Cold Caps Users Past and Present, to Save Hair
Comments
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SoniaL, wow, your hair looks amazing! The wig looks so natural i would never have thought it wasnt your own!
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Mari--I use the Clairol Professional Beautiful Collection advanced grey solution hair color (buy it at Sally, and have used it now for 8 weeks or so (I am 15 weeks PFC). It is a semi-permanent color, so no mixing with peroxide. I apply it with a brush, and try to avoid getting it on my scalp. I started with a test area, and leave it on the full 45 minutes as I have very grey resistant hair. Sometimes it takes well, sometimes not--I think it has to do with the ambient temperature in the room when I apply it. Many women on this site a year or more ago were using this product with no ill effect. As I mentioned, I started with a test area, and then each hair wash grew more bold and applied it to more of my hair. I am very pleased, especially compared to using the spray on L'Oréal root touch up that I was using. My hair feels soft and more natural now.
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thank you! All!
I look now for the " semi permanent " color! And wig! I just washed my hair and now is definitive! I feel there is a lot of goo on my scalp. Is it the chemo or the night sweats? I would love to scrub it hard and hot water! Definetely counting the days for this too!
Mari
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- This pic before chemo.
0 - This pic before chemo.
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- .This one last week after 3 chemo of FEC. I lost a lot on my sides. Wednesday i start with Taxotere. I am very afraid, of loosing more hair. Only 3 i will keep cold caping.
0 - .This one last week after 3 chemo of FEC. I lost a lot on my sides. Wednesday i start with Taxotere. I am very afraid, of loosing more hair. Only 3 i will keep cold caping.
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Vivi- looks great! I also think it was smart to Go shorter. Keep cold capping! Ladies here in the board say cold capping will make it grow faster!
Happy Tiesday wveryone
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Vivianlu--your hair looks great!! Hang in there and keep capping. You look wonderful!
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Vivian your hair looks really good. It doesn't look like you lost much at all.
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Elastogelgirl---I take magnesium for (250 mg) leg aches however just when needed. What dose are you taking at night? Would love to have only 2 hot flashes a day! Do you get the chills as well? Currently am struggling through withdrawal from Effexor which was prescribed for my horrible hot flashes. I began to have headaches and didn't know if it was Tamoxifen or Effexor so decided to drop Effexor cold turkey-----Big Mistake! I have been having dizziness, headache, stomach upset and Brain Zaps (scary). All from stopping Effexor of 37.5mg 2X day. It has been so bad that I started cutting the pills and having 1/2 pill daily then plan to go to quarter pill. I should have known better than to take the damn thing as medicine Never agrees with me
Vivanlu8 and SoniaL you both look great! Hang in there! Thinking of everyone and wishing all the best!
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summer-you have been on Tamox way longer than I have so I'm still crossing fingers my hot flashes will stay mellow. I'm taking nightly 1tsp of a calcium magnesium c complex. I worry about some of the other ingredients...I read good stuff about magnesium and I felt it helped my flashes right away. I also avoid eating much for dinner and don't eat late. Avoid sugary foods bread and stuff too...All to keep night sweats from keeping me up. I'm not sleeping much at all I'm a bit desperate. I have quit gabapentin and I suffer
These drugs that are supposed to help come with all sorts of issues I'm so sorry you are struggling. Perhaps it will just be an adjustment period.
I also love my humidifier for hot flashes I have three in strategic locales. I flip that vapor on when I get a flash and almost instant relief. Just typing this is giving me a flush. Emotions play in!
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Toppik works wonders. I'm through with 4 AC (Adriamycin and Cytoxan), and 5 of 12 T (taxol).
Before, on wash day after my hair dried, and combed:
After powder Toppik, applied with the nozzle applicator:
Lately, I have been combing back my front hair to cover the thin parts, and using a spritz of light hair spray from an aerosol can to keep the comb-over in place.
I'm going to keep capping! Like many here, the longer hair is getting really sparse, but the under-layer of short, new hairs have not fallen out. I don't think the short hairs sprouted after I started chemo. I think it's just the short new hairs I had when I started. No peach fuzz growth yet, as far as I can tell. I've got really coarse hair.
