Hair Hair Hair - Another question

Kay_G

You and me both, MamaV!  Why is it my hair on my arms and legs seem back to normal, but I have about an eight of an inch of hair on my head.  I am only 2 weeks PFC so it is early, but no eyelashes, no eyebrows, an eighth of an inch of hair on my head, and normal arm and leg hair.... Not Fair!

bdavis

Mama and Christine... I had the facial hair but was afraid to shave or wax or Sally Hanson it in fear it would come back with a gusto... I did use scissors to cut it... laid them against my skin and cut, hoping that with time, it would fall out... thoughts?? How did the sally hanson work? has it come back?

marjie

I never had the fine facial hair...or at least I didn't notice.  I did however lovely DARK mustache that I definitely waxed!  My chemo hair has come in much darker than it was originally so ofcourse the hair on my upper lip had to as well.

Betsy - you look great, I really like the colour on you.

bdavis

Marjie... Thanks... did the mustache come back after you waxed?? My facial hair was along jaw line and infringing onto my cheeks... I plucked some, but cut the rest... it was all blond, but still... and because I cut it, I can still feel it... it seems to not be growing though.

marjie

I used to have to wax my upper lip before chemo too but it was never so dark. 

MamaV

Sally Hanson works great. I've used it before on my stache area. Once a year or so - grows very slow and doesn't come back any different for me.



Vicky

SpecialK

Hi all,

Just came back from a haircut!  Yes, I said haircut.  Kind of like baby's first haircut.  I decided to cut off all that weird old chemo hair down to the length of the new little hair.  Now it looks like I have more and I am happier.  I also have my hairdresser flat iron my underhair and wig after I wash them because it is way easier for her to do it, so me, the wig and the underhair all went to see her!  I will try and have DD take a pic of the hair and put it on here.

On the mustach front - I found that after I went into menopause (surgical in 2001) I grew one too.  It was about the same color as my natural hair color, which is darker than my highlighted hair.  I wax it off, and I never lost it during chemo either!  I am wondering if it will be worse on Femara because of the suppression of whatever estrogen I have left.  Those who are ER+ and taking Tamoxifan or an AI may notice one appearing.  Sad, but true.

bucky317

My "mustachio" is coming in just grand also. Better than any other area (of course) where I least need it or want it. but I am just relieved to see hair coming in strong somewhere. I am just under 4 weeks PFC and I do see some sporadic growth on my head, but not in armpits or legs. Picked up Nioxin yesterday, hope it helps.Special K  so glad you don't have the "dust bunny" hair anymore I never tried to flat iron my wig, I think I will give it a try.

SpecialK

bucky - be careful with the flat iron - my wig is Versa fiber and is heat tolerant.  A regular (synthetic)wig will MELT!!!

slcst12

Hi ladies!

Thank you so much for all the photos and words of support! I think the photos keep me going the most.

I'll be 14 wk PFC on Thurs. Still wearing a scarf to work...baseball caps to Target and the Supermarket. I will probably go topless at work in Sept (~ 18 wk PFC).

In the spirit of tossing up more photo....I'll add mine to the mix.  And I want to echo Carrol--it will come in ladies! I had barely anything at 6 wk PFC. And even now...I don't think it's a whole inch yet.  I keep telling my DH if I had hair as long as Congresswoman Giffords, I would go topless... Keep the faith

DivineMrsM

slcst12, great pictures, you have a lot of hair!  

LisaGH

slcst12- agree- great photos- sure hope i come close to you when i get to wk 14 (will be 10 wks tomorrow). i ditched the wig and scarves 2 wks ago. it was so rough at first. still have times i 'feel' eyes on me. not as much now as at first.

love seeing photos- does help me keep the faith. my eyelashes have thinned- one eyebrow still sparse. no eyebrows much have regrown- but other hair has. 

never a dull moment w/ this post chemo world? also i am still on herceptin wonder if it'll make the hair growth slower? do others experience that too?

christine47

went to the spa where I get my hair cut.  She trimmed around my ears and shaped up the neck.  The she "threaded" the hairs on the sides of my face.  Looks so much better, she thinks it will take time to grow back, let's hope so.

marjie

slcst12 - WOW!  I don't think you need a scarf or a hat, you've got lovely hair.  Have you coloured it - it's so shiny.

PSU222

I agree.  WOW!!  You all look great.  Everyone's hair seems so long compared to what I have.  I am so jealous!!

bdavis

You are one week ahead of me and you have so much more hair... and it does look shiny and healthy... very nice.... go topless now. I have been and have less than you.

SpecialK

bdavis - how are you feeling after your surgery?  You looked great in your pic, hope you are doing fine.

PSU222 - I will be jealous with you.

bdavis

I am for sure having a two steps forward one step back kind of recovery... today I had a fever, last week was having lung issues, my right breast that had raw skin from the mx is scabbing up but the incision is open and bleeds constantly, and right after getting out of the hospital, I passed out... other than that I am improving.... i was able to pull my other breast drain yesterday... yay!!! I have faith it will all work out, but I hate setbacks.

SpecialK

bdavis - you are cracking me up!  Yes, it is the little victories (drain out - yay!) that keep us going.  I love the "other than that I am improving..."  A lesser individual would not have as upbeat an attitude!  I had my TE put back on 7/20 and am having issues, almost went back to surgery on 7/25 with pain and a fever, but dodged it.  It does seem to be a two step forward, one back existence.  I am getting a little weary of the character building experiences, but hey - what can we do?  Just keep taking those two steps forward.

katfinn

I apologize if this has been discussed before but has anyone used the Medicetuticals product for hair growth?  Someone just bought it for me.  There are even vitamin pills in the kit.  It's been almost 6 weeks since my last chemo treatment.  I think I see a little hair on my legs and face but there doesn't seem to be anything on my head yet???

