Hair Hair Hair - Another question

Momine

Michelle, I will post later if I can get my husband to play photographer.

AEM47

Slak - I have just lost my second nail.  I expect from the feel of them, I will lose a few more.  It seems that they turned yellow about half way up and they got thick.  I cut them and while holding them, filed them down to where the tip of the finger would hit anything before the nail.  I also buffed the tops so they would not be so thick and covered them with polish..since they are a gross color.  I made sure I bought a new buffer and files just incase of infection.  I was sticking them in hydrogen peroide a couple times a week and so that seemed to work and there is no infection.  I really hoped I could keep them in tact till they grew all the way...but that's not happening.  What seems to happen is they hurt a bit, and then out of nowhere..they just break where the yellow is.  The first one I put a bandaid on to hold the nail from ripping, but when I took the bandaid off the nail came off half way up where the yellow was....kinda freaked me out and then I realized it didn't hurt..lol.  They don't rip off...they kinda break and pop off.  The thumb went first and now the first finger next to it...again, no pain at all.  I have half a normal nail and both are growing like crazy.  they actually look like totally normal baby nails with white tips and all - but the nail area is exposed.  I almost think they grow faster as soon as they break off - but ugly as hell.  How ironic...Nails, hair eyebrows and eyelashes where my strong point before - I'm amazed they got hit so bad !

jpmomof3

Yay Momine!  what a milestone!

AEM sorry to hear you are having so much trouble with your nails.  I dont know if there is really a correlation but i know that chemo generally affect the fastest growing cells the most so I wouldnt be surprised if people with the fastest thickest hair and fastest growing nails have more trouble.  but i would also think that you will recover more quickly once the chemo washes out of your system.  Hang in there!

KristinFro

I ordered  my Buff from www.buffusa.com. I think I may order one or two more in different colors. I like them way more than bandanas.

JoanQuilts

I have made my own buffs.  Since I am a quilter, I have lots of extra fabric, which I just cut into a large square, fold into a double triangle and then tie around my head.  Doing it this way I can choose virtually any fabric I like!

KristinFro

rn4babies: the Buffs are a long tube of microfiber material. There are several ways to wear it where it completely covers your head. I wore mine to the movies last night and my head stayed warm -- since they keep those theaters the temperature of an ice locker. They are also supposed to wick away mositure. I'll test that out today when I go outside in this 95 degree heat!

Ossa

Momine..... YAY long enough hair for a haircut..nice..

As for the nail isse,, the nail I have lost have grown back, both my big toe nail are very thick looking and have lots of ridges on them ( I am 8 months PFC)

schatzi14

Momine...way to go!!

kjiberty

AEM47:  I was sitting there hanging on to my fingers that hurt like hell while reading your post.  I sure hope if they fall off, they come back soon!

shore1

Momine, how many weeks pfc were you when you got the trim? Im 21 weeks, still wearing wig. I have a couple inches - it seems to be growing fast, its just still too short for me. Im glad you were able to get yours shaped into a style. Look forward to your pic.

Momine

I finished chemo in mid-December. I was ready to trim the hair about 6 weeks ago, but my hair guy asked me to give it a little more time.

Elizabeth1889

Momine, How exciting to have your first PFC hair trim. It really is a great day.

Myleftboob

I went topless for the first time in front of friends last night.  I visited a friend with a fab pool and asked if she would be freaked out if I took off my wig.  She said of course not!  It was very liberating LOL!   My brows and lashes are starting to gome in really quick now too so I don't feel so bald faced.

FLislander

Rn4babies and allurbaddays



Someone posted earlier these

Chemobeanies.org

these are beautiful I didn't know about these til my hair was growing back



I ordered mine from TLCdirect.Org

the cancer society that also has surgical needs

rn4babies

FLislander......I have 5 chemobeanies from chemobeanies.com and absolutely love them. I just was looking for maybe a differant look with the buffs. I have yet to wear my wig. It's been in the high 90's here and PA and have only worn the chemobeanies so far. I have a wedding next Saturday so I might get brave and put on the wig.

