Cold Caps Users Past and Present, to Save Hair
Comments
-
Daniella - beautiful mommy & daughter!
Thanks for the tip. I wanna try Style Edit. My gray hair is pretty long now, and I gave up covering. It'd be good to cover since I have several holiday function at work that I meet upper management. Happy Birthday!0 -
Daniella! You look amazing! Your daughter is adorable! So glad you found us and did the caps! No one sees "cancer" when they look at you! They see a beautiful, vibrant, smart and cool chic!! Happy Birthday girl!0 -
Happy Birthday Daniella! You look great. I'm at Day 35, two treatments down, and stil have my hair!
I noticed that the women who didn't cold cap say they have scalp pain that goes away once they shave their heads. I do have scalp pain, but no frost bite. Did any of you experience scalp pain while cold capping?
0 -
I have had scalp pain some days throughout this, and was convinced I would have a shed soon after. I did not, however. I am still capping, have done 4 AC and my fourth weekly taxol is Wed, and I have no loss yet. I have been gently washing once per week, but haven't been good with the supplements. I am extremely happy with the results, and echo Daniella's sentiments. It means so much to me and my family and my kids to not have hair loss on top of everything else. I think it has made treatment much easier to face and helped me from getting really depressed. I'm using for penguin cold caps and the freezers at my med ctr. Good luck.
0 -
Warrior_woman! Thank you for that post! It's great to hear that someone who hasn't had to make the choice personally gets the decision to do it! Daniella, I think you are my twin. My 41st birthday is tomorrow. You look great and your daughter is so sweet!
0 -
Daniella- you look amazing!! And your daughter is adorable. I wish I looked so normal!
Warrior woman - did you shed badly after chemo? If so when did it stop?
I guess I am still a success story, but I have easily lost more hair post chemo (last one 10/30/2014) than during chemo. My hair loss is mostly in bottom back of my head and above the ears like everyone...also it has thinned in the back top a lil too. I am almost 6 wks PFC and the shedding just continues.... I look worse with each passing day. I looked better while I was going through chemo.
My eyelashes and eyebrows waited to fall out at the end too. They are mostly back now, but not 100% yet.
My wedding is July 11, 2015. I would have gotten married sooner but wanted to push it off long enough to have some hair growth. Now I'm afraid my hair will still be thin, stringy and awful 7 months from now.
Also does anyone else feel/look like chemo sucked 10 yrs from you? I aged...my eyes have dark circles now....apparently my face looks thinner, yet my weight is the same. I was doing fine during chemo....now that it is over....I look horrible. Please tell me you bounce back....and this is not permanent.
0 -
Jennliza - I looked horrid after chemo - also felt like I looked like I aged 10 years. Sallow, pale skin, dark circles, more wrinkles, etc. etc. I definitely bounced back!!! I felt much better within a few months and looked markedly better! The dark circles go away and your color comes back. You will look beautiful by your wedding, don't worry! It's not permanent!
0 -
Jennliza, I had chemo for the first time when I was 39 and I did feel like you do, but I bounced back pretty fast. Now I'm going through it again 14 years later and hope to bounce back again. If your hair is thin, what about those hair extensions that go underneath your hair? I'm sure a hair stylist could give you some tips.
0 -
I used clip in extensions to thicken up my hair for a while. They worked well for me. I got a set at a beauty supply store.0 -
Thank you all for your kind words. I saw my breast surgeon yesterday and she told me that I was the talk of Sloan Basking Ridge. I asked if it was because of Blanket Gate- lol. She said, "no, everyone talks about how you look after chemo. We're all shocked". She actually pointed me out to a newly diagnosed woman while I was in the waiting room to, I guess, ease her mind. I went for my herceptin infusion after. A bunch of nurses all came by and said the same, that they never had a chemo patient look like me afterwards. I hope my success encourages Sloan to tell their patients about cold capping.
But here is the truth. I still don't feel great or look Like I did pre chemo. Jennliza and all ladies....makeup makeup makeup. I use Cle de Peau concealer stick, Nars radiance concealer and top with Ben Nye Banana Powder. If you saw me without my concealer and bronzer - whoa. I look like glow worm with dark circles. I'm so sallow that I glow green. Make up is my best friend right now! I am wearing Kardashian-level makeup at this point but it's fooling everyone for now. That's the secret. Cold capping and makeup. I will bounce back hopefully and be able to forego the mask but for now...
