Hair Hair Hair - Another question

Carrol2

bdavis you have great growth seems to be pretty fast.

sandymess you look adorable, love the color

I am at  32 weeks now. No one can tell I had chemo anymore. It is curly but I can blow dry it a little now and kind of style it. I have not cut it in 4 months and I don;t think I will for a long time. I think the curl will loosen up a bit when it gets longer. I will try to take pics before i go to work next. I am working at Soma intimate apparel fitting people for bras go figure!

marjie

Before cancer my hair grew very fast and it's really slow now - I am suspicious that the Herceptin is slowing it down quite a bit.  Carrol2 & bdavis...both of you seem to have super fast growth!!  I don't mind anymore, mine has stopped looking like "cancer hair" and is a style now so I can deal with it.  My first official trim to shape it and clean it up was several weeks ago and although it has gotten quite a bit thicker, there is not much more length yet.

LisaGH

Catching up on the discussion over the last several days. Love the pics- give me hope! I go topless now at home and even out in the neighborhood. (Was out riding a bike this evening for a short ride on one street w/ DD and DH). I saw neighbors and it didn't feel too bad.

I do love the ball cap especially now that some hair sticks out under it. That's my favorite but not ok for work.

Tomorrow I am wearing the wig to work- and will take a scarf too. (I don't know about everyone else- but I have an extra hat/cap or scarf all over the place- in my car, at work, etc etc just in case!) I am a healthcare professional too- I am thinking sometime soon I'll start going topless in some settings/meetings at work. I just don't feel w/ hair I'll be able to keep the wig or a scarf comfortably.

My hair feels fuzzy and soft- very short still- about a quarter of an inch mostly and half an inch other places- dark and some gray hairs (the gray ones seem to grow faster on my head- not sure why??!!). It's getting thicker more than longer- but am ok- once it's better coverage I really think I am going to stick  w/ that even though it'll be tough at first. Going back to work w/ a scarf was tough too- took a few days. Mostly me to get used to. 

The wig is worn truly in settings where I don't want to talk about it or need to fit in at work. 

I am using the Nioxin 2 daily on the head now. Kids/family say it's coming in better.

I am now 7 wks PFC tomorrow. YEAH! (Still on Herceptin). I am 2 wks post exchange surgery.

Lisa

slcst12

Hello Ladies!

So--I decided to wear a wig to last night's dinner. It was a networking dinner so I didn't know a soul there. Now...the trouble is...some of them will be connecting with me on LinkedIn, and my wig that I wore last night doesn't look like my pic on Linked In at all!

Oops...
Anyway, it went fine...I'm just not quite ready to go commando yet. Soon. Today I'm at work and have my scarf back on. We're going to WDW Florida in Sept, so I think I will def be commando by then. I'll be 12 wks PFC tomorrow, and by the time WDW comes around I'll be like 19 wks PFC. That's good enough for me!

golfergrandma

Sandy - Your hair looks so cute!

Can't wait 'til my hair starts to grow again and I can color it!  It's totally silver now and I hate it, but it's too thin to go without a wig or hat. 

bdavis

Mine is not too thin, just too short... I am hoping that another month and I can go topless...right now my hair looks like a short boys haircut

mccrimmon324

Hey ladies,

Everyone keeps talking about the peach fuzz they are getting post chemo, I'm still in treatment so I've got a ways to go before I'll experience that but while shopping a while ago at walmart or wherever I made an impulse buy for something called Smooth away.  I believe they even had a cheezy commercial for it but it's this really really subtle like sandpaper thing that you use on unwanted hair, I purchased for upper lip and chin.  Anyway, It doesn't hurt, it's cheap and thought I would suggest it.  If anyone tries it please let me know how it worked.

Take care.

ladym13

Hi there,

I haven't been on this thread in a while as I have been addicted to the DIEP thread after having my DIEP 5 weeks ago, but thought I'd pop in and post a recent pic of my hair.

July 29th will be one year post chemo and I am FINALLY liking my hair. It's a little blurry, but it's the best one I had to show the length

ladym13

Hi there,

I haven't been on this thread much as I havve been addicted to the DIEP thread after having my DIEP 5 weeks ago, but I thought I'd pop in and post a recent pic of my hair.

July 29th will be one year post chemo, and I'm finally liking my hair.

ladym13

ladym13

ladym13

for some reason the pic is not attaching...I'll try another time

ladym13

sewingnut

Ladym,

Your hair looks great.  How many trims or cuts did you have to get that cute style?

lago

Lady M looking just like you again.

Right now I'm so glad I don't have my old long bob cut. It is so damn hot out. Lovin' my short hair. (Just need a little more on top. 1 more month)

dragonfly1

Lady M Wow! Your hair looks great!

