Hair Hair Hair - Another question

Mikesgirl17

Homemom, I too highly recommend icing hands and feet during infusions.  I used soft ice packs that I madr myself and fleece pouches to put them in.  I only got neuropathy slih=ghtly in 1 thumb and had no nail issues.  It is the most important thing you can do for yourself in my opinion.  Soft ice pack is 1 cup rubbing alcohlol 2 cups water.  In gallon freezer bag .  (Double bagged in case of leaks.)

MomMom

Mikesgirl,  I have mentioned icing hands and feet elsewhere on the boards during Taxol which is what I'm doing now (3 weekly Taxol down, 9 more to go!).  I've heard that women have experienced both nail loss and CIPN many months post chemo however, so not sure when we can be sure if it really works or not:-).  Fingers crossed for both of us!  I ordered the $$ Elastogel gloves and booties, but they don't retain the cold for the full hour of Taxol infusion.  Thanks for your formula.  Will take some ice packs to switch when the gloves & booties don't feel as cold.  Have also heard that acupuncture can help prevent neuropathy and had my first treatment ever yesterday.  It was very relaxing, and I plan to get a treatment weekly through the end of Taxol and maybe every other week for awhile post chemo.  I lost a big toe nail from the AC alone (unusual I'm told), and the other big toe nail "iffy."  All this that I'm doing may not work, but I'm determined to be as pro-active as I can. 

HomeMom

Mikesgirl - thank you for the recipe. Is it the A/C that causes the neuropathy or the Taxol? I will be in the chair for 1.5 hours with the a/c and THREE hours with Taxol. How long do these things last before they defrost?

I have an appt on Tuesday the 27th with the chemo nurses as an information session. I have a LOT of questions.

HomeMom

Thank you Bosumk, I hope so to! - so it's the Taxol possibly. 

MinusTwo

Lago & LamNancy - re: the Remmington trimmer - How long did you have to use it?  Did the facial hair stop growing?  I've had electrolysis off & on for 10 years and had just finally gotten rid of all the hair I didn't want.  Unfortunately that's whats growing back first.  Except of course the (ahem) pubic area is over 2" long and totally straight.  It used to be very curly.  PFC 5 months.  Head hair is just over 1" long and starting to wave.  Reading the posts, I seem to be lucky that the top is thicker than the sides.

Biotin - my dermatologist told me last week not to take it more than 6 months.  When she realized I'm on Herceptin, she said I can go ahead until that's finished.

lago

HomeMom Taxol and Taxotere can cause neuropathy. Nail lifting with Taxotere (not common but I got it really badly)  not sure about other chemos.

MinusTwo My face fuzz never quite went away but it got much better. I actually have it every where now. Back, arms etc. People don't notice it because it's so fine. My DH thinks I'm nuts. I do trim the face every so often.

MinusTwo

Lago - Thanks I guess the ultimate answer is to not wear my glasses.  But I'm not ready to have even random chin hairs for my son to see.  As soon as my anemia resolves it's back to electrolysis for me.  I started that in the first place because I couldn't hold the mirror, the tweezers & position my glasses to find the darn culprits.  The Remmington sounds like a good stop-gap measure.

IamNancy

Minus Two - the best place for me to tweeze is in the car - car visor mirror with the sun shining on my face.. LOL that's for those chin hairs.. I can't see them good in the bath room mirror..

lago

The hairs I'm talking about can't be tweezed. Way too light and small

jumpy

For facial hair from Tamoxifen, AIs, post-chemo, etc. I heard a leading dermatologist recommend "threading". I've had it done twice and would recommend over the other methods discussed. As for the hair on my head, I'm 11 months PFC and am still very thin on top. The minoxidil that I use has made the face fuzz worse (rubs off on the pillow at night and onto my face) but the threading has helped.

IamNancy

I had threading done to my eyebrows for shaping and it really hurts - although it looks good and I will have it done again but I can't imagine it on my face.. ouch!

 

Notbuyingit

just got back from FL vacation & i have to say i loved rocking the super short hair! as much as i miss my hair - it sure was nice not to have to worry about "pool"hair or "wind" hair! maybe this is my new summer look!

MaryFox

My hair is now starting to look more like hair than like fuzz.  I have mixed feelings about this.  I sure do like the freedom of baldness, saving money on shampoo and conditioner and haircuts.  Hmmmm.

Notbuyingit

it is a tough one! i understand about the "manly" feeling - not only am i super short gray haired - but i feel like i have tiny man-boobs now! 

of course, I don't feel any different & I can't see myself...but those vacation photos!? yikes!

yensmiles

Hi everyone!

Am wondering if our hair prior to surgery might indicate whether it'd grow back or not...

am frankly terrified that mine won't as i've very fine, thin hair...  and there is a small percentage that would suffer permanent alopecia.. anyone here?!

IamNancy

yensmiles - I had thin, fine, straight hair - and now its thicker and has more body.. was curly for a while but I've kept it short and so haircuts have cut the curls but its better hair than I had before.. think positive - many get better hair than they had before.. and there isn't any reason to think you won't have better hair after also

slv58

yensmiles, I'm like Nancy, my hair was terrible right before dx, very dry, over processed, curly. Now I've decided not to color my hair-I'm really liking the silver-and it has come back slightly thicker and straight. I have noticed that it is starting to get a bit of curl but I'm liking it much better than before! It surprised me that when it first started growing back it was pure white, then gray, then salt/pepper and now one year Pfc, it seems to be getting more color, ashy blonde. Things keep changing, but I'm happy with it! 

lago

yensmiles there is a very small percentage of folks that have been treated with taxotere who might suffer from taxotere induced alopecia. Very small. It has nothing to do with how much hair they had before. I know one friend of mine had a full head of hair, used to model her hair and experienced this while many of my friends with thin hair are fine. Even I had some receding before chemo due to being pre-menopausal. After chemo those areas actually grew back. Granted it started to recede a bit on Anastrozole. But no one other than me and my hair dresser knows.

