Hair Hair Hair - Another question
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NKB - I started Biotin while doing chemo, but doubled the dose a few weeks ago, since I had to also grow back 5 nails that had fallen off.
It's amazing how nice everyone's hair is coming back !!!!! Every one of you looks FANTASTIC. I think I went topless at about 8+ weeks and now I look back on those pictures and think...what was I thinking...lol. But I think that fist coming out needs to be done with, or in an envirement where you feel comfortable and get some good (continuous) positive feedback. I work with Police officers and lucked out in that dept..since I was the only woman in the pack and the guys were very supportive...not to mention most of them shave their heads. On another note, yesterday I went to Universal studios, FL and rode the water rides with my son....yet another thing I probably would have avoided in my previous life, due to my mane of hair
What a difference to come out soaked and simply fluff the hair back into shape !! Now I roll down my windows all the time in the car - how nice not to have to be concerned with being messed up by the time I get where I'm going !! Now I can run my hands thru my hair without it getting stuck in hairspray..lol - I can lay down and take a nap mid day and wake up looking the same... and I can sweat and nothing changes It's amazing how many silly positives I find from this short haircut...that I never would have known about. I think at most, I'll let it get to a point of getting some wisps around the face and neck for softness, but I am sure I will be keeping mine short.0 -
question..what is this Biotin that is being mentioned?...my nails gave me problems as well
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Jittersmom - it's one of the B vitamins - water soluable, so you use what you need and pee out the rest. It promotes hair skin and nail health. Normally, I'm sure we don't need much..however, under these circumstances with growing hair back, nail problems, etc., I think it helps to really get all you need of the B vitamins.
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AEM - what dose are you taking?
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5000 mcg 2xs a day - But 1 a day is probably sufficient
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Dianefights, I notice a little soreness on my scalp, too, right before I notice more hair. I just look at it as the follicles making up for lost time
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i finished chemo June 2011 and I had a full head of really short short hair by the time I started Radiation in September. By the end of summer I was going hat and scarfless. I did not do wigs because in Texas it's to hot, lol. I wore caps and scarves the whole time. I had lost all eyebrows and lashes and all the hair on my arms, legs and you know where. It was January before the leg hair came back, that was a bummer. I did not have to shave all summer of 2011.
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Hi all, has anyone had a salon keratin treatment? Do they all have formaldehyde in them? Im not even sure how bad that really is - maybe doing it just once wouldn't be bad in terms of amount of chemicals? I have an appointment in a few weeks when ill be 8 months pfc and am debating between a true keratin treatment and just a relaxer which I know is less harsh but also doesn't smooth the hair as well. Any thoughts on this appreciated! Im still wearing wig, and feel like another month of growth and straightening out the curl will make it bearable for me.
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I just kept mine really short during that curly stage. Drove me nuts but in June, 1 year after chemo my hair went straight again, it was almost overnight, lol.
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Hopeful - I did 12 weeks of Taxol after 4 AC - not a single hair regrew until I was 6 weeks PFC. Don't stress, you're not the only one!
Kelly - looking great!
Congrats to everyone going topless - I waited 5 months PFC - and I look back now and can't believe I did it even then! For those of you who are trying to get up the courage - you can do it!!!! Be strong, be brave - we are right here with you!
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Congrats, Denise!
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Well, I arrived at the extremely crowded beach today for a long overdue vacation. We couldn't wait to go into the water and I was so confident that the new cute, stylish swim scarf that I had ordered would be ideal for the ocean. (I had tested it out in my sister's pool and was excited because it held fast to my head). Well.........as my luck would have it, as soon as I went in the water, a huge wave crashed in to me and my scarf came off in the water! I immediately covered my head with both of my hands (I'm only 5 weeks PFC and look like a baby ostrich) and another wave crashed into me, knocking me over. My husband came to the rescue and was trying to cover my head with his hands. I was horrified! Amazingly, the scarf returned to me in the surf. I put it on my head with a handful of shells, rocks and sand and hustled out of the ocean. I returned to our blanket covered in sand and rocks, scraped head to toe, crying. Needless to say, I didn't return to the water today. I wish I was confident enough to go topless.....especially here at the beach!