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Vivi and Elberama you both look great! All of you ladies give me inspiration. Going in for number two tomorrow last one was 21 days ago dreading it - no shedding yet no body hair loss yet but I noticed my pesky chin hairs aren't growing back in after plucking them and same with eyebrows. I am waiting for the shoe to drop and wonder when I will start shedding.
Monica
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Radmonkey - I'm using Penguin Cold Caps as well. I don't wash out the powder Toppik before I cap. It's a fine dust. Since it's dry, I figure it won't really interact with my scalp. I would really recommend that you try the dry stuff, with the applicator air nozzle. I think sprinkling it from the container would not work for doing it to your own hair. I got mine at Ulta. Your thinning is not that bad, and the Toppik will totally cover it up. You can see how it worked on my hair!
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Hi ladies in about one week I will be 6months PFC , I started with neck length hair all one length like a bob and I've had 2 trims first one in may and 2nd trim July. My hair is naturally curly I used to straighten it before . Now I just add a little mouse my hair is still super thin but I think me having curly hair helps a little I have dyed it, the last time I did was one moth ago using clairol semi perm amonia free. 
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Vivian your hair looks so good.
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hopeful-thanks for the photo! I think your hair looks cute! I hope mine will look like that soon! It's great to get post chemo progression photos on here. We all need the light at the end of this tunnel!
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Vivian-you look great your so pretty! And your cute curly hair really works In your favor!, good job capping!
Elberma-that toppik looks great. You won't need it for long I pm betting, for now it works! looks very natural! I quit needing toppik about a month after chemo I think
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Thank you for all your support. Yesterday i really felt depressed i cried while i was on the subway back home from work , thinking on having again the fourth chemo. Now i am here in the hospital praying that this taxotere will be easier with the hair and the side effects. For now i dont need toppik just i need to cover the roots i bought the wow powder like Pamela said but it is too brown and my hair turned to be more blond. I let you know.
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Elastogelgirl------I hear you on the lack of sleep issue! I average approx 4 hours on a good night. I never feel rested. The hot flashes are driving me crazy! I change my clothing all day....always dripping wet.....am freezing my family out with AC and fans. Never used to drink anything cold, now nonstop ice water. At 50 chemo may have me in perm meno. Even if it does not my MO said that if my cycle returns 'we will need to address that' -----meaning one way or another I will be in perm meno. So, my thoughts of stopping Tomaxifen won't help me. Will try to find hidden sugars in diet and will take magnesium at night----hopeful for relief! Thank you for the tip!
Elberama----Wow! Toppix looking great
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Hopfull2-----Your hair looks terrific!
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Elastogelgirl - I wrote the wrong numbers in my old post which I have edited -- I have 12 Taxol total. I am done with 5 Taxol, and I have 7 more to go! I don't know if I have enough hair to keep shedding every day for another 49 days. My shedding hasn't really slowed down since I switched from AC to Taxol.
For those starting on their capping journey, you will be surprised at the range between full hair and baldness. No wonder they advise people who don't cap to shear their hair before the shedding begins. There's more hair on your head than you realize.
KCMC - Here are pics of my hairballs from early on. If you're not having AC, it might be different. There are some ladies here who got taxanes (Taxol or Taxotere) and Herceptin, who kept 90% of their hair after 12 doses!!
21 days after first chemo, here's what fell into the sink that I was combing my hair over:
2 days later, 23 days after first chemo, the Big Shed happened.
The right hairball was what came out when my hair was dry. I gathered it into the sink with a stopper, and wet it down to make a hairball. I only was using a wide tooth comb. I thought I got it all out. Boy was I wrong! Then I took a shower. The left hairball is what I scooped from the shower. My fingers combed out tons of hair. I thought I would be bald afterwards:
But I wasn't close to bald!
I shed big one more time, 2 weeks later, about the size of just one of those hairballs. Then it has been daily small hairballs every day since then.
Here's my wispy hair today, 3 months after first chemo, with Toppik and the comb-over of my front hair backwards, with a little hair spray:
Looks better in a tiny ponytail!
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Hi All! I have not been on here in ages. I used cold caps in 2011. Seems like yesterday in so many ways, but glad it's behind me. I just wanted to pop in and tell you that you got this ladies......it is sucky but you got this! Take it one day at a time and one hair at a time (LOL). Just know that life gets better in time...it slowly returns to normal.
