Hair Hair Hair - Another question
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LOL lago!
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Here is my hair progress so far. My last chemo was Nov. 4, 2013. My hair is growing very slowly, with a lot more gray. Ignore the Dumbo ears! Hope this helps for comparison.
Jan. 10, 2014
Jan. 23, 2014
March 8, 2014
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nice progress photos. It looks lik your hair will grow in nicely.
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SlowDeepBreaths--you're looking good! Nice full coverage.
Mely19--How is the minoxidil working? Now that my hair is a little longer I tried the liquid last night (I had been using the foam). But, I found the liquid too greasy and was in the shower washing it out 10 minutes after I applied it! I'm back to the foam. Thanks.
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Hope this helps ladies who are worried about the hair thing. I cut my below shoulder length hair short (never short before: it shocked me, but I did it) and three weeks later when it began to litter my shoulders with hair that looked like lawn clippings, my husband shaved it. This was the day before T-Day, 2011. By Feb., 2012, my hair had begun to grow back (I was on Taxol weekly for 12 weeks--this was infusion #7 or 8, I think.). By March 21, 2012, I felt comfortable throwing my wig in the very back of my closet and going topless. I looked like a buck private, but I did have hair, and had a few strangers actually tell me they liked my hair (whether they could tell I had finished chemo or not and they were being nice, I don't know, but it helped). I ended up keeping my hair short for two years and am growing it out now--it's just above my shoulders...but I dislike it so much, the maintenance (blow-drying, curling, etc. again) that I'm going to cut it short next month. Being forced to have short hair was scary, but it transformed me, and I actually miss it. Good luck, ladies.
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lago-thank you! I wish she was, she's not sporting the extra weight I am, but I'm working on that!
Everyone's progress is great and I love the positive attitude we all have. Keep smiling everyone, it's fertilizer for the hair sprouts ;-)
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SlowDeepBreaths - your hair is really growing back..and quickly!
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Thanks for the encouragement ladies. I feel like it's growing slowly - but I guess we all feel that way. I was pretty worried about what I read about Taxotere. I just wanted to post to give encouragement to others. I never fully lost all my hair, eyebrows or eye lashes. In fact, I kept my brows and eye lashes all through chemo. Brows didn't start coming out until way after chemo was done. There is hope!
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Slow it feels like its hardly growing for sure - the monthly pics really helped me to see the difference. The few small things made such a diff - using a flat iron again, feeling my hair move in the wind, buying hair products and being able to use them, and just recently feeling my hair on my collar. Good things are coming!
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jumpy- I'm still really thin on top and I'm still shedding hair. I'm almost at 2 months of use right now. I actually use the solution at nighttime. I put a headband on so it doesn't drip on my face. I shower in the mornings and wash it out. My derm has suggested this technique for once a day use.
The hair that I have actually grows quickly but there way too much scalp showing on the top. It actually looks better when my hair is trimmed super short. When hair is longer, they clump more and show more scalp.
I'm still hopeful it will grow even just a little bit more to get better coverage. Hopefully by summer. In the meantime, I've learned to finally wear makeup and put on eyeliner to draw the focus to the eyes instead of my hair.
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ladies what kind of hair shampoo do you use? i am 4 months out of chemo still using baby shampoo. i am afraid to go back to regular shampoo. i dont want my hair to fall out. thank you!
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soriya123 I never used any different shampoo. I used what I always used. I don't see why a shampoo would make your hair fall out.
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i used herbal essen before chemo. okay i should use that again then. thanks lago!
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soriya123, I've been using baby shampoo too.
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I use the shampoos I always used... and I use products - mousse and hairspray .. and its not falling out..
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thank you ladies for hair shampoo info
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For those still without much hair - I washed my scalp with original Head & Shoulders to stop the itching & red bumps. Let it sit for a few minutes before rinsing. I'm still using it with less than 1/8" hair to prevent dry flakes.
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hi soriya, I used baby shampoo while on chemo and when I had no hair:( now that I have some hair I switched back to regular shampoo and it feels so good to have something to wash...even if it is only a little bit. Eat well. Biotin, zinc, and iron support hair, skin and nails. Hugs!!
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Thank you Girlstrong, I just ordered biotin from vitamin shop i cant wait to take it.