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Rn4babies, Aww, im sorry. Don't let it ruin the rest of your trip.
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shore1...I had a keratin treatment at about 8 months PFC - it lasted about a month before the chemo curls ate it. LOL So, I sucked it up and got a relaxer after that. Keratin does have formaldehyde, but I figured I went through chemo, this can't be worse. It's easier on your hair than a relaxer, so if you can get away with it, you're better off. It should last about 3 months, and make sure you use shampoo and conditioner that has no sulfates, it helps it last longer. Loreal Ever Pure works well for that.
And, this is the first time I've checked this thread in a couple of weeks, so everyone can take heart in that...I'm about 1 year PFC right now, my hair is still too short for my liking, but it would not be considered short by people with short hair. Hope that made sense.
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Rn4babies; Aww. Hugs being sent to you!
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rn4babies...I hope tomorrow is a better day for you! I send you hugs and love!
itsjustme10....I am right there with you! I wouldn't care about the length if it wasn't curly!
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Rn...I'm so sorry.. But I smiled a little bit because it so sounds like something that would happen to me. It sounds like you handled it very well though. Hold your head high and enjoy the rest of your vacation .. If you are near the ocean it HAS to be wonderful!
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M4 babies: i am sorry you had a bad day. My husband won a trip to Hawaii two months after my last chemo treatment. I was still wearing a wig to work and had a hat on at any other 'public' encounter. During the trip I wore a hat to the pool, but took the hat off and would go 'topless' into the pool. At that point I only had a little fuzz for sure. I know people looked and stared. It bothered me at first, but it was actually quite freeing. I kinda said silently: Ta Heck with all y'all, I dont care what you think. This is ME! I would wear my wig to dinner, and repeat the next day. When I got home, I stopped wearing my wig. I was given, and still get several compliments a day regarding my short/short hair. I am sure that people see your beauty regardless of if you have your scarf on or not. Walk tall, we are all beautiful! Hugs
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I just love seeing all your hair growth picts... and nice video CAYH.
Kelloggs -- I like your before and after pictures. I'm afraid if I do that... it'll be too depressing!
KCB... how true! When I see pictures of me with the long hair I realize it didn't always look that great. Was kind of a big shaggy mess. Of course then I see the "good hair" days... and miss it.
Rockym --- YES to your inquiry. It has grown back in STRAIGHT and darker down there. Why darker down there and lighter (more gray) on top...? I don't know.
I'm just glad it isn't straight on my head... since it was never straight before. I think most of us want our old hair back. I don't know what "chemo curls" look like... or why so many hate them.... but my hair is coming back with curls that look like the type I had before. Kind of a wavy curl. Maybe that will change as it grows out... I'm 16+ weeks PFC.
WaveWhisper -- I'm mostly enjoying my faux hawk... even at age 45. I bought some Got2Be Glued hair gel to help control it a little. I think when the sides get long enough... the hair will hang better. Gravity will be on our side... at least when it comes to unruly hair. Have to get through the short stages first I guess.
JoJo -- My hair fell out around 2 weeks after 1st infusion. I buzzed it off close to head... but did not "shave" it off to the skin because my onc warned me against it (said a cut could turn into infection while immunity down). Not sure if this is why -- but I had the most sore uncomfortable time. I had a bazillion hats given to me (just like the rest of you I'm sure) but could only stand wearing 1 soft fleece hat. It was an unfortunate color -- HOT pink -- and an unfortunate shape -- looked like a condom-head. But I was oh so grateful to the friend that gave it to me... since it was the only way I could lie down and sleep for a few weeks. The back of my skull eventually broke out and I couldn't even lie down without pain at one point. They put me on antibiotics which helped. Anyway.... I think it wouldve been better to ignore my onc and just shave it down to the skin. Maybe others disagree... maybe my skull was extra sensitive. IN any case... hopefully you won't experience this!
