Hair Hair Hair - Another question

westiemom

MelBell, you look beautiful! Thanks for sharing pictures...gives me hope!!

nikola

MelBell, you look beautiful. I cannot wait to get that lenght. Are you going wigless?

nikola

Irr4993, 5 weeks is a long period of time. You would be surprised. 5 weeks ago I was able to see my scalp, too.

KatherineNaomi

MelBell, you look wonderful!! Not mullet like at all! I can't wait to get to where you are.

lrr4993 - I agree with Nikola. 5 weeks makes a huge difference. 5 weeks ago I had barely any hair.

MelBell07

Thanks!! I've been going hat-less for about 2 1/2 months now...as soon as my scalp was covered, I said adios!

lrr4993

I hope you are right and that 5 weeks from now I will have hair like you all.  I would go out with that hair. 

In the meantime, I just got a new wig.  I love my old wig and it has served me very well, but I was starting to developed headaches from the fit and once my hair gets going, it will not work as well.  I decided to try one of the full lace wigs that is custom fit to my head.  It is magnificent.  It feels like nothing on my head.  

Mel - you have the perfect face for that hair.  It looks great!  You look like a dark haired version of that actress that was in the harry potter movies.  I wish I could wear the pixie cuts. I love them.  And your color is gorgeous.  My grey that has been hidden under hair color for the last 10-12 years is really showing in the stubble. 

Fiver05

Here is my hair exactly 5 months since my final chemo.  I actually cut off probably 1/2" a few weeks ago, trying to get rid of the scraggly ends and even it up somewhat.  It's about 3/4" now and seems to be coming in really thick.  I also think that it may be curly...hope so but hard to tell yet.  Took my wig off last week and haven't worn it since!  It was really hard at first, but feels so much better!  Teri

nikola

Fiver05, it does look very thick and curly. Were You blond before? This style suit You well.

MelBell07

Irr- Thank you! I get complimented on my hair a lot, but I don't know if it's just people trying to be nice. It's so freeing not having to wear a wig or hat. And I bet you could totally rock the pixie cut! It's all in the attitude

Fiver- You look great!!! 

Carrol2

i can;t stop staring at my head lol

momtomygirls

when your hair grows back does it usually come in "white" and change?  I naturally have dark brown hair with a little gray in the front but it's coming in white and gray!  I know I can dye it later if I need to.  I just wanted to know if this was normal.

Thanks for sharing all of your pics.  It makes me feel good knowing that I will be there too!

KatherineNaomi

Yes, that's totally normal! I had some hair that grew in during chemo and it was all white and gray. I shaved most of it off when my normal brown color grew in.

poodleluvbug

Hi Ladies, I am almost 4 months since my last chemo. My hair came in a nice dark brown color...no gray. Right now it is about 1/2 inch long. I am planning to debut my new "hairdo" on February 14th...I hate wearing the wigs and hats so much. Here is my question....What would you say when you have people come up to you and say "WHY did you cut your hair?"...I had waist length blond before so this is quite a change. Not sure how I should answer...but I want a answer ready to use when I get this question. Any advice?

Anonymous

Hi ladies,

It's been a while since I posted.  My PFC was Feb. 8, 2010.  It took a while for my hair to start growing.  When it finally did, what I got was like soft, downy fur in gray, black and brown.  It also seemed very straight.  My natural hair was very thick and wavy.  I used to spend a lot of money just to have it straightened professionally.

I did not have a problem, initially, because I had full coverage.  People would come up to me, touch my hair and remark on how soft it was.

Now that many months have passed, my hair is a little longer, still soft and straight, but very, very thin.  I want my old hair back!!!  Wah!!!  I promise not to straighten it anymore!!!

Has anyone here experienced something similar?  Do you feel that you are losing your hair again?

Thanks.

Brenda 

lrr4993

Poodle - that is quite a change.  I am sure people will be shocked.  But, the really short cuts are VERY popular right now.  I was noticing Michelle Williams on a magazine cover recently and her shorter cut looked so amazing on her.  You could just say it is the trend right now so you decided to try it.  There are several very popular actresses who have recently gotten the pixie cut.

Mel - You are welcome.  I was not just being nice.  Your hair really is very cute and stylish.   

Anonymous

7 months PFC:

9 months PFC:

11 months PFC:

I do comb and style so it doesn't look so awful, but I am hoping someone will say, "Don't worry, your hair will grow like it used to." 

Anonymous

Oh, and I forgot to say.  I did take Arimidex for 4 months, then I stopped because it wasn't worth the pain it was giving me.  The Arimidex may have caused my hair to fall again.  