Another observation about hair: I was putting on sunscreen and noticed that my arms felt rather smooth when I suddenly realized that there is almost no hair! It's not all gone but has thinned and a lot of it looks like it has just broken off. Not that it matters since it's my arms but I hadn't noticed it before. I was too busy watching my head, eyelashes and eyebrows. How weird. 

marjie

DAMMIT!!  I had to pull out the brow pencil this morning, looks like mine are thinning out - there's gaps in them.  Grrrr.....

golfergrandma

I didn't lose all of my hair, so what's left is very thin.  Once it begins growing again, it should thicken up?

golfergrandma

My answer above is a reply from page 337.  This is really an active thread!  I should probably not visit here until my hair starts growing again.  I had my last CMF tx Monday so it'll be awhile before I'll notice anything.  I didn't lose all of my hair, but what's left is very thin.  Soooo I wear a wig when I go out and hats for golf, since I have enough hair left to hang under a hat.

pejkug3

I didn't lose all of my hair either.  I'm 6 weeks PFC and I have new growth, but most of the hair that survived chemo grew a little - the new growth was fine and clear like fishing line - then it broke off.

I'll post some pictures later on today of my hair coverage.  I can't go 'topless' yet, but I think it's filling in pretty nicely.

lago

Marjie my brows have just started to fill in again so hang in there. Funny that this time they shed so much they were thinner than when I was on chemo.

marjie

Lago - I remember!! I was jealous of your eyebrows because mine were completely gone along with my eyelashes.  Seriously NOT a good look for anyone!  I thought perhaps I would get away without them thinning  but oh well....

sundermom

Almost 12 weeks PFC and I'm getting crazy thoughts of going topless, partly because it's so flipping hot here.  I mean a scarf makes it pretty damn obvious that I've done chemo so why am I so nervous about losing the scarf in favor of my short hair???  My DH actually LOVES my short hair, but having never worn my hair any shorter than my shoulders this is a definite adjustment for me!  I need to just get over it or I'll be wearing a scarf until Christmas at this rate.  At what point did all of you make the leap to go topless in public?  Do you have any witty responses for people who feel the need to tell you, "Your short hair is so cute" or make dumb comparisons to celebraties (i.e. Halle Berry, Annie Lennox, Billy Idol,etc.)?

marjie - My hair looks a lot like yours in your pic   It actually pokes out beneath my scarf and people have been asking about it. 

Tammy

lago

Marjie you weren't the only one. When I went the the Illinois ladies thread holiday party a couple of the women said "Hey how come you still have eyelashes and eyebrows?" My biggest fear was not losing the hair but losing the eyebrows. I bought eyebrow powder a month before my BMX.

But they did think on chemo. They eyebrow powder is amazing. 2 weeks ago when I told my onc they were thinning she said "they look fine to me". The powder gives a much more natural look then pencil.

sundermom

I bought some amazing brow powder at Ulta.  I think it was called Anastasia.  My brows almost completely fell out and I always got comments about how people were surprised I hadn't lost my eyebrows!!!   Chemo wiped out my eyelashes too, but nothing a thick coat of eyeliner didn't fix.  12 weeks PFC and both my brows and lashes are completely back - not looking forward to them thinning again though.  Yuck!

Tammy

marjie

Tammy - go for it!!  I was going topless long before that picture was taken and yes it was difficult at first but you are right....we've done chemo, the scarf says that all ready.  I'm happy enough with my hair now, it looks like a style not an illness finally!  It truly felt SO much better not to have something constantly on my head and I couldn't imagine it in this heat lately.

Lago - I will ramp up the Latisse!!  I sometimes put the extra on my eyebrows when I'm done applying it to my lashes....

Jen1832

Hi girls...glad to see that more of you are able to ditch the wigs/scarves/hats. Bravo!  My hair has finally stopped falling out (for the second time).  Someone asked me today how much I had and I didn't know how to answer.  I am not pulling a precious hair out to measure and they are kind of kinky.  So I just put a ruler againt my scalp and measured my hair depth.  Tomorrow I will be 5 weeks PFC and I have 1/2 inch of hair depth.  I am also exhibiting the male patterned baldness, just like many of you others. I am making progress though.

ladym13 - your hair is adorable!

 tsundermann - I would be curious to see how much growth you have at 12 weeks?  I will be 12 weeks when I go on vacation and really want to go topless.

I have a recommendation for brows.  I get the tinted brow gel at Bobbi Brown and it stays put all day in the Alabama heat, AND it tames the elf like twirls I now have at the apex of my brows...* Sigh*. 

lago

tsundermann That's the stuff I use. I too got it at Ulta.

Marjie I heard you can actually paint Minoxidil on your eyebrows to get them to grow. I'm too scared. My luck I would end up with a unibrow. Move over Frida Kahlo de Rivera 

TexasKaren

The new hair is colorless (grey/white/silver) because the keratin (which contains the pigment cells) doesn't come back for a few months after the hair grows back.  Of course, my hair was grey to begin with, but friends hair came in 'grey' and went back to natural color around 4-6 months out.  I had to wait, but then couldn't wait to color it again !!

Since hair and skin cells are some of the most rapidly reproducing, (and therefore, the normal ones that become collateral damage to chemotherapy drugs which are targeting rapidly growing cells in the body), your hair all over your body will come back faster/more again, legs, underarms, etc.  But, after a while, it will settle back to normal.  I still have some chiny chin chin hairs that I have to take care of with tweezers... but, maybe because I'll be 60 this year too ! 

marjie

One of my friends remarked on the colour of my hair - seems just to be dark grey with light grey highlights - she said "Ooooh it looks like you went and had it done professionally like that!!!"

Ok, tell me ladies, WHO highlights their hair with grey??? LOL