Hair Hair Hair - Another question
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I guess I just need to vent. I am so depressed about the condition of my hair after chemo. It started growing back about halfway through Taxol. which I was very excited about. That hair is now about a half inch long. I'm 4 weeks PFC now and I have no other new hair coming in. None! The top of my head is still mostly bald and I have various other bald patches all over my head. The little hair I do have is very sparse and mostly grey. I had NO grey hair before chemo. I just want to cry. I could deal with the half inch of hair IF it covered my whole head. I am planning on getting extensions as soon as it is an inch long. I was hoping by the beginning of May for that, but at this rate I'm still going to be bald. I see everyone's gorgeous after chemo hair pictures. Everyone has beautiful hair covering their whole head, even when it was first coming back. I am one week into radiation and will be starting hormone blockers when I'm finished. I just read that those drugs cause hair loss, thinning and/or very slow growth. I'm afraid I'm stuck in this awful wig forever. Thoughts anyone? Sorry to be such a downer. This is just horrifying to me every time I see myself in the mirror. Thanks for listening.
I was going to post a photo of myself but I'm too embarrassed for all of you to see just how awful I look.
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seq24...Be patient, even though it seems so hard. I am 9 months pfc and just today went out without my wig. My hair is very short and I have only 1/2" of bangs. I also look at photos and get very discouraged. But, as in everything, we are all different, as well as our hair. You might want to try Biotin. I asked about extensions a few months ago and my stylist had a very negative reaction. She said chemo hair regrowth is very fragile and could break with extensions. Good luck
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seq24 - 4 wks PFC is still early. I had few hairs left after Taxol. At 4 wks PFC, I had very fine patches of peach fuzz. Everyday I could see the patches growing. Around 5 wks PFC, I did buzz the straggly hairs that were ridiculously longer than the new hairs growing. At 6 1/2 months PFC, my hair is about 2 in. long. You can see my progress pics at this link.
https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/69/topics/707348?post_id=4849817
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seq24 - do not worry! You are way too close to your last chemo to expect even growth. I was worried too even as late as 7 weeks post chemo that it wasn't going to come in all over. A few days ago I posted a pic of me in this thread that is current at 20 some odd weeks post chemo and you can see I have a full head of hair. Hang in there. The hair is coming.
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OK, Seq, I'd only do this for YOU!
First, here is a pic of me at 7 weeks PFC. I'm still practically bald with no brows etc. You're only at 4 wks PFC!
Then here is my hair at 18 wks PFC
I've been so discouraged over how slowly my hair is growing, but when I go back and look at pics I took, I see it's really growing. Someone recommended taking pictures periodically because we forget what it was like just a few weeks ago. My brows are still really sparse, and my hair was not the fastest growing even before bc. The first hair came in almost translucent. It is gradually switching to darker, but does also have some grey in it. I figure I'm just going to color it. Oh, and it seems to be growing in every which way and some straight up!
Hang in, I totally understand your discouragement. No one except my husband has seen me with nothing covering my head.
Yours WILL come back. We all just feel that once we're done with treatment, we should be DONE!
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I am 7 weeks PFC but taking Herceptin till end of August. No hair yet. Hopefully it will start coming in soon
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Dara--Oh THANK YOU!! Your hair is coming in so thick and beautiful. I appreciate the encouragement. You're right, when we're done with treatment, then we need to be done with everything that made us miserable throughout this whole ordeal. And the thing, as you know, that made me the most miserable was the fact that I lost my hair. I almost didn't do chemo for that exact reason.
Thank you for your caring and support my friend!
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seq24....this is mine 5 weeks PFC, it was so slow coming in! I took pics practically every week looking for some difference! Trust me, it will come! Even when I went back to work 4 months PFC it was really short and I still have very little bangs now. Hang in there
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Thanks for sharing Karen. I had to look twice. I thought I had accidentally posted a picture of my own head. I have one that looks EXACTLY like this that I took on Jan 15, a week before I finished chemo. I'm even wearing the same color top in the photo. We also share the same name too. If I wasn't so embarrassed I'd post my photos on here. Maybe some day. How many weeks PFC are you now? I appreciate your support.