I love that the Sloan doctors and nurses are eating their words. They all said I would lose my hair! Ha!
As for extensions, I would avoid clip-ins until your hair is stronger. There are halo extensions that are basically hair strung on fishing line. You just lay it on your head and cover with your natural hair to blend.
I am using Phytocyane shampoo and scalp nutrient ampules for thinning hair. My best friend is the daughter and part owner of a large beauty enterprise- she really knows the business. She said for me, Nioxin wouldn't be good because I would just lose more hair when I stopped using it. It's also very strong and could make for dry hair. I had success with the Phytocyane line in the past when I lost hair after surgery and stress.
Then again,everyone's hair is different and it may work for others. I heard Nutri Osse can be bought at Sally's is a knock off Nioxin that is very good and cheaper than Nioxin.
Happy Birthday Harrysmom!
0 -
Daniella - how awesome that they are recognizing the value of the caps now!!! You do look absolutely wonderful. So happy for you! And thanks for the makeup tips!
0 -
Jennliza- I think you will feel like your hair looks much better come July. I had the same issue with losing more hair post-chemo. I think my hair looked the worst 2-3 months after I was done, but now I am almost 11 month PFC and my hair is looking much more normal! Your new hair will be a few inches long by July, so your hair won't be flat. Like mdg said, you could definitely look into getting some clip in extensions for the wedding and all the festivities leading up to it. I'm not sure if you gained any weight, but I gained almost 15 lbs and as of October, I am back to my pre-chemo weight, so that should be back to normal too!Happy birthday Daniella!! You and your daughter are beautiful
0 -
Hi - former cold capper here! I lost about 40% of my hair with the cold caps, the majority of which fell out during the month after my last dose dense Taxol treatment. Though it seemed like a lot at the time, the hair loss thankfully wasn't really noticeable to anyone but me (yay for cold caps!).
Regrowth started about 5 months ago, and all of the new hair is coming back as "chemo curls" at the crown, nape of my neck, and around my ears, while the texture of my hair that hung on throughout chemo is straight to slightly wavy. It looks so strange and the mis-matched texture of my hair is driving me crazy (short, tight, thick curls at my scalp with longer, thin wavy strands at the ends near my shoulders).
Has anyone else had this experience? Will the crazy new curls eventually relax and blend with my old hair as it all grows out? I'd appreciate any styling tips as well.
0 -
Yes, i had the exact same experience, except I liked it! My curls were hidden under my long straight hair, but they gave it lots of body. As it gets longer they definitely lose the degree of curl and become more wavy.
0 -
Hi Jennifer, same thing happened to me. I actually had no side effects from Chemo and felt very lucky. Two weeks after I was done with Taxol - eyelashes fell out and eyebrows thinned a lot. I was so down about this because you think you are over and done. Kind of felt like a freak that this was all happening after chemo but it is what it is and they say the eye lashes and eyebrows grow back fast. Hoping this is true! Congratulations on your wedding date - you will be a beautiful bride and it will all come together! VeraAnn
0 -
I wonder why that happens. You'd think the chemo would be out of our system by then...
0 -
@Jennliza I just finished last week and am so afraid of loosing more hair, I'm hanging on to enough to keep me sane. I lost the majority of my thick hair around day 21, one massive shed that day and then of course the daily shedding which was much less. I'm hoping for me I won't have this continual after chemo shed! I also gained about 12 lbs and have never looked worse, feeling 10 years older, bags, wrinkles, and BACK BOOBS. They're small, like an A cup, but still 😂 Hoping for a transformation come summer with some Pilates and yoga and drinking water with my supplements. I need to buy some halo extensions I think, just because the hair on my head is all separated, it doesn't stay together like, well hair. With all that said I'm still glad I'm not bald other than a few places that are cover able.
0 -
hi it's so great to see everyone's positive feedback about cold caps!
I'm starting tx next week - FECT 6 cycles. I'm anxious about how I respond to treatment, and the hair loss. The hospital aren't keen and certainly don't seem to be pushing it. I have long hair and always have - it's fairly fine but I have a lot of it. I keep being advised to cut it so it'll be easier to come to terms with when it all falls out!
Some of the reading does suggest cutting it short in terms of weight and I just wondered if others had done this? I'm 28 - it's not about being vain, but I don't want to look sick and I don't want the look in people's eyes!
Thanks
0 -
Scotgirl- Are you located in the U.K. ?