FLislander

I saw a blog from eyelineher I think it's on YouTube also and she used buffs and said a name of them

shore1

Has anyone tried Ojon oil or hair straightening treatment? Its plant based, no formaldehyde, but it does list soy as an ingredient. Im desperate to try something that will smooth out curls & make it look longer.

stjude10

Myleftboob, congrats! I remember going topless for the first time...it's so liberating!

dragonfly1

shore1 I tried a natural keratin treatment (keratin earth) with no real success. It worked well the day I applied it and then the curls were back the next day. In desperation I went to my hairdresser and was ready to just chop the length off and she said "no, we'll find a way to fix this so you can grow it out". Well, she used a relaxer (i.e. a reverse perm, not keratin) and it worked beautifully-process took 2 hours including the haircut. It worked so well that I can straight iron it out the rest of the way after it dries and it stays! In fact, I can even sleep on it now and go without washing it the next day if I want. If you have the same texture/curls as me then you know what a big deal this is. I previously had to wash my hair every morning and spend forever with the flatiron to tame it. It's super easy now:) I'll try to remember to post an updated pic soon so you get an idea of what it looks like.

shore1

Dragonfly, how many weeks pfc or inches did you have when your hair dresser used the relaxer? Mine wants me to wait til September when I will be about 8 months pfc. Im still wearing wig, so I guess it doesn't matter if I look like a q-tip under it, but I hate it so much even looking at it by myself.

allurbaddayswillend

I like the great shaved scalps in your photos. Luckily Sinead and Sigourney Weaver helped my taste preferences and I think it looks good. Can you recommend razors, methods, etc? I don't usually shave anything (I'm very fair and what little leg hair I have is blond) so I am WAY out of practice with shaving in general. I buzzed my hair down with the clippers yesterday but it just keeps coming out so I figure I'd like the clean look better than the patchy. I'm sure my husband would shave it for me too if you have any recommendations that way. Should I get an electric?

auntienance

All, I shaved mine very carefully in the shower with lots of shave cream and a safety razor. I had it buzzed pretty short before that, but it was still a mess when it started coming out, plus my scalp hurt. It was much better after I shaved it. I was unpleasantly surprised, however, at how ugly my bare head was. I have a big dent on top and fat bumps on the back of it. Not pretty. I would have gone topless much sooner if my head had looked better.

kjiberty

Allure:  I had my hairdresser just buzz it off.  Didn't use a razor.  Little pieces fell out over the next several weeks, but a lint brush works great getting those little pieces out.  No need for me to "shave" it.  Now it's growing back like an ostrich and just finished my last T/C on Thursday.

Rockym

I miss my long hair :-(.  My daughter turned 10 this week and had a couple of friends sleep over.  They all had long beautiful hair.  I can't believe I am envious I am of these little girls.  Sometimes I feel rotten for the envy of my daughter.  She complains that her hair isn't right or that it's bumpy from a hair tie, etc.  It takes everything for me to have self-control and not yell and get mad at her for the comments.

Every so often I look in the mirror and think, "Hey, my hair looks fine, I look good today." then the next moment I am missing my hair tremendously.  I keep trying to calculate how long it will take for the few inches at my crown to get to my shoulders.  Gosh I wish I could just get over it already.

anafoefana

I know somewhere people have talked about coloring their hair.  I was all set to keep my gray and the other day the cashier at a store asked me if I wanted a senior citizen discount.  She meant well, but boy, what a reality check!  I am not 55 yet and have always been told I look young for my age.  I didn't think it would bother me, but it has, enough that I think I am ready to color it. 

I've been done with chemo for a long time now and my hair is growing.  I've had it cut a couple of times and while it is mostly salt and pepper, the hair around my face is mostly white. It is short, but there is plenty of it.  Any recommendations, doing it yourself vs going to a salon?  I have always colored my own and am pretty good at it, but I am wondering if it is okay to use the same products I used before?  My hair came back very similar in texture as to what it was.  It is a little curly on the back of my head, but the rest is pretty much what I had before. 

Any advice is welcome.  I think I am ready! 

shore1

Rockym, right there with you.

kjiberty

Rockym:  I know this is kind of sick, but I take a mental straw poll when I am out and about.  Does that bald guy have more hair then me?  What about that baby sitting in the booth behind us in the restaurant?    It makes me "try" to keep my sense of humor about this hair loss thing.  

jpmomof3

Yep me too, jealous of the people with beautiful hair. I also compare what I have to others. Right now my head looks and feels like a six month old baby's head. Better than it was 6 weeks ago when I was more like Yul Brynner ... I find myself jealous of my sons hair for some reason, I guess it is more like mine was in color and texture than my daughters' is.

auntienance

Anafoefana, I've been coloring my own hair since I was 12 weeks pfc. I'm using the same product, only half as much (kind of a waste). I'm coloring every 3 to 4 weeks, same as always.

allurbaddayswillend

Karen, lol: "What about that baby sitting in the booth behind us in the restaurant?" oh that just gives me the giggles for some reason! Yeah, I guess I should take the lint roller to my head or shave because little bits of hair are getting everywhere and, like auntienance, my scalp kind of hurts.