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Lol! Isn't that a coincidence! Well, it's my head ....I sure remember it well. If you scroll up on this same page to the blond hair that's me now. I am on Herceptin too still. It took about 3 months for it to really fill in good
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Enviable hair! I have been using wigs
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Hi Ladies. I'm still virtually bald 8 weeks after brain rads. Peach fuzz is at least finally happening so that's better than nothing. I was with a co worker the other day and was admiring her gorgeous hair, lashes and brows. Hmm I seem to notice all that on other women these days. I had my wig on so she was asking me how the growth's going. She's really into all things natural and swears by organic cold pressed castor oil. At $10 a bottle I figure what do I have to lose. Started applying it last night so I'm curious to see what if anything happens in a couple of weeks. Lots of info on the web out there too.
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Myleftboob, I had castor oil recommended by several people and also when I started using Nioxin, found the it contains 3 different castor oils as well. There must be something to it!
Don't worry about being 8 wks with no hair. air grows super slowly at first, especially with the peach fuzz, then the fuzz seems to be replaced with regular hair. Mine is still super super short so growing in unbelievably slowly. I think my age is against me and my hair never grew all that fast to begin with.
I know just what you mean about noticing hair on others now. I remember before my hip replacement I would really notice women who walked quickly and naturally even in the grocery store. I guess we notice what we really want.
Try also taking Biotin. It's supposed to help with both hair and nails.
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DaraB Thanks for the words of encouragement. Been through chemo 2x and my hair started to grow in quick order. Particularly through the last go around which was way more intense. As a matter of fact alot of it hung in there I just cut it super short and wore a hat to hide the thinness. Brain radiation though wiped it out completely, like a baby's bottom. Thankfully its winter so the wig doesn't bug me too much but really hoping for coverage by the warmer weather. Wigs can be so hot! The radiation I had was PCI vs WBR so prevantitve so I hate asking about hair on the Brain Mets forum, seems insenstive
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I did not have any hair growth until 8-10 weeks after chemo, I took Taxotere and thought my hair loss was permanent. I am now 10 months out and my hair is coming in nicely. I am taking biotin and using Nioxin shampoo. I have had it highlighted but have not had it cut yet.
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You look fantastic!
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Lollipop
You look amazing. Love your hair. Looks very intentional and smart on you
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Lollipop, great photo! I just counted up and I should be around your stage in August. We never think in terms of how long it takes to get hair grown in. Your hair looks adorable.
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Lollipop--your hair is gorgeous! I love your curls and the style. Did it come back your natural color right away? How much biotin do you take daily? I also use Nioxin products to try to speed the process of hair growth. I'm 5 weeks PFC and I'm very disappointed in my hair. Although it is growing, it's coming in very thin and definitely nowhere close to my natural color. It's mostly grey which I had none of before (nor am I old enough to have this much grey). One side has more hair than the other side and the top is so thin I can still see my shiny scalp. Over the last couple weeks what I do have has gotten coarse and wiry and sticks straight out from my head. I'm pretty scary looking!
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Thank you everyone for the kind comments. I have always had long hair so I'm still trying to get used to the short. It came back darker than what I had and less grey, which I am happy about! Seq24, I take 10,000 mcg of biotin per day. I have a friend who also had Taxotere 1 year before me and her hair never grew back. I am very thankful mine did
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Seq24
My hair is very wiry and looks horrible-think cat with paw in light socket shock-the eeeeek! effect.
I have been going to a blow out bar/salon...and they straighten it. I am on round 2 of CMF, and started shedding....so not sure but may have to go wig route in a bit....I am real conscientious about it....for work.
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Westthebest--I know what you mean about being conscientious. I lost most of my hair at the end of September. I have worn a wig daily since then. I absolutely hate it but it's better than having anyone see me without it. It was bad when I was mostly bald and it's just as bad now that the hair is coming back. This has been the absolute worst part of all of this. I saw an ad in a magazine today with a picture of a female version of Albert Einstein. My hair has a good start to looking just like that. Yikes!! If you decide to wear a wig, did you know that the American Cancer Society will give you a free wig. The one I got there is a human hair wig and it is the one I wear every day, even though I have a synthetic wig that I bought and paid big $$ for.
