Post chemo hair styles.
Ladies, what are you doing with your hair as it grows out?
I'm growing mine back out to it's original length, which was fairly long. It's past the Pixi stage and entering Mulletville, though not there quite yet, and I'm clueless when it comes to short hair styles other than the fact that I know mullets aren't back in yet.
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Hi WC3. I'm not that far yet, as mine hasn't started growing back in. Any day now!!
For me it will depend on texture as mine grows in. I had straight, fine hair. If it grows in thicker or curly, I'll likely leave it fairly short for a while. If I were trying to grow it out, I'd keep getting trims until it was a short bob, and then let it all grow out together. 0 -
MointainMia:
Mine was straight pre chemo and now it's got a bit of a wave to it and the ends curl up. I think I might go for a bob.
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You can look this up on Pinterest (“how to grow out short hair”). (Mine was so super curly at first I kept buzzing it off. Around March it started to relax *a little* so I decided to grow it out. It’s about 3” now and I look like a poodle. I really hate it. I went to get it lightened about a month ago and was told it was too short for foil. Pretty disappointing! I’m going back later this month. I guess the good news is I realized I liked my old hair a lot more than I kne. I know some women come back from chemo and decide to keep the short hair and it is super cute! I just think it looks better on smaller women. Anyway—I am <impatiently> waiting for some more length.)
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Ingerp:
Thanks for the suggestion! I will check it out.
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I went a different route. I've had stick straight, fine hair all my life. I always wanted curly hair. When my hair grew back in curly and crazy after chemo, I embraced it. I decided that if I was going to have short, weird chemo hair, I was going to make it short, weird, purple chemo hair. I did, and ended up loving it.
I've had it for two and a half years now, and it still makes me smile. Plus, I get non stop compliments on it. Who knew that men (especially young men) love purple? It's a running joke with my family whenever we go anywhere about how many people will stop me to say something about my crazy purple hair.
Good luck. I hope you find a style that works for you.
Trish
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step one: your younger brother's first day of school haircut from 1967.....
step two: Rachel Maddow
step three: rockbilly - like one of The Stray Cats (longer on top, short on bottom)
step four: a nice ear-lobe-length bob
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I actually looked great in micro-locks, so rocked that stage. But with hair color so as not to look like pelt of deceased rodent. That moved into mulletville so I went for professional help. This was followed with about 6 months of a hairstyle that I hated, but I was on my way to something much better, so rejoiced in the fact that I had hair.
Following this was a short bob which I sported for about 5 years. I got lots of compliments.
In the past year or so, I have been wearing it a bit longer, and love it. I feel chic, other than times like now when back from 3 days of hiking, cycling and camping. But it will look great once I wash and style it.
Chemo benefitted me in one major way. I leave haircuts to the professionals now. Major life upgrade. - Claire
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Hi! I finished chemo in February and couldn't wait until my hair started growing in. I had straight shoulder length hair before chemo and had a couple of stray grays amongst my dark brown hair. Well, my hair is only about an inch and a hair but it is a text book case of chemo curls!!!!! Small, tight curls....in fifty shades of gray!!!!! It looks like Brillo, but is soooo soft! I wore a hat until last week, it was just too hot out, so now I go top-less. It is funny to see people's reactions when they see it for the first time. It is too short to color and I don't have the heart to cut it, so I am just waiting!!!
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For those of you who have been out of tx longer, can you tell me if/when your hair returned to what it was pre-chemo? I know color is different (I'm the one who's still waiting for it to be long enough to highlight), but I'm talking curliness. I was one year PFC this past weekend, so maybe nine months since I started seeing real growth. Again--I think I'll be more comfortable with it once it gets some more length but I'd *like* to think that at some point it'll go back to what it was pre-chemo. Am I deluding myself?
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after how many months post chemo is safe to colour the hair
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I forgot
"during chemo" = a combover, such as my Dad sported for most of my live
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I am about 16 months PFC. I cold capped, which did a decent job of preserving the sides and back of my hair, but it got very thin on top.
The shortest piece is now about mid-ear length, so I keep getting the rest trimmed to a jaw length bob. It's grown back thick and strong, but has considerably more wave/frizz than before, and was a bushy, unmanageable mess.
I just got a keratin smoothing treatment, and I absolutely love it. I now have sleek, shiny straight hair that I don't even have to blow dry if I don't want to. The odd length pieces blend in. So although the style is still a work in progress, it looks fairly intentional. And it's SO much easier!
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Magari--a good friend does the keratin process regularly and loves it too. <Waiting for a time my hair looks intentional!!>
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Ingerp,
You are not deluding yourself. By two years PCF, my hair was back to being stick-straight. I have a chin-length bob these days, which is fine. (It was longer before chemo, but pretty stringy.)
