Hair Hair Hair - Another question
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I had very blonde hair growing up and I kept it that way into my sixties. On day I just got tired of dying it every few weeks and let it come in white. Everyone told me they loved the color. I still went back and forth about coloring it again when cancer struck and took it out of my hands. I will see what I get when it grows back. I am hoping for curly blonde!
Dee
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My hair also started coming in from the sides and back upwards. I am finally really feeling some thickness/fullness on top. It is still very short, and I actually love it this way. I have complete strangers telling me they love my hair cut! I love the no-maintenance and will probably go just a little longer on the top. The problem is, even though the majority of folks love it, my husband does not. I have always kept my hair on the short side, but it was the longest in years for my daughter's wedding last September, which was 5 days before I started chemo. Needless to say, two weeks later it was gone. I'm thinking the reason my hubby doesn't like it is that he is the one who buzzed it short after the chemo, and he has seen it all come out and then start coming back in and doesn't see the changes so much as those who only saw it after the wig came off. Mine is also salt and pepper, which makes me feel old, but I was going gray before.
I will try to post pictures when I get home tonight, right now I am at work.
Martha
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third visit to the hairdresser & just when i think it can't look worse...it does
soooo wish i had left it alonemaybe it's just the shortness that is throwing me but i was ok with it salt & pepper - now i just look like i have a cap on & the colors just don't look right...she says she can keep on trying...but i am so ready to just try my old Nice & easy color...totally afraid my hair will fall out tho...don't know what to do...less than 3 weeks til my daughter's wedding...i hope i don't have to resort to the wig
she asked me "what do other people say? really? who's going to tell a cancer patient their hair looks like sh#@? certainly not my poor hubby...ok i'm done venting - guess i'll sleep on it
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Notbuyingit the first time my hairdresser colored my hair it was too red. It was a cool color but not what we had intended. He did color it again right after that. It got better. The next time we used a different product and went a bit less red than I had before. Haven't changed the formula since. It's tricky now that your hair has more gray. Also my hair didn't turn back to my old hair till 12+ months PFC. hand in there.
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Question for lago or anyone else who has dyed their hair....
I'm almost six months PFC and my hair is getting to be long enough to go without my wig. Only thing stopping me is it is completely grey and white.... I'm in my forties and my normal hair color is dark brown....I don't feel like myself at all with this color hair (my wig is my natural color and style). I asked my onco about coloring it and she was very weird about it, said it might cause the new hair to thin out or be damaged. My own hair was pretty thin but my new hair is actually pretty thick and feels healthy! So.... Will coloring damage it or cause the growth to slow down? She said try to use something "natural".... I have no idea. Any suggestions on brands to use or experiences? I'm a long hair girl, but I don't think id look awful with this short hair if it was my own color.
Also - when they say your old color will "come back" - how and when? Do you have to cut off the grey? I'm not willing to sacrifice even an inch lol!
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Notbuyingit for some reason the first color after chemo can be unpredictable for many of us. My first color was so uneven and kind of red, I had spots of different colors. I had it redone the next day because it looked really bad.
Did you color your hair before? sometimes it takes a little while to adjust to a new color.
Deborahanne You look great with gray hair. You will not have to check your roots every few weeks, and you hair will be healthier.
BosumBlues Try to look at yourself as you are now and find your best features. When you compare to before you are comparing to a younger you, which is a loosing battle. Try to improve those things that you can control. In my case I started working out right during chemo (2011), first cardio then weights. I am now thinner and more toned than before BC, so what if I have couple more wrinkles. The important thing is not to focus in what is not ideal and see all that is right and beautiful.
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PamelaC47 many of us have colored as soon as we could. I never cut my hair after chemo (2011) and although the texture is different, it does not look damaged. Since I use the same color, I only color the roots now.
In regard to the more "natural" coloring products they are more mild but many times they do not color as well as the regular products. However, we all have different hair so it might work for some but not for others.
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Pamela my MO told me I could dye it when ever I was ready. So I went topless at 12 weeks. So much grey came in I looked so old. I had just turned 50 and also had brown hair. The next morning I was at the salon having dyed professionally. Like I said we did it twice that first time because the color was too red. Check out the 11th picture from the right.That's 2 days after I had it dyed: linky
Looking back I think I should have waited till May to go topless. Do note that I have my hair cut and dyed every 3 weeks since then. Even with the ESD (estrogen sucking drug) I still have tons of healthy hair.
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lago - checked out your link - i am about the length of you in June - the no bangs thing is the worst - i just thought the color would look good - it looks good on you - but not sure i'm liking it
think i will try the one more time (hoping my hair doesn't fall out) and then just resign myself to going undercover with the wig til it grows out - the wig will probably look the best for the pictures anyway
saw Little Couples vow renewal last nite - so cute - & i didn't hear her whine once about having to wear her wig
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I wore my wig twice. I was too big and hot even in the winter. I wore scarves the entire time.
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Woohoo.......this morning my husband said I actually look like I have a hair style!
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ok so when does this excess facial hair (jaw line, cheeks, chin, side burns etc) start going away. I know I've heard of trimming with little battery operate trimmer, it or using facial hair remover (fuzz off?), but will it eventually thin or fall out on its own? For how long does this continue? I am almost 9 wks PFC (on Monday) and I am so excited to be getting hair back, esp lashes and brows and head hair but wish the other body and facial hair would stay away. Guess we can't have it both ways. The hair on my head is white, oh well, I'll take it, better than nothing!
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Lisaj514 some of mine went away but I still have it. On my back, upper arms etc too. I use the little razor on my face/neck. So weird.
