Hair Hair Hair - Another question

Victoria38

Me too IamNancy, I couldn't sleep without a cap of some kind, I felt velcroed to my pillow! 

I don't think my hair has grown at all this past month, darn Herceptin!  It's poodle fur anyway, so I guess it doesn't matter.  All in perspective. 

MinusTwo

Just found this site & want to say thanks for all the posts.  I'm 12 days past 1st chemo & plan to get a really short cut tomorrow.  REALLY don't want to since I've always had at least shoulder length hair, but...not too many choices are there.  I don't have the nerve to buzz yet. Tueday I'm going shopping for a wig.  I know nothing about wigs but thought it might fit better w/o my long hair.  Also going to look for "hats w/hair".  Houston is brutally hot & humid in the summer & I suspect the wig will be too much.

I'll be reading prior entries & do appreciate all your tips.

Myleftboob

MinusTwo

Good idea on the hats with hair. I regretted not trying that option. Our summer here in Toronto was a hot one by our standards and the wig was unbearable at times.   I would wear it when going out and then basically rip it off the second I got in the door.  You will find though that the wig will fit better when you decide its time to buzz.  As my hair started to grow even at 1 inch and even with a nylon cap, it would slide around a bit

shore1

Runnergirl, have you tried pre-natal viatimins? They are high in folic acid and some other vitamins that supposedly help hair growth. I still take Biotin 5000 a day, and as frustrating as its been, I thnk my hair has grown pretty fast so maybe the Biotin really does help. On May 1 it will be 15 months pfc for me, and I finally have a little tiny pony tail, that looks ok if I put a headband on too.

Sonson, my hair was curly before BC, and curly after. When I first ditched the wig/hats, which wasn't until 8 months pfc, it was very short and curly. The best I could do, was let it hair dry to lessen frizz, used got2b gel (in the orange container), added shine serum (liked John Freda anti-frizz), and a sparkly or cool looking head band and nice earrings. Not a look I would choose, but people who didn't even know what I had been through commented about how good I looked. I tried several of the "smoothing" shampoos and conditioners, but don't think any of them worked. Once good at home conditioning treatment that would keep it smoother for a few days was Ojon. I only got the ends skimmd off about 1 year pfc, no other trims. Now I'm in the tiny messy pony tail stage.

Runnergirl2013

hi shore1 - started to take biotin last week and going to take ferritin (iron supplement this week). I hope both of these help.  I am 12 weeks PFC and my head is now covered with hair but it's three different colors (grey, brown and blond) - good grief.  I just hope in six weeks that I can wear it without a hat as the weather warms up.

Chloesnana

My last chemo was March 1st of this year. My daughter is a hair dresser and has me taking biotin every day. It seems to be helping because my hair and nails are growing really fast. I kept my eyebrows and eyelashes the whole time during chemo, however I am loosing both of them now. I'm not sure if that's the case with everyone, but it is for me. This past weekend I decided it was time to go with just a cute little bow on my head, no hat, no scarf just my bow. It was truly liberating. I felt free!

melody46

Minus two I got a great wig but wished I'd paid more attention to the fit.  After I spent $250 on it I figured out it was a little too big.  They put it on your head and then you need to pull the edges down where they are supposed to be to make sure its a good fit. Heres an idea for a hat with hair, I have one and its great. 

http://www.theheadshoponline.com/shorty-hat-beige-by-henry-margu.html

MinusTwo

Melody:  Thanks for the tips & for the link.  I love the hat w/hair.  Do you need a 'gel strap' to keep it on?  Well, I won't even know what a 'gel strap' really is until I start shopping tomorrow - but how do you keep wigs, etc. on when your own hair's gone?

Victoria38

You don't need a gel strap, I bought one and have never used it.  I have not had any trouble keeping wigs on.  A little stubble that you normally have is like velcro, they stick on fine.  LOL

melody46

No strap needed for the hat, my wig scares me sometimes though but I haven't lost it yet

kjiberty

Tr4c3y:  I got mine buzzed on day 16.  No regrets...It was liberating.

Colt:  I went topless about 10 weeks PFC.  It was short...Grows back 1/2" per month..I have gotten 6 haircuts/trims since my last chemo on 6/28.  

I had straight hair before chemo and it is super curly.  I use a flat iron in the front the let the curls go in the back.  It doesn't look like it's going to stop any time soon.  I don't mind the curls.

brady

Thanks for expressing the frustration and demoralizing effect of not having a simple "lose your hair and then it grows back a little later so just smile and wait" story. Now that I've found out that the aromotase inhibitor (that is a 5-10 yr followup to chemo and radiation) also has the effect of hair loss. So right when I was rejoining my feminine life - boom - more rockerchick looks in my future. Thanks for allowing a place to also curse the treatments. I feel (based on good evidence) that if we can just survive 3 more years, that technologies will change everything and the current approaches will be classified along with stirring the brain with a stick to cure migrains.

Best of luck to you. Sometimes a healthy anger is better than a sickly surrender.

