Cold Caps Users Past and Present, to Save Hair
Comments
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Runner--I have 2 friends who have micro bladed just because they over plucked in the 90s and their brows are almost nonexistent. They look fabulous and so does your pic. I may see how mine end up. It really looks natural on them!
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Elastogel--does the toppik rub out on your hand or pillow?
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Pamela-toppik does not come off my head at all. Three days without washing and it's moved lower and clumped together on my head a bit and ends up looking like freckles. I filled in over it again andit looks great right now, wash day is tomorrow.
I'm not finding it on my pillow or anywhere else.
I still worry about it possibly not being a good thing for my shedding or regrowth. I've googled it to death and I find there is no eveidence of it being bad. I did wonder if it caused my huge shed....I stopped using it but I got so sad about the way it looked I was giving up so I'm back to it,,,and no extra shedding at all right now. I'm losing a tiny bit when I mess with my hair, but it's nothing compared to the huge shed I had for two plus weeks..that was so disheartening happened all at once. I sure hope to be done with the huge losses.
From what I've heard we could be done with needing toppik very shortly. Just a little regrowth and your done needing to hide the bald.
This is day three after applying toppik again. I have very little hair on that side just the hair you can see stringing across. The toppik is great camo. The photo below is another shot from over a week ago, things are getting pretty thin.
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Runner---that is fantastic! My friend had this done and I hope to do the same. I have only a few brow hairs left
also my lashes are falling out now.0 -
Thanks Pamela, your information is what I came up with as well but got a lot of other conflicting tips. Now my mind is at ease about this, phew!!
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Pamela23 you look gorgeous. What spray are you using? My hair is a similar color to yours. I envy your eyebrow drawing skills. I have three girls (18, 19, 20) that I will rely on to do mine.
Elastogel...I am going to hang in there with the cold cap. I dread the wash days. I am hoping since it's mostly scalp left that maybe the cooling will work better for the next two rounds. I cannot handle another big shed.
I left the house today to go to my son's track meet...I have hair in the front on top and sides so I wrapped the rest up and added sunglasses and off I went. I am on day 9 of a bronchial infection I picked up after round 2. Seriously? The hits just keep on comin !
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Pamela23--you look fabulous!!! Not just your hair, but your skin--and that great smile!!
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So, yesterday was 3 weeks PFC. I have about 10-15% of my hair left. It is all over, but I lost the most on top and the high sides. So, it looks like I have male pattern baldness plus serious alopecia.
I STILL recommend cold-capping even if you are doing dose dense AC-T like I did and lose most of your hair. Why? Because I already have about 1/8-1/4 inch of growth all over. And not that wispy stuff others who didn't col cap talk about, but real razor-burn inducing hair stubbles. My follicles never went dormant. In fact, I noticed my entire head hurting and itching for the last few weeks. But to get this amount of growth already, my hair had to have started growing between Taxol #3 and #4. Plus, I noticed the hair that did remain... grew during ALL the chemo. It grew slowly- my hair is like weed normally- but it grew.
I bagged my hair weekly. And at some point, when I remember- chemo brain, yo- I will take pictures of all my hair. I bagged it from two weeks post first infusion when I had my big shed through this week as I am 3 weeks PFC and should be in the taxol nadir.
Ladies who lost on the sides and under their top hair- go google pictures of buzz cuts under long hair. It's an actual style that you can do to your hair RIGHT NOW and look like you planned it. Plus, it's a summer hair cut. Some people buzz just the back so when the hair is up in a pony tail you can see it. Some people color the under hair. Some buzz the back AND sides and/or color that as well. If my hair loss pattern had been this, that is exactly what I would do.
As soon as I get an inch to two inches all over, I'm cutting mine into either a stacked very short bob or keep wearing hats until it grows some more. I have enough hair that when I put my ball caps on, it looks normal. The only place I can't go right now is somewhere fancy. Unless they allow Sunday/Easter hats. I can do fancy brunch with a dressy hat. lol But that's cool. I don't mind skipping some fancy dinners to kick cancer's ass.