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I kind of have a Helen Reddy in 1973 look going on right now, though shorter on the sides. I love Helen Reddy but she wore the mullet better than me. I've been playing around with an app called YouCam Makeup which is pretty handy for trying new looks.
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You give me hope, Elaine. Oddly enough my husband said, “It's going to take two years for your old hair to come back." Guess he was right! (fingers crossed. . .)
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Ingerp, I think you are a few months behind me. My last Taxol was February 28, 2018. My hair was stick straight and I'm embracing and loving my chemo curl. One picture is from May 2018, the other May 2019.
Hang in there!
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Ingerp, I think it took about a year for the taxol chemo curl to go away and my hair to revert to its natural texture. My hair grows fast.
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No new hair here, and in the last couple of weeks I've lost almost all my eyelashes and about half my brow hair. Now a full month past last chemo.
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Phoenix I love it!! I keep thinking of what I have coming up this fall/winter and wondering what it'll look like at Thanksgiving, Christmas, . . . I get a little disheartened when I think about a whole year from now only being 6" of growth. I know some length will help--mine is way curlier than your second picture. That looks adorable!!
Shetland et al.--weird question, but I've been wondering if when you noticed straightening, was it just at the roots, like only the new growth, or all of your hair? Not sure how all of your hair would make the switch, but I've also been thinking curly hair with straighter roots might be a little weird too.
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Yes its sort of an insult-to-injury pile-on when the eyebrows give up. Mine did too, at the very end. But they have since come back!! They have a little eyebrow 'pen' with a 3-ridged tip that draws on 'hairs' ...that I used and liked, when they were still patchy.
I am 8 months PFC now and have even had several haircuts ... my hair is now looking very normal, (though nothing like my old hair)-- thick and wavy and about like Phoenix Cruiser's "after" photo (a little shorter).
I had stick straight hair pre-cancer but now it has a lot more body and wave. It has darkened up a lot as it has come in.
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santabarbarian, do you have a brand name to share for the eyebrow pen? I'm not sure if I want to use one now as they are so fragile. OTOH, they are falling out anyway, so ??? Your hair sounds great. My hair has always been very straight, and of course it was always my fantasy that it would have natural wave. The cancer wasn't part of the fantasy, though!
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Mine was wavy enough to scrunch and air dry until a couple of months ago, when it just became a frizzy in between texture that I could not do anything with. I remind myself on frustrating days that even the most disastrous hairstyle is better than the alternative.
They may not be the most stylish hair accessory, but contour snap clips have been my friends! Sometimes two of the smaller Goody ones, or Sunci (sp?) makes a longer size that works well for holding odd length bits in place.
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My eyebrows fell out towards the end. Mine were sparse to begin with though. I look strange if I draw them on. I had thought about prosthetic eyebrows but they were $50 and I'm allergic to adhesive anyway.
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I too lost both brows and lashes towards the end of chemo. I splurged and had microblading done for my brows, since I couldn't draw them on even remotely evenly....
Both have come back quite well. My lashes may be longer and thicker than before! I use a light brown brow mascara and then wipe it a bit when it's half dry, just for a little more definition.
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My lashes and brows didn't fall off until a month after Taxol stopped, so frustrating as I thought they were holding on.
Santabarbian, my hair came back much darker too, I got highlights so I looked more like the before me.
I use Benefit's Gimme Brow but if you go to Google and search for eyebrow fillers you will find a bunch.
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Yes! I’m also pre-chemo straight fine hair. I’m 5mos out and growing out this front, curved spike in front look. Mostly gray (love!) but turned salt-pepper. Goal...platinum and pink. Cannot wait! 😉
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phoenix- I am surprise to see that in 3 month after chemo your hair were brown. I thought it would take longer the hair goes from White tot's natural colour.
Ladies- when you started colour your hair ? I decided if my hair stays white too long I will colour it. I heard after6 months is safe but a nurs told me that if I use natural henna I can start whenever I want. Any opinions
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Ingerp, no, my hair was not curly chemo hair below straight new growth. My whole head of hair changed back to its normal wave gradually. I imagine that is because all the hairs do not have the same growth rate.
For a while I kept my pixie, having my hairdresser tidy it up occasionally, because the anti-estrogen therapy (letrozole) was making it thin. But I noticed it got thicker on Xeloda, so I am now growing it out. Hated the mullet stage, though. Fear of the mullet was the other reason I was keeping it short. But I am enjoying it now, especially because I am involved in cultural activities where long hair is the norm.
Whatever state your hair is in, I think a good hairdresser who knows how to cut and work with the hair, can really help.
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