Hair Hair Hair - Another question
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Jumpy it's getting there, almost full coverage although I'm sure nowhere near your former hair.
I hit a hair milestone today. I'm 15 months PFC and trying to grow it to earlobe length. I had to trim off at least two or three inches of tight grey curls as it came back in, so it's only about four inches long with loose curl and back to my normal reddish brown color. About a month ago it could still pass as an intentional messy, spiky style but no longer. Something had to be done, so I spent about fifteen minutes brushing it and got it to lay down into sort of a bowl shape and trimmed the bangs a little. The look on my DH's face when I walked out of the bathroom was priceless. I look a bit like a mushroom, or Moe of the three stooges. But this is how it's going to be for the next few months.
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slv58-I also wear a cap to bed every night because it is so cold...but then again I live in upstate ny and it has been winter here for like 6 months so far and is not letting up and soooo cold all the time. I can't even think about having a bare head
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after I buzzed my head the little stubble continued to fall out for another 4-5 days and then was done. Now the stubble that decided to hang on is growing so I'm just letting it go although it is sparse and of course the strong ones are the gray ones! I'm on DD taxol and the hair seems to be growing slowly but there is so little of it. My hair seemed to be thinning before BC (damn perimenopause/menopause!) so who knows how it will come in now. The only ones that seem to be hanging on now are the gray ones. I know many women say their hair comes in gray (or grayer). Why is that I wonder?
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Lisa my hair came in not totally gray but just very ashy pale brown. Over time it regained its normal warm brown. I could actually see individual hairs that had come in whitish and then turned color as they grew. I have never heard a good explanation for why chemo causes the color and texture change. It just seems like the hair follicles aren't quite fully working yet-- putting out hair first, then finally color. My hair was thinning prior to treatment as well and I was worried it would thin more. My brows and lashes have thinned but the hair on my head is the same as before.
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Re: thinning hair
I have been taking BioSil liquid for my hair, as well as Biotin, as liquid silica has been clinically proven in double blind tests to grow stronger, thicker hair, and I am really pleased with the results. Liquid forms of silica are used more efficiently by our bodies than dried forms. My hairdresser has been amazed at my thick regrowth and has been recommending it to other ladies in the salon who have thin hair problems.
I used cold caps during chemo so didn't lose all of my hair, but it did thin out about 30%, which is normal with cold caps as the oldest hairs drop out. I also had two spots in front that got nipped by frost bite where all the hair fell off. Like everyone else, I wanted to get my hair back to looking like normal, so I started taking the BioSil. I wasn't sure it would do anything, but Penguin Cold Caps had recommended taking silica and I had run across several clinical studies of the liquid form, so thought it couldn't hurt. My oncologist OKed using it, but only after I finished chemo.
It takes about nine months to truly see a difference because it takes a while for new hair to grow, so it is not a quick fix. But, when mine started regrowing, it was amazing. I couldn't believe how much came in at once. I'd already had hair coming in on the frost bite spots, but this was very different. It was like an army of new hair sprouting out of my head and filling in between my other hair.
I also take Biotin (5000msg) but I firmly believe it is the BioSil that has resulted in my thick regrowth. I get it on Amazon from whoever is selling it cheapest. I have been taking it for over a year now and swear by it. I am on Armidex which I have heard can cause hair shedding and thinning, but so far I have not experienced any. Perhaps the Biosil is also helping to counter that unwanted side effect.
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Ann and hortense-thank you for the hair info, it was helpful. I don't want to shave anything off now, I'll take blue or orange...as long as its hair
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Hortense - does the silica accelerate facial hair growth too? I spent 10 years off and on with electrolysis getting rid of the darn chin & upper lip hairs. Now they're all back. I am taking Biotin but very disappointed in the facial hair.
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Biosil, I believe is good stuff. Been taking it for a few months, only 6 drops instead of 10 a day because I find it intensely constipating. I can see the damaged hairs in my bald spots from Tax are longer, stronger, and one side's eyelashes are better. Not the other, sadly! In any case, it's probably wise to at least take a break from Biosil, because like silica, it seems to be hard on kidneys. If anyone has other info on that, much appreciated.
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Oh oh. I guess I won't try Biosil based on the constipation comment. Don't need to make it any worse.
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Minus two. I grew back the facial fuzz after chemo. It took about 2 months and it all disappeared without doing anything to it. Just my observation.
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I started seeing some hair fuzz growth about 2 weeks ago during my weekly taxol ( around week 7-8). It appears to be growing every week but it's not growing evenly. There are areas where there's not much growth. Just wondering if it will fill in or is this hair fuzz growth just temporary and it will fall out. I was so happy to see more growth this week but the unevenness of the hair makes me nervous. My Onc does not want me to take biotin or anything for hair growth until I am done with taxol. I have 3 more to go.