Carrol2

slcst i agree your hair looks fantastic. You could go topless but i know it's hard to feel comfortable, it took me about 4 months before i stopped wearing hats 24/7. But it was cold out then, my head got cold from being used to having the hat on, in the heat i probably would have given in sooner.

slcst12

Wow, thanks everyone
Yes--I have coloured my hair...3 times already 

I used Natural Instincts Vibrant. I coloured at 8.5 wks, 10.5 wks and again around 13.5 wks.

It's just literally *all* gray otherwise. And I'm 38, so I'm just not ready for that much gray. DH laughed and said, "why waste time colouring if you're just wearing a scarf to work anyhow?" Ha ha. I used the same box and just mixed up 1/3 of the soln's each time. So it wasn't really a waste of $ at all.
I'm almost ready to go topless...just wish I had a bit more hair. Though, I am convinced that as soon as I get a bit more, it will start to stick up in odd places.

As for the eyelashes and brows---me too, lots of thinning. I finally have some mascara on today, but i still use the eyebrow stuff to help powder them in a bit.

BDavis: Feel better soon-sometimes it's the small victories that are the sweetest!!! 

bdavis

specialk and slcst12... I do agree it is the small victories... When I look back to November, my diagnosis month, I never could have dreamed the course I have been on, and some of it has been self induced (I chose MX over rads)... but it is what it is... and my hair is coming in, no bald spots and I was terrified of that when I started chemo... and I know in the end, my breast skin issues and incision and lung issues will resolve, but it is a crooked path and I'd prefer a straight one, obviously.

carberry

katfinn  welcome from rochester, finally a local girl!  I have not heard of the product you describe.  Be patient if there is hair coming in on your legs and face, your head is not far behind.  When I was a few weeks post chemo, my BIL was looking at my toes while sitting on the boat and said "you need to shave that hair off the top of your toes" and I told him that it was the only hair I had and I was keeping it!

Kay_G

sltcst12, chiming in too, your hair looks great!  I would definitely be going topless if I had that much.  Can't wait to be there.

bdavis, wow, you have been through a lot!  Your great attitude will carry you through.  What lung issues do you have?  I got pneumonitis from Taxol in May and am worried about rads bringing it back, but I haven't heard about having any lung issues from surgery to worry about.  The good thing was once they diagnosed it, it cleared up very quickly on steroids.  Sending you good thoughts and prayers to be feeling better.

bdavis

Hi Kay,

After surgery one of my lungs wouldn't fully inflate and was causing a low grade fever... then last week, I was getting pain in my lung and couldn't take a deep or even normal breath without pain... had tests, no clot, but with a continued low grade fever, it makes me think it still isn't fully inflating and its been almost 3 weeks.

sewingnut

BDavis,

It took me about a month before I stopped coughing and having pain from the lung collapse I had when I had my port installed.  It wasnt fun and when I started to cough I couldnt stop. Hope you heal quickly...

bucky317

Thanks special K!! I have a synthetic and human hair wig. Will def. just use on the human hair wig.

All of the hair growth pictures are wonderful. You ladies give me so much encouragement. Thank You! I am oh so looking forward to a "pixie cut", I have never had hair shorter than the "Dorothy Hamill" which was when I was in high school and I have no idea what my "real" hair color is now, since I have been coloring and highlighting for the past 20 years. Let's see what happens......

SpecialK

bucky - I too had no idea of my "real" hair color but lordy, it is mostly salt with only a little pepper!  I think that is contributing to my feeling that I don't have much hair.  After my haircut yesterday it is easier to see how much there is, and also that there is uniform but thin coverage, with no bald spots. My hairdresser told me at the beginning that I was going to have to cut it more than I wanted to but that it is best for it.  She also advised me yesterday to change to washing it every day with the Bosley products, especially the stimulator (last leave-in step).  I had only been doing it every 3 days or so.  She said now that we can see new growth, as opposed to growing old hair, we want to encourage it.  She also did not use a shaver to cut it because she didn't want to drag it accross my skin, she actually cut it with scissors and told me to go without a wig/hat/scarf as much as I can so I am not squishing my scalp and the new baby hair.

bikenyc

mslcst12 - your hair looks amazing...really shiny and like a 60's Jean Seberg.  If I didn't know, I'd assume you were just really stylish.  I've also dyed mine twice already.  I'm 41 and have soooo much white hair.  But it sure is a lot quicker to get to the roots than when it was down to my chest. 

At around 8 weeks PFC and I seem to have hit a standstill on the growth of my hair.  It's getting longer, but not any thicker. The back is ok, but on the front and sides you can still see so much head. My hair used to be really thick, so it's a bit sad.  Guess I'll blame it on the herceptin and hope it eventually thickens up a bit.

One thing that is growing back with a vengence is my eyebrows.  I has lost all my eyelashes and my brows were almost gone by 2 weeks PFC.  The brows are coming in gangbusters...seem even thicker than before. They are still short, but have filled in completely...I even went yesterday to have them shaped/threaded.  Maybe if things get dire with my hair, I can get transplants from my brows.  

(man I look tired in these...anyone else still got big undereye circles? I still look like I'm on chemo)