Hair Hair Hair - Another question
Comments
-
Hello Everyone! I am 13 months post chemo and 3 months post Hercepton. Hercepton sure slowed the hair growth but I used Marc Anthony products (pink bottles made for hair regrowth) and my hair is thick and now growing much faster! I actually have bangs now!
0 -
Beatmon and Karen: you both look fantastic!
July 27th was 4 months PFC for me. My hair growth is slow going, but it's better than having a bald head.
I used Head and Shoulders Clinical Strength during chemo. After chemo, I started taking Biotin and using Nioxin System Kit 6. Sorry about the poor pictures. Some days I just wasn't feeling or looking all that great.
0 -
You look amazing, Lohoff! Next week is five months for me and my scalp is still fully visible in the front.
Lyn
0 -
Thank you for sharing your pics lohoff. So helpful to see that detail. I love the pixie cut!
0 -
I used the Rogaine , hair and nails chewable, the special shampoo and conditioner ( nioxin) I think my hair is really growing slowly. Ug
0 -
Thank you for posting those pictures lohoff! I finished chemo at the same time as you, but my growth is about half your speed. My pre-chemo hair had a slightly tighter curl than yours. I was wondering how long the hair had to be before the curl would return. Your pictures are really helpful in that regard. Hope (and curls) are on the horizon. BTW, I love the color of your hair too
0 -
Love everyone's hair pics. I think you all look great! This summer my hair seems to have really taken off with growth, although it is still super short. My hair started coming in really dark, but all of a sudden I see total grey roots. I started having my hairdresser color it, and now I can track just how fast it's growing by the roots! lol. I'm 9 months PFC now. My hairdresser said that for most of her clients, it takes up to 2 years to get back to an average length. I'm just thankful that with the heat we have this summer I don't have to wear a wig.
0 -
Thank you everyone for all of your kind words and encouragement. Believe it or not, I have not cut my hair in a pixie style. It grew in that way, but it's now getting a little wild-looking. I'm probably going to need a real haircut in the next month or two to give it a real shape.
I have learned that healing from cancer treatment is definitely a slow process, so I'm just taking it month by month. Joining the Livestrong program at my local Y was an awesome experience. I highly recommend it. I could barely walk up my steps each day and now I can run up them. I feel better today than I have in many years.
Hugs and prayers to all of you! Keep moving forward on a path to wellness.
0 -
Hi! I've posted before but not for a while. I try to keep up reading the posts as my hair is very important to me, as it is for all of us to help us feel "normal" again and not look like a cancer patient anymore!
I follow seq24 closely because we are the same time frame. Looking great, seq24! I love seeing everyone's waves and curls!
I'm 6mo PFC but still have about 3 more Herceptin infusions and I am taking Aromisin, which are probably slowing my growth.
I'm posting some pics because 1. I'm fristrated with how much scalp is still showing thru . 2. How straight and baby fine it is 3. I don't know what do do with it so I wear a hat all the time in public. Gave up the wig when school got out in June. Too hot and humid in NJ summers for a wig!
I am using Jamaican black castor oil w/peppermint massaged in my scalp over night and take biotin and numerous other vitamins.
Does anyone have a good hair styling product to suggest for trying to do something with this awkward hairdo? Gel, mousse? Brands? How-tos? I'd like to be able to go out at night and NOT wear a ball cap!!
Thanks. Embarrassed to share these but so grateful to all of you that have shared photos and given me hope this past year! 💗
0 -
hey hopefulyogi,
I think your hair looks absolutely fine and I would certainly not bother covering it up in the heat. Mine would be slightly shorter than yours, fairly fine, and when I looked at yours I realized I've never actually looked at the back of it! Maybe I'll leave it that way, at the moment I go out and about and couldn't give a flying *#$# what anyone else thinks. We've been through enough. I think yours is lovely anyway, but I actually came across a product this morn, have a look in case its if any interest to you.