I need to be able to attend my older son's graduation this May 5th, but I think I might have a little hair or I can wear a Sunday hat in a fancy dress. We shall see.
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once you guys that lost a lot of hair are finished with chemo, you'll be amazed at what just 1 inch of hair growth makes. I was totally bald on top and with just an inch of hair, just hiding my very whitescalp made a difference. I had a mullet for a few months but most of the time I hid it by pulling my hair back with a clip.
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Runner that is my hope....hanging on to what little I have left and waiting for the 1 inch fill in to hide my scalp. I'm only half way through at this point. We shall see...
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Has anyone tried hair toppers? They're probably a big no-no since they clip in, but they would cover any noticeable thinning on top and I can't imagine they'll be as itchy as a wig since it doesn't cover the entire head. I ordered one with my wig (just in case) and I'm still waiting for it to come in.
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Soxfan I ordered a topper from headcovers.com. When it came in I realized I didn't have thick enough hair left to clip it to. I should've read the website better because headcovers.com does not offer refunds when it comes to wigs or toppers (unlike wigs.com). I called them up the day after I got it and they gave me return instructions and told me to buy some nice jewelry or makeup instead. After they deducted the 25% restock fee I was left with a 175$ credit. I was already emotional so you can imagine watching me try and spend 175$ on eyebrows and eyelashes. Argh.
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LowcountryGirl - That's terrible! What are you supposed to do with a $175 credit? I ordered my topper through a local wig shop along with a wig. Insurance company covers up to $350 for a cranial prosthesis. My wig was only $250 and the topper was around $100. The owner of the wig shop wrote the wig and the topper on the receipt as one item. I hope I'll never have to use either, but it's better to be prepared in case the cold caps don't work as well as I hope.
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Pamela. , you had mentioned trying an oil to for your hair/scalp. I just got one on Etsy. The company has tons of all natural oils and it will even explain what each one does. I chose Mamey oil. It's 100% pure organic Mamey seed oil. You run on scalp and it's supposed to help stimulate hair growth. But they also had lavender oil and many others. It's called best natures cosmetic from Etsy. 
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Lowcountry--I was using the WOW powder which I loved because it stayed in until you washed it out. But my gray roots are about 2 inches long now so bought L'Oreal root spray in light brown. It covers so much more, so much faster but it comes off on my fingers when I run them through my hair and feel I have to touch up the front every morning. But the coverage is there when I need it! I think I only have 2 more weeks before I can use an ammonia free color--does that sound right to everyone on Penguin? Did they say 3 months for that and 4 months for real color?
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Hopfull--I'll have to look into that. I keep reading about peppermint oil. Here is an article that talks about using peppermint in mice and their hair growth compared to some other oils the used. I haven't done much research on it yet. I also hear a lot about rosemary & castor oil for hair growth. I just need something that doesn't leave an oily residue on my scalp!
http://www.healthyandnaturalworld.com/peppermint-e...
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So, I cheated yesterday and had my hair colored......just 9 days PFC. My hair feels so much better and the grey is gone! I hope I don't regret it, but I couldn't take it anymore! I already have quite a bit of new grey and curly growth in my thinner spots. My hairdresser used Kuene brand semi-color. It's a more natural semi-permanent color, but I'm sure Penguin wouldn't approve. Only time will tell if I made a mistake or dodged a bullet! I just couldn't take it anymore and I'm tired of not going out because of my grey troll hair!
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catgirl2 - I totally understand. Let us know how you do. Did the texture change after the color? My texture is dull but did notice after wash Thursday it seemed to have a little more shine and body. I cut mine short and got rid of the blonde and brown ombré, now just short brown hair.. shocking for me, but I have hair and it's growing really fast. I am almost 9 weeks PFC and will wait until 12 weeks to even consider a few highlights. If I just had to color I would have done it by now, but the highlighting will be more damaging. Maybe just add some around my face to brighten me up a little. My lashes are long and lush and my brows. We'll see how long that lasts. Everything grew back so dark.