0 -
Scotgirl, I was told by Frank, the founder of PCC, NOT to cut my hair before chemo. Since you're starting next week, I would say leave it as it is. My hair is long and fine, but after two rounds of chemo, I still have it, with minimal shedding.
0 -
hi ladies,
The post chemo shedding happened to me too...lost all my eyebrows and eyelashes about 2-3 wks after last chemo. Eyebrows grew back fast. Eyelashes took longer, but now at ~12wks pfc, they are getting there! (Full but short).
I'm also still shedding hair - not a ton, but it's hard to know if this is 'normal' or still chemo shedding (I lose about 100 hairs when I wash, which is only 1-2xwk). I lost almost no hair during chemo. My best guess is that most people do one or the other - if the caps are tight to your head there is a certain % of your hair which is 'old' and will fall...either during chemo or after. I have no idea if this is true or not, but it seems to make sense to me.
Anyhow, I had a lot of hair. Each strand is very fine, but there is a ton of it. So no one (including me) can tell it's thinned. My husband was ace with the caps - we used the eyebrow bands over my ears and nape, and the elastic bands around my head (not under the chin) to secure the whole mess. I have no bald spots - even over ears.
I went back to work 2 months ago and colleagues were shocked.
On the flip side, I can't wait to have a haircut...have been waiting till I am confident the shedding has stopped. Weirdly, my hair grew a lot during chemo (like 4 inches) which means it's pretty shapeless now. But at least it is there!!
Welcome new cappers, this group was awesome for me while I was in treatment.
0 -
I have recently found a company in Canada called "Polar Scalp Cooling Caps"....my friend is using them and with much success she has maintained all of her hair and is on her 3rd round of Chemo. She is so far very happy with the results and thankyou to all that have posted experiences with cold capping, who knew that it was possible to save your hair from falling out with cold capping. I hope people start talking about this more so that not everyone has to endure the horrible experience of losing their hair and being sick at the same time,
thanks so much
0 -
I'm glad to hear there are more options for cold capping out there that work! Do you know how much the polar scalp cooling caps cost?
Good thing the ombre look is still in because since I can't color my hair, I have several inches of dark hair now above my blonde highlights.
I went to a Look Good, Feel Better presentation this week and I was the only one cold capping. One woman I talked to said her oncologist won't allow it because he's worried about it not allowing chemo to her head. I told her about the extremely low chance of scalp mets. I don't know why oncs are so against it. I was ready to move on if mine objected.
I'm not having a lot of shedding, so I'll probably be one of those who get it after I'm done with chemo. I do worry about going back to work and shedding my hair all over the place...
0 -
Raindew, I have the same theory as you. We're predestined to lose a certain amount of older hair while using cold caps. Some lose it in a big shed or two while others lose it gradually over many months. You will also lose more if you can't get that tight fit around the ears and nape of the neck. You're almost there and I don't think a hair trim now would cause any harm. I colored at 3 months PFC while still shedding. Once shedding stops, it stops completely. I shed for about 4 months PFC but once it stopped I didn't lose another hair for several months. Literally, nothing fell out when I washed, combed etc. It was weird. It didn't start what I consdier to be normal shedding again until about 8 months PFC.
0 -
Thanks JC254,
Good to know I'm not nuts with this theory :-)
V much looking forward to shedding stopping...but so grateful that I have most of my hair, so hard to complain
0 -
Has anyone used foam rollers? I'm going to a holiday party this weekend and would like my hair to have some curl... but I don't want to damage it!
0 -
Happy Birthday +1 day Daniella!
jc254, thank you for giving me sanity today, knowing the shedding will eventually stop. I just had my weekly hairwash/weekly panic attack.
0 -
Would someone be able to point me in the right direction regarding getting information about cold caps. I'm new to this process and scheduled to start chemo on 1/6 however I have no idea how to go about figuring out if cold caps is an option for me, which one to get, how to get it and what I need to do about the whole dry ice thing. Basically I'm clueless and trying to figure out what needs to be done if I chose to use them. Thanks!
0 -
Lucille, I had great success with Chemo Cold Caps. http://www.chemocoldcaps.com Lizzy not only runs the company, but she's a former cold cap user that is amazing to work with. She not only helped me with my hair, but also helped with other side effects from chemo. She really held my hand through the whole process. I'll see if I can post some before and after pictures for you.
0