0 -
Hi HopefulYogi, You are brave to show pics, thank you for sharing. I agree that you have plenty of hair to "go bare" outside, but I also understand the instinct to put a cap on it! I am towards the end of my weekly Taxol regime, but I'd say I have about the same thinning as you do. I find that the more shallow caps (runner's caps) are better for me than the larger, regular baseball caps which seem gigantic on my head. I also bought one "chemo cap" which fits snuggly, comes down low so I can tuck in my ears, and is a fun color.
I like wearing headscarves too, but I need to build up my endurance for them. I've found that after a few hours, it feels itchy/claustophobic. I'm working on it. Also, my 9 year old much prefers that I wear caps instead of scarves. With the caps, no one looks twice. With the scarves, "People ask me about you and I don't want to talk about it." Fair enough.I'm working on building his endurance/toughness too. :-)
This may sound crazy, but I bought myself a bright red lipstick yesterday and I think it makes a BIG difference in my confidence level. I don't usually wear much makeup and most of my lips balms are neutral tints. The color really made my face feel brighter and not so washed out.
Hang in there ladies! ~Hugs from Colorado
0 -
Love seeing all the head hair progress.
Annoyed that my hair is coming back on my legs in patches. Was hoping that would not happen but it is such a small amount I don't shave daily. Still no underarm hair!!!
Love the bright red lipstick confidence, T-Sue.
Coach Vicky
0 -
My hair or lack of it. never seemed to bother my kids or grandchildren. They think its fun and the little ones always wanted to touch my head. My grandson is always comparing it to his. My two 11 year old granddaughters when shopping with me and they went through the hats and scarves and we all wore them. We are having fun with it.
The down side- I still wear the wig to work and I am growing to hate it more each day. I cannot wait until I have enough hair to look like a hair-do to go without it.
0 -
thanks everyone for the encouragement! Half of me says "here it is , this is what I got- deal with it" and the other half of me is embarrassed and wants to hide!
I've tried using some gel that's supposed to add volume, but I end up either greasy looking or with really stiff hard hair. Hoping to get some product suggestions to help me out of this ChiPet phase! 😏
Have a great weekend everyone!!
☮️
0 -
This is me 9 months PFC. I've cut it a few times, keeping the sides close and letting the top grow in. It's coming in a bit curly. I have to put pomade and anti-frizz serum in it every morning or else it will go all willy-nilly. I actually really like it's low maintenance, but then I've always had a love/hate relationship with my hair. The other day a drug rep came to the office and said to me that she wishes she was brave enough to cut all her hair off into a pixie cut like I had. I just thought to myself "you have no idea how much bravery this "haircut" took, lol".
Brows and lashes came in at about month 3 PFC (I lost them all), then thinned out a bit and now seem to have settled back to my old normal. Slow but steady, it will come back ladies. Have a wonderful weekend!
0 -
You look fabulous docmama! I love the color.
0 -
Hopeful--I think I said this before, but I'll say it again. When I just saw your photos I thought it was me. We have the exact same hair! Today I am 28 weeks pfc. When I took these photos today I was surprised that after so many months I can finally say that I can see a change in my hair. It has looked the same for so long. The top has finally filled in, unless it's just a shadowy photo
My hair has a totally different texture than it did before. It is unruly a lot of the time and humidity makes it worse. Sometimes it sticks straight out from my head. No amount of gel or mousse holds it down. Several weeks ago I got a sample of Theorie Marula Oil Hair Serum. I put just a little on my hair and what a difference. It made my hair very soft, it stayed where I wanted it an it smelled great. I ran out and have been trying to find some more. I even asked my hair dresser. She had never heard of it and looked at all of her sources to get me some more. Nothing. I checked with Ulta and Sally Beauty. Nobody has it. I'm sure its expensive. If anyone can find it please let me know. This stuff was great!
Well, 28 weeks PFC--here's my hair today
0 -
Hi seq24
Www.yourtheorie.com ships it, $26 a bottle, rhunk Amazon have it too.
Your hair looks lovely BTW, you can notice the extra length in it makes a diff alright. Lovely.
X
0 -
Thanks all for sharing your growth pictures.
Yep, I have heard the "wish I could wear my hair like you" from people who have no idea.
