Hair Hair Hair - Another question
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Skigirl 72 great hair coming your way, thanks for telling me about b6. I am missing that one lol
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Nothing lifts my heart more than the awesome smiles you gals have when your hair comes back! I know as i am smiling more with each new inch myself.0 -
skigirl - wow-your hair is coming in so quick! looks good..0 -
Hi, this is my first post to BC.org, but I have been lurking since early April. I finishes 4x TC on 20 June and have been on Tamoxifen since 11 July. My hair growth has been very slow and very thin on top. Prior to chemo, my hair was thick and healthy (I'm 51). When I mentioned this to my MO last month, she just laughed and said it would grow (6-18 months--everyone is different). Yesterday I saw a dermatologist who specializes on chemo related skin issues about other post chemo concerns, so I also asked about the thin/sparse hair on the top of my head. He said he sees a lot of this with Tamoxifen. He recommended Rogaine (minoxidil) 5% (men's). So, is there anyone out there who has the same treatment profile (TC & Tamoxifen) and struggled with this? If so, did it resolve as my MO suggests it will? Was Rogaine tried and helpful? For how long? Did anyone also try the Hairmax laser brush? Also, I am 5 months past my final TC treatment today and I can still see scalp on the top of my head. I really want to stop wearing the wig and want to know when that might be a possibility! Thanks!0 -
Jumpy, I did T/C also, but am on Arimidex, not Tamoxifen. I used Rogaine for women starting about 3 weeks after my last chemo and just used it until the initial supply I bought was gone, so that was about a month I guess. I also took Biotin for a couple months. It's hard to say if my hair would have come back as fast and thick as it did without those things.0 -
Thanks, Annie. Your hair is beautiful! It looks similar to what I had prior to treatment (although I colored it). I have to confess that your photo inspired a bit of hair-envy in me. I really hate the wig--especially with the Tamoxifen induced hot flashes/sweats. But, I have a professional job and it is important to me to not call too much attention to my appearance. I just don't know what is the primary problem. The dermatologist said there are three issues: (1) women's hair thins as they get older, but since my hair is so short it is more noticable, (2) TC recovery -- my MO's onc-nurse said 6-18 months and the dermatologist conceded that ONCs would have a better feel for the timing on that than he would (But, you are fine at 5 months!), and (3) Tamoxifen--he said that the empirical data on that is lacking (I know, I looked), but, anecdotally, he said that he sees it in his office all the time--Tamoxifen and female-pattern hair loss. I just want to know if the best Rx for me is Patience or Rogaine! So, I guess I'll have to give both a try.0 -
Hi Ladies,
Like most all of you here, I have finished chemo. My last treatment was September 19th. The hair on my head, armpits, legs and private area is coming back and I am back to shaving. Throughout my treatments (4) I kept my eyelashes and eyebrows. I noticed this past Monday morning after showering and starting to apply my makeup that my eyebrows were....very very thin, almost gone. Eyelashes the same way. Did anyone else experience this? This is almost the end of November and now I lose my eyebrows and lashes? I saw my Oncologist Tuesday and I don't think he understood what I was asking...He said they were coming in just fine...I told him noo you don't understand I am just now losing them. He said they would grow back, I know they will grow back I'm not an idiot, I was just curious as to why they decided to take an exit now two months after chemo.0 -
I was having chemo April 4 - September 5 and all my hair was gone within a few weeks of starting except for my brows and lashes. Then in mid-August they started thinning out. I had so little left I ended up plucking what was left of my brows. By this point I was mostly done with the chemo and they started growing back pretty quickly. The brows and lashes have been back to pre-chemo state since the beginning of the month. (My hair, not so much.) It was weird that they were so delayed in falling out though I am glad I still had them as long as I did!0 -
My head hair fell out 2 weeks after starting chemo. I had 15 treatments. My eyebrows and eyelashes did not come out until right at the end of my treatments. There are coming back in very thick.0 -
my eyelashes and brows fell out after the treatment - my lashes came back but my brows only half way came back.. its been about 6 months now so I guess my browns aren't comeing back..0 -
Reality, as others have said it's very common not to lose your brows and lashes until after you've finished chemo. Same thing happened to me. My lashes have fallen out and grown back twice now, starting about a month after my last chemo.0 -
Reality, I lost my lashes and brows post-final chemo also. They are both starting to make a come back now (5 months pfc). However, the left brow hairs are curling up and toward my nose instead of straight and toward my ear! Just curious, has anyone tried Latisse to promote lash growth? I know an optometrist who will prescribe this for me, but I haven't decided yet. Thanks.
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Jumpy: My MO gave me an Rx for Latisse and my optometrist concurred. She said go ahead & try it on the brows too. I started using in April w/my first rounds of chemo, which ended 8/7. Never lost lashes or brows & both were very thick by 10/1. In mid October I had to start another round of different chemo infusions & am still using the Latisse. Hair loss started 18 days after 1st tx just like last time. So if I lost brows I wouldn't know if it was delayed reaction from the first chemo, or reaction to the new chemo.
Anyway - I've been very pleased w/the Latisse. Kind of funny actually since I'd had electrolysis to remove stray brow hairs off and on for years.0 -
jumpy, my hair growth has been slow and it's bout 10 months post chemo. Hair is super thin on top and I too am in professional job where it bothers me. But I have been out of the wig since it got too hot in the summer and now I just deal with the thinness. Sometimes I can mask the thinness sometimes I can't. I have been losing hair again and I am hoping it will stop so that more scalp doesn't show. Sometimes I get comments on my hair, some good- some bad. I've just learned to let it go but inside I have hair envy of those around me.0 -
Mely, hello.
