2 trims.  It will come ladies!

  • wishiwere
    wishiwere Member Posts: 934
    edited November 2008

    If you are like me, you'll want some wax or something strong to hold them where they belong though!  Man, my eyebrows (which I didn't lose completely either) and the eyelashes (which again I didn't lose completely) grew every which way but loose when they came in.  And they hurt to move into position! LOL  What fun we are going through hey?

    I'm 9 1/2 months out of A/C and have a little over 3 inches and have had 2 trims.  It will come ladies!

  • kerry_lamb
    kerry_lamb Member Posts: 77
    edited November 2008
    Nothing, I repeat NOTHING is going to make me cut, shave or trim what I am now growing!Kiss

Categories

Join Us on Zoom: Upcoming virtual meetups. Read more...
Give your account some personality! Add a profile photo.