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yes, now that my hair is dark the light hair on the sides of my face seems to really stand out
it doesn't grow back like a stubble does it? that's all i need is 5 O'Clock shadow...my wig actually stays on better now & it seems different now that i am choosing to wear it rather than having to...my dark side burns show a bit but kind of blend...will we ever get back to normal?? not looking for perfection just wanna be comfortable in my own skin again
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bosumblues it takes about 12-18 months for your hair to get back to a more normal state. I too noticed the flat lack of shine even with professionally dyed hair. About 12 months it started to change but note that I wear my hair short and it grows fast (even when on Herceptin). My hair dresser said to me on Friday that my hair is less frizzy than it was before chemo although I've always had straight hair but the gray must now be straighter.
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You might have to ask someone else since I kept cutting mine short but the texture was very different than my regular hair. I would think it would have to just grow out. Granted more length will give it more weight so that will help straighten it. Also I didn't go poodle. My chemo hair had a bit of a weird wave but still mostly straight. The shine grew back.
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BosumBlues I have beautiful hair… that doesn't mean I want to go and grow it back. Your persona is not hair as mine wasn't small boobs. (Learned the hard way never let your male PS decide what a "little bigger" means).
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Lago - Right on !! Or a "little smaller" - which is what I wanted & didn't get small enough.
My hair is growing slowly due to Herceptin but it's almost 2" in some places on top at six months PFC with really weird waves. Still shorter on the sides & back. I liked it before the waves appeared. Now it's like the ocean with numerous, treacherous rip tides at random places. Still I hate to cut anything at this point since I have no idea what it will do. I've always had at least shoulder length hair, but turns out I like it short. "Everyone" says short hair makes me look 10 years younger. (can't remember if it's Merrill Lynch or Smith Barney that "everyone" is listening to - but for 10 years of age, I'll listen)
I never got back to you about the toe nails. Still losing both big toe nails. My derm cut them back to almost nothing rather than pulling off. It makes wearing shoes a problem and worse with 'water shoes' for aerobics in the pool. I finally found gel "toe protectors" that you can slip on. Now I can make the whole hour of exercises. Available at REI & Amazon & others. Just be aware that you can't leave them on all the time or the conditions are too favorable for fungus growth.
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i just think i need some bangs...the rest of my hair is long enough to be considered a do but nobody purposely wears their bangs this short lol...still wish i had left it gray but learning to let it go...
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Hang in there it will grow. And it grows faster than toenails (sorry to tell you that MinusTwo).
BosumBlues not everyone know about my black bird in the park story.
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Oh I thought you knew. Last month I was doing my usual power walk through the zoo and pond. There is this one area by the lagoon that I was attacked by a small bird when my hair was growing back. I assumed it was the color. Bit too read. Fast forward to last month. This red winged black bird attacked me. Figured it was not a regular thing. Next day I looked and saw the bird on a log in the pond. I figured I was safe… but no it attacked me again from behind . The damn bird was waiting for me. It isn't happening to anyone else walking by. I've been walking around that area. I assume I should be fine once nest season and baby birds are flying. linky
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Lago - Bosum Blues - I would freak out if a sea gull landed on my head or a black bird attacked me... I could never go back to the same area Lago.. LOL..
Notbuyingit - I no longer have bangs - my hair grows toward the back now not down where I could have bangs.. its weird but I am use to it now.. I always had bangs before but try as I might, I can't make the hair look right with bangs..
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Minus 2, Do you also have black fungus around your lifting big toe nail? I do on the one that's still there. Ugh!
Will have my 9th Taxol on Thurs and noticed some hair growth beyond the white fuzz this past week. Is this standard? Just some darker hair amongst the white but noticeably longer. Brows filling in except for the tail ends and new lash growth. Yay! It sounds like hair growth which may allow you to go topless takes anywhere from 3-6 months from last chemo - or earlier?
This is such a helpful thread. Thank you all!
Paula
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MomMom is that fungus or dried blood? Any dark I had was dried blood. Granted I now have a fungus problem in several of my nails because some of my toenails remained a little lifted. Just can't get rid of it. My podiatrist said that would happen.
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Never had any bleeding that I noticed and podiatrist said fungus - just a darkness at the base and up both sides - not on top so far. Nail definitely lifted at base. Thanks
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MomMom - Originally last fall the podiatrist cut back some & tested for fungus - luckily negative. This spring the dermatologist cut back both nails quite a ways so they aren't always catching & pulling off. There was some dried blood. The 'raw' skin at the end makes them a little more tender but easier to deal with. Growth is coming from the cuticle but I'm finding Lago is right - really slow.
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Minus 2 & Lago, Thanks for your input. I will mention testing for fungus next time I'm at the podiatrist. Her said that the FDA has recently approved a new prescription paint on anti fungal drug for nails that should be available soon. Its 38% effective v. other similar drugs that are only 18% effective. I'll post when I find out more.
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MomMom thanks for letting me know. I'm sure it will be $$$. I know my dermatologist wanted me to try something to flatten my nails a few years ago (that also works for fungus). Since I didn't have a fungus my insurance wouldn't pay. It was $200 a month I think. I didn't use it.
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look at this wild stripe I have going down the center of my head. 9 wks PFC today, but I'm a slow grower I realized comparing to others. But the dark stripe is crazy!
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Lisa, I was slower, here is my growth at 9 weeks PFC. I might add my hair has gone through several colour changes as it grew. I decided I really liked the silver gray, then it went salt/pepper (loved that!) and unfortunately it's now a mouse blonde with grey. I've so far decided not to colour it, it's in much healthier shape and it's growing on me! I'm just letting you know that your stripe will surely change.
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