I just finished active breast cancer treatment and when my sister was visiting this summer, she went with me to a wig shop to buy a new wig (for me). She is not a cancer patient. She has always had thin hair on top and is very self conscious about that. The lady at the wig store convinced her to try a wiglet. She loves, loves, loves it so very much. Not only does it look natural, but even her husband didn't know she had on a wiglet. You may want to try it and see what you think. They clip onto your normal hair and she says it is so very comfortable.
Anyway, we all do what we have to do. My hair is growing but is so ugly that I don't want to encourage it to grow. LOL
Love, MsP0 -
A wiglet? I've never heard of it. Now I'm gonna have to look it up. Thanks for the advice.0 -
Hi Ladies,
I loved reading some of y'all post. I'm new, just had a lumpectomy, will meet with oncologist on Tuesday, not sure what my treatment will be but chemo scars me so cause of loosing my hair, n eyebrows. My hair has always been lengthy, and eyebrows perfect. So to imagine myself without them terrifies me.0 -
sloyed66 You might want to look into the cold caps and the brow cream !! It was just too much for me at the time to think about !! Wish I would have tried to save my brows and lashes miss them more then my hair. I also always had long nice hair but it seam so not important compaired to my health now. Good luck with your onc appointment and time does go by and it is doable , before you know it you ate done !!!0 -
annika12 so your eyebrows never grew back? also I heard some ppl don't loose their eyebrows is this true?0 -
I just looked up the cold cap, it's not FDA approved in the US, and 455 a month to get it from overseas, If need be I'll just suffer the hair loss. smh. They research and find help for other side affects such as nausea and vomiting, to me hair loss should be the #1 think they should be working on. Do they know a woman's hair is her crown?
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sloyd66
Good luck with your oncology appointment next week. It always feels better to have a plan. I had spent years growing my hair and finally had it to where I wanted it and then I found out I had BC. The only thing that made things a little better was that I bought a beautiful human hair lace front wig. It looks so much like my real hair did. It has really helped with my confidence to get through this. I have even had it cut and restyled a few times. It was very hot in the Summer but now that I it's winter, it is much better. My hair is growing back very slowly so I plan on wearing it until it looks more normal.
Hugs and good luck with everything.0 -
Hi shoppygirl,
Yes I did my first wig shopping before even my lumpectomy.. It didn't go well for me as every wig I tried on just didn't fit me. And I'm only doing human hair. My hair stylist told me not to worry she's going to make me a wig that will match and be similar to my actual hair. If anyone no me and my hair she does, as I go to her every week for over 10 yrs. So after my oncology appt Tuesday on Wednesday I may be ready for her too start on making it. I did look at some nice lacefront wigs, but do you keep them on even sleep in them? or do you have to take it off, and put it back on?0 -
Sloyd66
I also tried on some pre-made wigs but they looked terrible on me. I ended up getting a hand tyed one. It was one long piece and it was blonde. I had it dyed dark brown an had it cut in a style that I liked.
To answer your question, you should remove your wig at night as it will be very tangled and all that rubbing on the pillow will not be good for it. Also you will want to take it off as it is like wearing a hat all the time! You will have to wash in the sink about twice a week. My wig started to shed a lot especially on the top so I took it back to where I bought it and had them change the part and trim it.0 -
I had a synthetic wig and it was so easy to care for and always looked nice... the style was perfect and I just had to shake it and put it on..I heard human hair is much more maintenance and care... I always took mine off when I was home - I had caps to wear to keep my head warm.. that said, I am glad to have my own hair growing back.0 -
Nancy
Where did you go to put that note in your stats about your onc score? I can't figure out how to do that.
Thanks!0 -
shoppygirl - under profile, I went to settings and added it as a signature..0 -
Thanks Nancy!0 -
Sloyd66, let me tell you what I did to try to prevent long term, permanent hair loss during chemo. I knew the Penguin Cold Caps were out of reach for me financially even if they would work. So I knew losing my hair during chemo was inevitable, but I wanted to reduce the chance of permanent or long term hair loss. I didn't think of this idea until after my first chemo treatment, but I did it for all my others:
I had a supply of those "Turbee Twist" terrycloth hair towels that I soaked with water, wrung out and froze in ziplock plastic bags before each chemo treatment. I took them with me in a small ice chest to my treatment center. I would take one out of the ziplock bag a little while before they began the infusion so it could thaw just enough to be a little pliable, then wrapped it around my head and covered it with a shower cap. After it began to thaw and get drippy and was warming up, I'd take another out of the ice chest and do the same thing. I know I looked ridiculous and I'm sure the nurses were very amused, but I didn't really care. It didn't cost me anything and I figured it couldn't hurt.
I took a multivitamin and extra B6 & B12 during and after chemo, not for my hair, but I think they helped it grow back. I took Biotin also and used a drug store brand of Rogaine for Women starting about 3 weeks after my last chemo treatment.
My hair grew back fast and thick and the same color as it was before (that would be mostly salt with a little pepper, but I was already used to it
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I also had "permanent cosmetic" eyebrows tattooed on before chemo while there was still time for them to heal up before starting treatment (you're at too much risk of infection during chemo to do anything like that then.) I had thought of doing that for years anyway and am very glad I did.0 -
In hindsight I wish I did what you did Annie. I wasn't sure there was really anything that I could have done to save the hair or promote faster immediate growth but now I'm wondering if it would have been different if I tried.0 -
Great pics Marie k. Very inspiring0