Brenda 

Claire82

What do I say when people ask why I cut my hair?

Mine was also quite long

I say, " It wasn't my choice; chemo made the decision for me."

Char2010

Adnerb - I am so sorry about your hair.  I have been on Arimidex 4.5 months now and feel like my hair has stopped growing (last chemo was June 18, followed by rads).  Very concerned about that.  Have you seen an improvement after you have been off Arimidex?

Anonymous

Char:  No improvement yet.  I stopped in November.  I also have been taking Biotin and using Nioxin.

I also had surgery in September under general anesthesia. Does anesthesia affect hair growth?  I need to have another surgery soon.

Brenda 

SunnyCoconut

Poodleluvbug - I stopped wearing my wigs early too.  I was completely caught off guard when someone asked me that and my answer was "Chemo cut my hair".  I'm still amazed that people ask that question.  I wouldn't.  It's like asking if someone is pregnant.   

toni30

Poodle: If it's someone you want to share with I would tell them about the BC.  If not, I would just say - I decided to try something different.  None of their business, really.

Thank you ladies for sharing your 5 and 7 months pix.  I am at 4 months, and you give me inspiration!  Just went without my wig to my neighbors' house for dinner and they commented how cute the cut was, etc.  They didn't look horrified, so I guess I'm getting there.

MBJ

For while after going "topless" I got many looks and questions and if someone asked I just replied "chemo hair" now I am trying to just say thank you.  I was really, really self conscious about having short hair--brought up all kinds of childhood insecurities.  But I am so grateful that it's growing in and although it's harder to deal with I have to keep telling myself it's just hair, it will grow.  Congratulations on all of you who are starting to see some growth and for those of you on hormone therapies, it's a bit tougher and I would check out Topical Soulution 183 by Xenna.  I use it to combat chemopause hair loss at the very top of my head where it's more sparse.  It helps keep your hair on your head.  Lots of protein also helps with hair growth.  Happy hair weekend everyone!

lrr4993

Yeah, Carrol! Glad you have some hair coming in.  I know you were worried.  I felt the same way as you did when mine first came in - I could feel it but could not really see it and when I asked my mom to inspect it, I was sure she said it was hair just to make me feel better. LOL.  The new hair quickly became visible.  Before you know it, you will see some good stubble.  I am now about 3 weeks from when I first felt stubble and it is really coming in all over and is very visible.  Of course, that my hair is very dark brown helps it seem like a lot of hair.  The areas of grey look a bit like bald spots from certain angles.  Cannot wait until I can color it again . . . I have sooooo much more grey than I did when I first started coloring it several years ago.

nikola

Adnerb, a friend of mine who got cancer three years ago is on AI now and is complaining about thinning of her hair. I remember her just after chemo, she was getting chemo curls and had very thick and strong hair. Her hair now is very fine, so she keep it short.

Anonymous

Nikola, thanks for the reply.  I wonder if her hair will get thick again after the AI?  Do I have my priorities mixed up?  When I told my oncologist I was not going to keep taking the Arimidex, he said he wasn't even sure if it was going to help.  I was barely er positive.  Now he tells me!

MBJ:  I just ordered a 3-pack of the Topical 183.

I still think my hair is going through some very strange stages.  I feel that right before a section gets thin, it goes through a "brittle" stage.  Today I woke up with the back of my head feeling dry and brittle.  That part has not thinned yet.  I have a feeling I'll wake up tomorrow and see my scalp peeking through that area.

Thanks for listening, dear ladies!

Brenda 

poodleluvbug

Thanks for the advice on what to say when I get the awful question..."WHY did you cut your hair?" . There is a lot of very rude people out there! I can see saying..."You cut your hair...it looks cute"...but when my daughter cut her waist length hair we got a lot of "WHY!?". It always hurt my daughter's feelings. It is going to be very hard the first few times I leave the house with out a wig or hat. I have, however, seen other ladies with very short hair and I didn't think anything about it. Of course that was before cancer...now I wonder if they had cancer too. I am giving it one more month and then I am heading out...lol...without any head covering from then on!

Claire82

Everyone tells me how cute my hair is short and I should keep it that way. I really loved my long hair- did I look so bad? lol

MBJ

SunnyCoconut:  I so agree with you!  I swear, at my worse, I felt like I was a car crash to strangers who just had to come up and confront me about how I looked.  Really, really rude.  We have to be strong during this phase and I compensated by wearing lots of girly stuff and makeup.

MBJ

Adnerb:  I use it everytime I feel my head tingle.  I put the small one in my purse otherwise, if you use it twice a day, I am hoping it will help.  Are you using Nioxin products?  Those help me too!