I wish you good hair and many outings.
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Catgirl2---I don't blame you! I feel the same about the grey and frizzy new growth. I have to laugh each morning as I never had hair standing up before when I rise.--Don't get me wrong...I am thrilled that my hair is growing in....it's just now how to manage it. I want to go this month and have highlights to hide my grey. I am 7 weeks PFC and hope it won't damage my hair!! DIGNICAP recommends babying hair for 2 months after.
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Thanks, everyone. I know I probably shouldn't have done it. My hair was really dull, frizzy and troll like. II truly had 2 inches of grey all over my head. That's a lot of touch up every day. It's so much softer and shinier after my color. I usually get a permanent color that has peroxide to lift my color. This one doesn't have peroxide, so it shouldn't damage my hair. She added some red to it because sometime chemo hair takes on a green tint if you just use the brown. t's a semi and will wash out over time. I figure it should last me a few weeks since I don't wash everyday like I used to. I still can't wait to be able to really style me hair. I think it would look thicker if I could just dry it with a round brush. Oh well, I've probably pushed it enough for one week. I'm just so much happier that i don't have grey anymore! .
Just when I get used to my new hair, my lashes and brows will probably fall out! Oh well, I'm just happy to be finished with the cold caps and chemo!
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Pamela, Penguin does say that you can use vegetable based color with no ammonia or peroxide at 3 months and regular color after 6 months. I just couldn't take using as much touch up spray as I needed. It was making my hair stiff and frizzy because I had to use so much of it. I swear it feels healthier with the color. I also think that the Acure shampoo and conditioner made my hair frizzy. I just bought Kuene hair growth stimulating shampoo and conditioner that has keratin in it. I haven't used it yet, so I will see if that helps my hair condition.
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Catgirl2--I so "get it"--why you couldn't wait. The grey coverup (actually, just a tone down, cause my roots are totally white) is so tough. I just moved from the WOW powder to Loreal spray, as I was depositing so much powder on my scalp, and it wasn't really doing the job with 1 inch plus roots. I too don't care for the Acure conditioner (I use the Acure clarifying shampoo and like it--seems to clean my scalp and hair well)--it is harder to wash out of my hair, multiple rinses before the water runs bubble free, and I think my hair is extremely frizzy and dry. So, I'm changing conditioners tomorrow for wash day. Please keep us posted as to how you do with your color experience! I am about a month behind you in treatment--thanks for sharing your experience
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Runner70 - i'm 3 weeks PTC and still shedding. At what point did you stop shedding after your final chemo? As expected I have started to lose my eyebrows.
For all on Headcovers.com -- DO NOT buy from them. DO NOT even browse their website. Here is what they do. You browse on their website, they sell your IP address to a big data company named Criteo. Criteo matches your IP address with all the data they have on you and then sends you an email right away. I was just browsing the site and got an email (I did not sign up for anything), within 15 minutes of browsing. So a big data company now knows I have cancer. This is private information. I warn you not to even go to the website. This is an invasion of privacy.
I did not figure this out on my own, I googled what was happening and found someone who posted about it about Sears. And he mentioned Criteo. I went back to my email and there is was, the email mentioned Criteo. (big data)
I have called headcovers.com and will follow up with them next week. I asked to speak to someone high up (they say they are a family business). The person I spoke to was not aware they did this.
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Hanginginthere--good for you for following up with headccovers.com! So many people would have just complained and left it, so happy you are being proactive!!! You have a few more weeks to go with the shedding. I got a couple combfuls out with each wash (I wash every 4-5 days) up until this week and I'm at week 10.