I took me FOREVER to finally accept that I really like my silver & black short cut. If a beautician had recommended this color and cut before cancer, I would have done it. But let chemo do it to me and I grieve over what was.
Frankly, this hair is thicker and easier style. I get more compliments on my hair than I ever did before.
I had to stop fighting what once was and accept in many ways what I have now is better. I am just still p'od about how I got it.
Make sense?
Coach Vicky
0 -
Pleased to see everyone with their cute dos! Haven't been on in awhile. I am almost 6 months PFC and I have a salt and pepper pixie that looks like a style choice, so I am told. It's getting a bit unruly and still feels soft like baby hair but I am so glad to have it. I think my eyebrows may be thinning a bit after having come back pretty full. That's upsetting me but trying to stay calm. I had them tinted and waxed about 6 weeks ago which gave me a boost. Thinking of doing it again.
0 -
hi hopefull yogi, for your scalp that shows have you tried toppik. They sell it at Ulta and it works like magic. And have you tried viviscal, they are tablets and seem to work well. I'm on the cold cap forum and a lot of us use these products. Also sulfate and paraben free shampoo and conditioner.
0 -
1 year PFC! The hair at the back grows so much faster than the top. So, the top has been barely trimmed, but the back has had several inches cut off (1 1/4 today).
0 -
KB - Thanks! I pretty much had no hair after Taxol with no visible growth until 4 wks PFC, so there's hope!
HapB - I use shampoo only a few times a week. The Live Clean shampoo is free of SLS, parabens, etc. Often I just rinse my hair in cool water. I also make a hair mask using seaweed powder, peppermint oil, and aloe gel.
0 -
Serenity, that looks so great! My hair grows much faster also in the back but I'm no where near your length. I'm about 9 months PFC and am happy with the thickness and coverage. I'd say in the last month, my hair has just really grown a ton! I love your length!
0 -
Dara - I love how thick your hair is! The curls also disguise its length. You look great!
0 -
Hello Docmama, I love your picture and it gives me hope. Especially since you were also on docetaxel. Could you tell me how long it was before your hair started to grow back? I finished chemo July 4th (I'm Canadian so no holiday day) and it is now almost the end of 6 full weeks following the last treatment - and I am still bald as an egg.
I had first had 4 treatments - FEC - then 4 cycles of docetaxel. Between the two my hair grew back fast & furious within weeks, then I lost it with the docetaxel. Now there is no growth. Very depressed.
A number of people on this thread have said to be patient and can take longer but had been particularly curious as to your experience since your hair is so cute now.
Thanking you in advance if you are able to help me. PS - I had chemo first to reduce the tumour and in a couple of days will have a double mastectomy (August 16th) so may not be able to reply back to you for a while.
0 -
Welcome CanadianGirl58, and thank you for sharing. We are routing for some hair growth for you soon!
0 -
Hi Canadiangirl. I remember I still had just some wispy little fuzzy hairs for the superbowl, which was about six weeks after my last TCHP. So it seems you are progressing along the same as I was. I did start using Rogaine my next to last TCHP infusion. It seemed to help a bit, but it dried out what little hair was growing in so I stopped it after a couple of months. Be patient, it will start coming in soon. We all are different My hair always grew fast before chemo. Yours will too!
Good luck with your surgery !!
0 -
Thank you so much for your response docmama. This is quite the journey for us all. I will try and be patient but find it difficult not to check my head each day, only to be so disappointed. I guess it will be what it will be and I have no control over it. Worse case scenario, while emotionally devastating, is that I would have to wear wigs all my life. Hope it doesn't come to that.
My surgery is on the 16th, just a couple of days away. Then healing, then radiation. I have a lot of support from friends and family so very grateful for that.
Reconstruction won't happen (fatty tissue technique) until at least 6 months following radiation.
BEST to everybody on this site facing cancer. Stay strong. Stay courageous.
0 -
Hello Everyone,
I was wondering does everyone shave their hair? Is there anyone out there that did not shave? Please tell me about your regrowth.
0