Denise -- yes.. I experienced scalp tenderness when the hair started growing back. It didn't last long and wasn't too bad.
I guess I have a sensitive scalp! Tell you what -- hair is so much more comfortable than bald.
Its late (took over an hour to read all posts and try and catch up!)
Goodnight all.
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RN - I went to the beach in July with very little hair. I felt self-conscious at first but decided this was my vacation and I would never see these people again! No one stared or even gave me a second look. The sun and water felt wonderful on my head and I had a fabulous time! Let go girl.....you need the relaxation. Don't let lack of hair stop you!
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Shera - thanks. I was just talking to my coworker this morning and told her how different I look now.....not just the hair. I feel like I look like a different person, older and fatter (which of course I am both!). She said it's my perception and in her opinion I look like I always have, just without all the hair! Does everyone feel this way?
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Rn4babies
Aww sorry you felt that way at the beach but I echo others here when I say you'll never see these folks again so try not to let it ruin your fun.
Kellogs
I feel like I've aged 10 years since DX. People tell me I look great and I guess thats because I don't look ill and never did really. It doesn't help that I am not photogenic AT ALL so when I take a picture of myself I'm like "Yuk". This happened prior to DX too LOL!
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RN4babies sorry about what happened to you! I totally understand what your feeling and that fear!! (((Hugs)))
I have one that almost turned out that bad. We went to TN with our friends and kids and we decided to ride the go-karts. As I am flying around a curve on one of the tracks I feel my hair lift up a little so I backed off the gas and almost came to a complete stop to make sure it was still on and that no one noticed! Wouldn't that have been embarrasing if my wig had came off and flew into the face of the person behing me!
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RN4babies - omg you poor dear. I would have reacted the same way. See if you can find a baseball cap that is easier to get on and off.
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Im 29 weeks pfc and still wearing wig, but trying to do something with this mess at least at home. Im finding that blow drying it makes it puffier, which is weird because that's how I used to get my curly hair smooth pre-BC. Flat iron helps a little but a good blow out should help more - any suggestions on tools or products to get a smooth blow dry on post chemo frizz? Its too short to use a big round brush.
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shore, I'm 9 months PFC and have quite a bit of hair. Blow drying right now still doesn't give a good look. I used some smoothing cream and tried it yesterday when a friend suggested a Brazilian blow out. The problem is that I have layers on top of layers and my hair is much thicker up top.
Right now, I use a 1/2 inch flat iron and a lot of Frizz Ease products. I used to have long straight silky hair and now it is wavy and curly and fluffy. I see a haircut in my future (haven't had one yet), but can't decide if I want to cut the back off to let the top and sides catch up.
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replying to kelloggs and mlb's comments --i look in the mirror and i do NOT see any beauty..i see old...i see puffy (allergies! as well as chemo effects)i see wrinkles...my hair on top is thin and grey-and the sides are darker--wispy....
co workers say my color is good, that i look good--i don't feel it....
i am really tired of the wig but i will NOT go topless at work til i have some hair on top!!!!
i'm only 4 weeks PFC so i know it takes time..but i am sooooooooooooooo flipping tired of this!!!!!! eyebrows and lashes are trying to come back....
sorry-had to get that out!!!!!
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Rockym, is a brazillian blow out the same as a keratin treatment with formaldehyde? Im loaded up on frizz ease products too. I also have an array if Ojon treatments, oils and smoothing shampoos. Nothings making me happy (or brave) enough to ditch wig, but im so sick if it. Ill let you know how salon relaxer works for me when I get it end of sept - at least ill have another month of growth by then.
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Lumpy - vent away! I am 22 wks PFC and just now have gotten to the point where I don't feel ridiculous with my hair this short! I stopped wearing the wig about a month ago but I still put it on when the DH and I go out sometimes. People tell me I look good, and I know I don't look sick, but I look like a different (older) person to myself. Hopefully this too shall pass.
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Lumpy- we are our harshest critics. When others tell you that you look good to them you probably do. The whole treatment process is exhausting and demoralizing at times and having hair is a very primal need. You will feel better and you are killing cancer .
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