Catgirl--I'm at 2 inches of gray and I'm 10.5 weeks PFC and counting down until I use a semipermanent color. I am so nervous about it!! I know what you mean though about the spray leaving your hair still. Yesterday was the girls wash day where I felt it was a normal amount of hair on my comb. I even put in some product and blew it dry on a cool setting. It felt goos to be semi normal while styling my hair!! I still used a big tooth comb while blowing it dry but it felt strong. I'm seeing light at the end of this tunnel!! A couple more months I think and the brows, lashes and permanent color will make me feel a lot more like myself. Still want my period and my taste buds back though!!
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Update on Headcovers.com
I talked with Keith at headcovers.com. I had called him last week and he wasn't aware of what Criteo was doing. Anyway he now understands it as he talked with Criteo (I guess they explained it to him). He said Criteo stopped harvesting IP addresses and comparing them to there database and sending emails at the end of March. I guess I believe him. He did sincerely apologize for the invasion of privacy. But.. really, he is a high up person in this company and he didn't know what Criteo was doing. That is unforgivable. I'm sorry, he needs to know exactly what the big data company the company hired is doing. So you can browse headcovers.com and apparently they will not harvest your IP address. But I'm done with the company. You can decide yourselves. Criteo big data company now knows I have cancer, great!
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New here. I tried reading through the thread but there's too much info.
I started chemo last Wednesday with the Dignicap. TC - Taxotere and Cytoxan x 4 every 21 days. Then I'll go on tamoxofin.
I have only washed my hair once since very gently with Alra shampoo I got from amazon. I do get it went gently in the shower every day and comb out with a very large comb. Is there anything else I can do? Dry shampoo? Condition in between washings? I have naturally oily hair so my hair is a disaster right now
I feel dirty because my hair is so dirty 0 -
Hi Mquara,
I had the same chemo that you did. I washed my hair every 3 days with a gentle shampoo called ACURE. They also have a dry shampoo that is a powder that you shake on your hair (like baby powder). I put it on at night and by morning it had absorbed any oil and kept my hair from being so flat. There are other brands, I just got the ACURE on Amazon since I was already using the shampoo. You're so lucky that you have Dignicap! I used Penguin because there is nothing available here in Missouri. I was a pain, but so worth it. I totally understand the dirty feeling from not washing the hair. Try a dry shampoo and I think it will make a difference for you.
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For those who want to try a home remedy, I used corn starch and added a few drops of essential oil to it for fragrance. I mad about a cup's worth and kept it in a sealed container. I used a fat makeup blush brush to apply it to my hair. Worked like a charm to get rid of the greasiness. Not sure how it would do on dark hair, but my hair is blond and it worked really well.
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well I had another round at the ER throwing up etc but I'm determined to get through my next AC's with the cold caps. I'm 21 days past the first infusion and so far none of my hair has come out I keep waiting for that big shed I know it's coming. Hair on other parts of my body is falling out in the shower! I have white spots of dried dead skin on my head.
Trying to work with everyone to see what nausea meds will work for me.
I did use the hair net this time which really helped from getting tangled in the Velcro.
Love all the updates and support here
Stay strong 💪🏻
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Mquara--I had Tc x 4 too. You really have to baby your scalp. My personal experience, combing it when wet is the when I get the most hair coming out. I'm 11 weeks PFC and STILL got a combful out this morning after washing--I'm washing every 4th day. The hair is more fragile when it's wet. I think most of us combed once, maybe twice a day with a wide tooth comb. You have another 2 weeks before the big shed comes so don't weaken the follicles if you don't have to. Just my personal opinion not to wet it everyday, but maybe others did with success.
Catgirl--how is the semi color working for you?
MJPow--I am so sorry you are getting nauseas! Can you take an anti nausea med before the one they give you in the IV? Or would the patch behind your ear work? Someone on another thread said they used that for their surgery and didn't get nauseous afterwards from the anesthesia.
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