To this day I still HATE BC! I hate that more of you have to go through this....just know my prayers are will each of you as you walk through the hardest part of your life. Just remember.....YOU GOT THIS!
Hugs!
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Thanks mdg for your kind words. This thing it sucks. But it is what it is. We hope everything return to normal soon.
Blessings for all the women with this!
We need all the support of women like you that hopefully its behind you. I wish i can say that one day. 😪
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MDG thanks for building up our spirits, its great to see the other side! I really appreciate it, it helps us ladies who are currently on our own journies to the to the other side. Elberama your hair still looks great. Like I said I am waiting for the big shed. I am on 6 cycles 21 days apart of Herceptin, Perjeta and Carboplatin. Then herceptin for a year I am triple positive. I had 4 tumors in my left breast, 1.9 cm 1.3 cm 0.8 cm and 0.5 cm. No lymph node involvement thank god, the MRI only found 2 tumors the breast surgeon was surprised there was 4 altogether. I decided to have a BMX and DIEP Flap. Happy with my decision but this chemo is worse than the surgery. I had 2 bad week and only one good one. Like I said I am waiting for the big shed. Notice that there are spots on my legs that don't need shaving and my chin hairs and lip hairs that were plucked aren't growing back. So we shall see, thank you for the photos I really appreciate you posting them, they help, because your hair still looks good! Hang in there, Sending virtual hugs!
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Elberama, I am on the same regiment as you. I just finished #7 taxol (5 more to go). This week I supposed to have #9, but I had to have 2 breaks because my white cells counts were very low, so the MO sent me home twice already
Anyway, my shedding slowed down A LOT by the week between Taxol#6 and 7 and I have a lot of new grows!!!!! (especially above and around my ears where I lost the most). I remember, I was panicking too because the shedding did not slow down and MJPow reassured me it will. And it happened! Don't worry, you will be fine, just be patient! Just a suggestion, when you wear a ponytail, make sure it's not very tight as it might pull some extra hair.
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I am starting Taxotere/Cytoxan - 4 rounds - on August 24th, barely over the shock of getting my second BC DX - 11.5 years later. I am getting chemo first and following with a Bi-Later BX and DIEP - 4 weeks following my last chemo. I hope to get some strength from all of you - my usual 'get er done' attitude is floundering a bit this time around.
Is anyone on this combination using Dignicap? That is what is offered at my facility. Any tips or advice appreciated.
Thanks everyone for posting - I can say the boards helped me alot the first time around and I am glad we have this forum.
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Travel Girl--SO sorry to hear about the recurrence. I know that is my worst nightmare. Sounds like you have a great plan in place, you will execute it well! There have been some who have used Dignicap--but I don't recall hearing much about it lately. I would suggest a search for Dignicap on this forum, and see what you find. I seem to recall that the Dignicap system doesn't use as cold of temperatures as others, but I don't remember why. I used Penquin. Good luck and keep us posted.
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KCMC - I finished six rounds of TCHP six weeks ago and I only lost about 10 or 15% of my hair through round 4. Rounds 5 and 6 are when I lost the most. My shedding is just now starting to slow down. Hang in there an you'll be on the other side before you know it.
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Sonia, the wig looks great! Thank you for your kind words and encouragement!
Thank you Elastagirl and Elberama! I finally broke down and tried Toppik. What a difference! I didn't wear a hat today and NOBODY even noticed! I was nervous that it would interfere with cold capping and new hair growth but I only have one more chemo to go! I'm so grateful for your picture, Elberama! I need to practice a bit more putting on the Toppik, I used the applicator spray and got 4 spot areas. I might just sprinkle it on next time.
I wish there was a manual on how to style your hair during cold capping. My hair is so greasy in between washing. Has anybody used dry shampoo?
thank you!!
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Travel Girl I did 4 rounds of TC post surgery and used Dignicap. Unfortunately I lost about 80% of my hair and I still shed every day even though I am 11 weeks PFC. With Taxotere though and the small risk of permanent hair loss I'd still choose to do it. What little hair I have is mostly in the back with one small patch right in the front top. I have about an inch of regrowth already so if I put my hair up in a pony tail at first glance it isn't obvious. Once it grows more I am going to have to do something as I'll have a mullet...lo
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