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Seg24. That's awesome you were able to get a wig. The Canadian Cancer givse you didly squat. Its a disgrace. I called when first DX 5 years ago and nope. Even though the website says they do. Maybe I'll give it another shot and see what they say. Can't hurt I suppose
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Hi Seq24, I actually have wigs that are worn out from 5 years ago...I quit wearing them a few months ago, before I was diagnosed again...unfortunately the grow out time took forever and it looked horribly unhealthy. My comfort zone was the wigs. I have a new one on order as I am concerned what the CMF will do....hair pretty thin...only about 30-40% came back...Fingers crossed! I also hate people finding out I'm "sick" again:( Dang! What a journey.
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Westthebest--I am so sorry you are having to deal with this a second time. I am keeping my fingers crossed for you and sending you all my best wishes and a big hug. Take care.
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Hello everyone,
First of all...beautiful hair! I have been lurking for a while trying to gather as much info on hair regrowth after chemo, rads and ongoing anastrozole. My hair has come back but unfortunately very thin especially on the top and the upper middle sections of my head. I had chem starting last Feb and my surgery June 2016. Radiation Sept 2016...
My hair had been growing in nicely and I was pretty happy in the beginning but I feel that once I started anastrozole things quickly went downhill for me. After all, it didn't take very long for my hair to quickly start thinning in the front and sides 😯 I have other side effects from anastrozole but for now I can deal with them, takes a lot for us women to give in to anything quickly 😊 The hair loss however, is killing me.
I started biotin recently and hopeful but I want to throw everything at this and to be prepared in case it doesn't help. I recently saw an ad for keranique and wondered if anyone ER+ was cleared to try any of these hair regrowth treatments besides Rogaine. When did you truly see an improved difference after using hair regrowth product and how long before you saw a diff. We are going on vacation later this year and I want to feel comfortable swimming and not worrying so much about my scalp showing 😔 Thank you for any help.
Help please 😣
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Just checking to find anyone who used Taxol as a chemo treatment whose hair hasn't returned or if it has, very little. If you weren't told that permanent hair loss was a possibility, your hair has come back but very thin or not at all, if you will have to wear a wig, please contact me. My BC was early stage, no lymph node involvement and found out that there was no indication for using Taxol. Very frustrated and don't want anyone else to go through this. Feel vain because it's just hair but didn't have to do it and probably didn't have chemical benefit.
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Hi Kali. I finished chemo in October and started anastrozole the same time as rads. My hair is growing in but very slowly. I'm doing the biotin and also using Nioxin hair system. Years ago I had tried Keranique but didn't see any difference with it I was just trying to get thicker longer hair. Most of my hair is about 3/4 - 1" long but have a couple of patches on top that seem shorter. The Nioxin has shampoo, conditioner, scalp treatment, and I also purchased their hair density treatment.
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Kali and posij3--I read your posts with much interest. I finished Taxol 5 weeks ago. My hair is coming back but very thin. I have spots on the top that are mostly bald yet and I have lots of shiny scalp showing everywhere else. The MO assured me that my hair would come back and it would be curly. Not seeing much sign of either right now. I'm sick of wearing an uncomfortable wig. I'm taking biotin, using Nioxin and also putting Jamaican black castor oil on my scalp a few times a week. The hair I have now is what came in about halfway through taxol but there is nothing new coming in. I am very depressed every time I look in the mirror. We want to take a vacation in June but I refuse to go anywhere if I have to wear the wig. Who can enjoy the pool or beach with a wig or the alternative, a bald head. I am 2 weeks into radiation now and will either be taking anastrazole or letrozole when I finish at the end of March. I'd heard they both cause hair loss and I am terrified of that.
Dara--I am using Nioxin products as well. I have shampoo, conditioner and scalp treatment. I'd be interested in the hair density treatment you mentioned. Could you send me a photo of the bottle or an online link to it? I just looked on Amazon and they have several products that are described as a hair density treatment.
Someone told me today that to make hair grow faster and thicker to shave the head after hair starts growing then let it regrow. I couldn't even shave my head when it started coming out during chemo, let alone when I'm finally getting a little hair back. Has anyone done this? Also, the same person told me that we are not to color our hair for 2 years after chemo. That's something I can't wait to do but I can't wait 2 years. Mine is coming back nowhere close to my original color and it is mostly grey. I'm trying to get the courage to post pictures of my awful looking head. I almost did it today but deleted it before I posted. I'm so embarrassed!0