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I'm not sure if I'm in the right thread - but my hair started coming back while I was taking the 12 weekly taxol! Very very slow and kind of wiry. I finished chemo in August 2013 and my hair is only 2" in some places and not even an inch in others. Seems the crown of my head is the fastest growing with the part the touches my forehead the slowest at still only maybe 1/2 inch! However, I did, just this past weekend have to get some "ends" cut from the back as they were coming in "very unruly" and I just couldn't take it! I was never a wig wearer, just kept caps on, and the minute I had a slight covering, I stopped even wearing the caps! I think it was about a month and 1/2 after my last treatment! I have always worn my hair at shoulder length, but I'm getting compliments on the short style, so I may just keep it!
But I do have a question, have any of you had soreness on your scalp as the hair is coming in. I don't really know how to describe it, it's just every now and then, as I pass a comb or brush it is a little painful, yet when I try to find the spot with my hand, I can't seem to find it! Weird, I know! Just wondering if there were any others that experienced this.
Kennette
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Kennette I get a little soreness now 3+ years PFC in some areas of my scalp from time to time. I'm not sure if its when the hair is coming in or falling out. You do know that you lose about 50-100 hairs a day but that's because of the life cycle. They grow back.
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Hello ladies, for those of you taking Biotin can you share what brand you are using. I've been taking Biotin since January and I only have 1/2 inch of hair. I'm wondering if the brand makes a difference. I'm taking Nature Made Biotin Maximum Strength 5,000 mcg twice a day. I heard there are some brands of Biotin with Keratin...anyone taking that?
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Candi07 I'm using the Vitamin Shoppe 5MG (same amount). According to my dermatologist that is the correct amount of biotin. How many months are you out from chemo? Have you taken pictures of the progress? Some people do just take longer.
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Hi Lago, thanks for responding. I'm 3 1/2 months post chemo. I haven't taken any pictures. The back is growing more than the sides and top. I can still see my scalp on top. My hair was past my shoulders and I miss it so much. I guess I'm just a little impatient. I just tired of wearing Faith (my wig), its itchy and I think it makes the back of my neck break out. I'm not bold enought to go without Faith. Last week my husband and I were getting ready to go out and I had on my scarf and my husband said "where's Faith" I said "downstairs waiting for me"...we both got so tickled.
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hi Candi07; I'm 3 months post chemo and the back and sides are much thicker and filled in than the top too!! Too short for me to feel comfortable without a wig. I'm hoping by June I'll be ready or at least have long enough hair to try to style somehow. The vitamins I've been using are Natures Bounty Hair, Skin, and nails . It has 5000 mcg of Biotin. My nails are finally looking better (quite a mess after Taxotere) and my hair is growing so I guess something is working. Love how you've named the wig;)
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candi and girlstrong 3 months is not a very long time. Some people do take longer for their hair to come back. Also if you are on Herceptin that can slow things a little too.
My hair has always grown really fast and is really thick but I did notice that it did start to grow faster after I stopped Herceptin. I went topless at 3 months but still very very short. I know a friend of mine who was also on Taxotere (not Herceptin) that had very slow hair growth. We did chemo about the same time but because I have thicker hair and faster growing I was way ahead of her. The crown was the last to fill in. If you haven't seen my linky take a look. Dates in the lower left. 4.19.2011 was the day I went topless... and had my hair dyed the next day!
I currently get my hair cut/colored every 3 weeks. Yes it grows that fast!
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lago: your hair does grow fast. Short hair is very becoming on you!!
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thanks
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Your pictures look great. I decided to get rid of my gray mop by experimenting with henna. I wanted my hair to be my normal color - black. According to the instructions, I had to use red first and then use black. After I finished it was dark brown with brass and rust colored tips and streaks. It is now lighter. I will try to get DD to post pics for me. I am still wearing wigs. I had long thick black hair before chemo. I plan to contiue experimenting with color I will probably stop wearing wigs in May. By then I should know what color and style I want to wear.
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gwenny Thanks I had my hair dyed professionally. We tried the same formula and it came out too red (as you can see in the photo). He did it again and it was still too red but a cool color. Eventually we had to use a different brand and go a bit browner. My natural hair color is dark brown with some gray. After chemo it came in salt and pepper, more pepper but it was black on brown. Even my eyebrows were darker. Eventually everything went back to it's normal brown but I do have more gray new. I'm sure you can tell by looking at the color changes in my hair. BTW I love the short hair. So many of us do decided to keep it short. It's easier and shows off our pretty features of our faces!
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