IamNancy

Brady - you said : "Now that I've found out that the aromotase inhibitor (that is a 5-10 yr followup to chemo and radiation) also has the effect of hair loss" -seriously?? I hadn't heard that before.. omg! 

lago

Yes there is an issue with hair loss but not everyone gets it. One of my friends started to recede. She found Minoxidil helped(mid 50s). I had the receding issue before chemo. After chemo some of what I lost filled in. I was on Minoxidil before and now after chemo (med 40's). My hair has receded a little but not to bad. One of my neighbors has hair thinning really badly. She's in her early 60's. She's about to try Minoxidil.

My recommendation with your doctors blessing of course is as soon as you start to notice the hair loss start Minoxidil. It can take 3-6 months to start working. At the very least it can help you hold on to your hair. Once it falls out it can be difficult to grow back while on this medication. I use the women's Walgreens generic.

Carrol2

If Tamoxifne is a armatose inhibitor then I am an example of how it did not effect my hiar growth. My hiar came back super fast even with the pills and pretty much the same texture as it was before.

Momine

No, tamox is not an AI.

herstrong

I'm on Arimidex and my hair is obnoxiously thick beyond belief. Can't even begin to feel my scalp.

MinusTwo

Hair let go on Day 15 as 'advertised'.  Got a "burr" from my hairdresser & a wig & a sleep cap.  I sent a picture of me in the wig to my 43 year old son, and bless his "male" heart, they love it.  His wife first thought it was just my new short haircut.  I'm still going to order the 'hats w/hair' from the link Melody sent since I'm a super casual person.

mareluna

Hi everyone,

    I hope everyone is doing okay. I am fighting a cold. I started back to work 3 weeks ago at the day care I worked at for many years off and on. I started subbing but it turned into working  monday through friday part time job.

    I went and got a trim the other day. I am getting some bangs starting to grow. I colored it today with medium ash brown Olia. It turned out well. I mixed up a small amount and have color left to mix up in a few weeks or so. I have dark hair growing and some white. And I think it will be curly or wavy. I am happy about that. I was a very curly haired little girl fifty years ago. LOL

Have a great evening.

kjiberty

Mareluna:  Good for you!  Sound like you're just moving right along.  I got my hair buzzed a year ago yesterday and got my sixth hair cut since PFC (6/28) this week as well.  My hair is still really, really curly 10 months PFC.  I am embracing it. WHat else can I do?  XOXO

suzegirl

I started weekly taxol with herceptin in March 2013.  I have had 6 treatments (6 of 12) so far and my hair is thinning quite a bit.  When can I expect to lose my hair?  It is thinning quite a bit and I am not sure if I should shave my head or see if I continue to lose more hair.  I have heard that some women have hair growth while on taxol.  If so, when does hair growth start while on taxol? 

lago

suzegirl I know some other gals that were on taxol that didn't lose it completely. Granted they only had 4tx. Some didn't buzz it because they still could pull off just a hat and look like they still had hair.

I never buzzed mine. Just cut it short when it fell out. I came out fast though on taxotere/carboplatin.

Cancership

It was about 8 weeks and it was/is growing like a weed:) I just created web site/ blog with some pictures too if you are interested to learn and see more.. There is a article about hair...you can check that out.

www.cancership.com

Good luck!

Cancership

Mine took about 8 weeks to come back. You can check it on www.cancership.com if you want - there are articles and pictures as well.I created the side because I had so many question which no one would answer and I desperately searched the Internet.

All the best.

jojo2373

5 1/2 months PFC! Finally a style.

Carrol2

looking good jojo it's all downhill from here. I was feeling good about my hiar at about 6 months and after a year it was back to my should length.

ang7894

      This is me right now at 13 mo out of harsh chemo and only 2 mo out of herceptin..   Finally able to curl hair if I want to. More my normal self it really feels good. Hang in there ladies it will happen.

WaveWhisperer

Carol's hair may have been shoulder-length after a year, but I wouldn't want everyone to expect the same results. I'm friends with a group of BC sisters, all of whom ended chemo 12-15 months ago, and NONE of us has that kind of length now. Mine is more like FREE SOIL's-- slightly below my ears.



A question: Mine is very, very dry (probably exacerbated by coloring and highlighting it). Do any of you use a really good deep conditioner that makes the hair less dry and gives it more shine????



thanks!

lago

WaveWhisperer I have always had very shiny hair. When it initially grew back it was dull. About a year later the shine started to grow back but remember I keep my hair really short now so the old stuff was all cut off. For shine though I would recommend moroccan oil . It can be really expensive but you only use a little bit (or your hair will look greasy). I found the product they sell at Sally Beauty supply, One n Only Argan Oil, is much less expensive and works really well when I do use it. Not too greasy at all. Sometimes the sun in the summer might dry out my hair a little. It's good for your hair (and hands) too.

And I will also agree Carol2's hair grows fast. My does too. Most people do not have hair that grows that fast.

littlecalico

Hey there!

A while back, on this post I think, I read that a lot of us thought the Herceptin drug was responsible for slowing down the regrowth. I want to add that I've checked the information about Herceptin, and I do not see any mention of it interfering with regrowth in particular. I asked my oncologist and he told me it was rather the harshness of Taxotere that took time to wear out. So of course, when a year or so after Taxotere or other standard "chemo" drug, you finish Herceptin, hair may appear to grow better/quicker, but this makes sense because you are further away in time from the badass hair-racist drugs. 

I hope this helps some Herceptin girls.