Thanks!
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Thanks jbdayton. I can only hope.
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Septmom, I also had hair growth during taxol, very sparse and also with male-pattern baldness look (heavier on the sides). That initial growth was at least a half inch long by the time I finished 12 weekly taxols. The uneven growth had me quite worried, but eventually I got a second wave of new hair that filled in normally. I have also seen women whose new growth was perfectly even. Try not to waste energy worrying about hair at this point, chances are good it will return just fine.
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Thanks Anne,
It's hard not to focus on hair. I have about 1/2 inch hair growth in some areas. Guess it will take time to fill in. Since my hair used to grow really fast I was expecting it to grow quicker. Silly me! It will take a long time I guess. I used to have really long hair.
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Septmom, my oncologist kept telling me my hair would start growing back during Taxol but it didn't until a few weeks after I finished. At first the back and sides grew, and I was worried the top wasn't growing as fast. But it filled in to the point where now it's very even all over. I focus on the hair too.
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Thanks Pamela,
I guess it will fill in. Just have to be patient. Now that I am almost done with taxol, I have started obsessing over my hair growth.
Also I was GMA and how is it that Amy Robache still has hair? She cut her hair prior to starting chemo and she has the same hair. I am pretty sure it's not a wig. She said her oncologist told her that she would likely loose some hair. So what kind of chemo do you think she's on if she's only lost some of it. Supposedly she is having 8 rounds. Some stories say 6 rounds. I wonder if she is using cold caps and not telling people.
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septmom I wondered about that as well. It does look to me like her hair is thinning a bit. I bet she is using cold caps. If not she certainly would have lost all of her hair by now. I don't know if there is any treatment where you don't lose your hair otherwise. I suppose it's not a sin to use cold caps, she hasn't given any real in depth info about her treatment. It would be nice to get more details though.
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Carol,
I too think she is using cold caps. There is nothing wrong with it. Good for her. But she had a lot of publicity after her diagnosis. She did the big people magazine cover and article. Then why not just say that she is using cold caps? Saying that her MO told her that she may loose some of her hair is misleading. I know that sometimes with CMF chemo protocol you don't loose all your hair. But that is an older less aggressive regimen. She had at least one positive lymph node. I doubt she is doing CMF. Also her working through treatment is not like us regular folk working through treatment. Celebrities don't paint a true picture.
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I agree people should know that most women do lose their hair with chemo. I wonder if because she is so young a and her hair was so thick and full that it had anything to do with it.
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Thats why I post this picture to show what this is like for the rest of us.
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Thanks Carol for posting your hair growth photos. Your looks so nice! Do you have naturally wavy hair?
I am pretty sure that Amy Robache is using cold caps. Why not just say it instead of misleading the general public. I am not much older than her and had very thick long hair. I lost my hair, it didn't just thin out.
Oh well. She doesn't have to reveal anything. But then don't do a cover story on people magazine about yourself in the first place.
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I haven't seen GMA recently, I'm going to have to make a point of it now. Agree with you Septmom, it would be interesting to know if she is using cold caps. I would imagine she is, and of course being on television she can have extensions put in if needed, wear a fall in the back, whatever she wants.
Carol thank you for posting your pics, your hair is so lovely. I hope mine grows at the same rate so I can get rid of my wig by summer! Is your profile pic a current one? I miss my long hair, sometimes I feel like it will never be that long again.
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Hello Ladies,
What dose biotin did you ladies take for hair growth? I plan on taking it after I finish my last two taxols? Which brand is good?
Thanks!
Septmom
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5mg. I use the store brand from the Vitamin Shoppe. I believe there is no soy and gluten free.
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Thanks Lago. I was looking at Target's Nature Made 2500mcg. If it's safe to take 5mg I would rather do that. I have 2 more taxols left and so want me hair to start growing
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septmom- I also have 2 more taxols left. I have been taking biotin for about 1 month. My mo said it was fine to take during chemo as well as an Integrative med doctor that I have seen. My nails feel real strong since taking it. I have hair stubble that seems to be growing but very slowly and it's not very thick but it seemed to start growing since taking biotin
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Lisaj514 - thanks for the info. I know a lot of ladies were given the okay by their ONC to start biotin while on chemo. I think I will order a bottle of biotin and start taking it next week. I do have some hair fuzz growth that started about a few weeks ago. Do you take 5mg dose too?
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Well my fuzz continues to grow slowly but it is uneven. Longer on the left side of my head than the right. So I guess my head and my boobs match - flat on the right side.
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septmom- yes 5 mg of biotin
Maryfox- that made me laugh
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I have been taking biotin since 2005. Never stopped when I was on chemo. My onc was fine with that.
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