HomeMom

I likey. I have always had fine hair but a LOT of it. I screwed up my bang area when I was in my late 30's by using a hair straightener with hair color for the first time. A lot broke off and then with Nioxin most of it came back but not enough imho. Then the last five years my hair has thinned out some all over, so if it grows back thicker and my bang area actually recovers, I'll be thrilled!

yensmiles

Thanks Lago, Shari and Nancy for the reassuring words! I sure hope my hair grows back nice and thick! wavy would be even better! I've gone wig shopping and already have my eye on one, planning to get everything in order before chemo (even though i honestly might chicken out of chemo..still googling my way through to see if there's anything i can find that'd help me say NO confidently to chemo).

HomeMom, I wish you get thick hair too!

slv58

yensmiles chemo is very doable and IF you experience uncomfortable side effects, most are short lived and (I feel) worth the comfort of knowing I have done everything I can. My MO said that if I experienced nausea to call her right away because that meant she wasn't doing her job! I felt much better after hearing that.

aff

I wish I had found these boards during chemo. I am new here with chemo behind me and surgery and rads ahead of me. 

If only I had known about icing my hands and feet before. It's great advice for anyone about to start Taxol or Taxotere.  After 12 rounds of Taxol I am desperately trying to hang on to 4 of my nails. Last treatment was on May 2 but there has been very little change to my lifting nails since the end of chemo. Any advice would be great. Toenails were fine but my heels peeled so much that it made walking painful for a couple weeks.

I am pleasantly surprised by how much hair has grown back already, even if my new hair is salt and pepper. I did not have any gray hair before. I wore a wig for several months but gave that up about a month ago. I have been wearing bandanas and hats and went out with just a nice headband yesterday. It was quite liberating.

islandmom

BosumBlues  It has been three years since I finished chemo and started taking Tamoxifen.  The hot flushes never went away, but I have gotten used to them.  

About your hair, you are just have to be patient, it will grow before you know it.  I had short straight hair before BC.  After loosing my hair I could not bring myself to cut it, so by now it is about 8 inches past my shoulders.  The new growth still wavy so I think that is the way it will stay, the waves make it look like I have more hair.  

I do baby my hair, when it was short I had to use a blow drier to straighten the top, because it was wild.  Now, the curls have relaxed, so I just let it air dry.  Three years ago, if someone would have told me that my hair would become my best feature, I would have considered it a cruel joke.  

Of course, our hair grows at different rates and some ladies go back to their normal texture soon after, other do not.  The important thing is to make the best of what you have. 

LeeA

I haven't taken any selfies lately but I have about two inches of root growth from when I had my hair highlighted in February.  I'm about 13 months post-final chemo but I was on Herceptin so I think that slowed my growth somewhat.  Right now, my hair's about the same length it was when I got my pre-fallout chemo haircut.  It's definitely not as long as JoJo's (hope I have her name right!) but it's gotten long enough that I don't think about it as being post-chemo hair anymore.  

Islandmom's right - you have to be patient and at some point I think you kind of forget about it, or at least I have these past four months or so because we've been so busy.  On the other hand, my son saw a recent photo of me and said it still looks like I have really short hair but he's used to me having shoulder-length hair.  I used to hide behind my hair (acne scars) so the hair loss really freaked me out but I took Biotin throughout chemo (my MO approved it) and I continue to take it.  I'm happy to be alive and eventually my hair will catch up - or maybe I'll keep it kind of short.  I don't know.  

GwennyMD

The hair on my face grew like crazy for the first few months PFC.  I did not notice at first because I have always been a "hairy creature" according to my sisters and have been wearing a long wig.  I have shaved the sideburns about 3 times.  It now seems to stay at its previous fuzzy state.  My eyelashes have grown back but they are not as long as they were before.  

I am still indecisive about the hair on my head.  I have been wearing a wig since last April.  I do not want to go thru another summer with this thing.  The easiest, cheapest, and least time consuming would be to wear it natural.  It will look like a little curly afro.  I have not worn an afro since 1973 and it was very large.  The next alternative is to have it professionally cut and styled.  This would require a lot of upkeep.  Since I had long hair I always wore ponytail or buns all summer.  Since I refuse to go gray at this young age, the cost of time required to keep it looking good would drive me crazy.  The last alternative would be a wavy hair weave.  My hair would be hidden except for the front edges.  There would be less upkeep but the cost is outrageous.  I hope that by the time I find a shade of brown that I like, I will make my decision.

IamNancy - I usually find chin hairs when I am at work.

Radical2Squared

Hi Gwenny,

I haven't started chemo yet, but I wanted to share a hair option a friend at work went with. She is 54 and mixed race (black/native American/Dutch). Before chemo she could straighten her shoulder length, part black hair and died it brown with highlights.

When her hair started to go from chemo she shaved her head and went to a wig (she loved it but it made me think of Wendy Williams.) When her hair started to come back (thick, curly silvery white) she participated in a cancer fundraiser called Mystic Divas. It is a fashion show where cancer survivors strut around in evening gowns etc. On stage. She died her hair pink for the show. 

After the show, she kept it. She's been wagering her hair short for the last 3 years (buzzed on the sides with curly longer hair on top) and she has been dying the longer top pinks and purples ever since. She looks awesome, confident, and edgy. It's not for everyone, but don't underestimate the possibility of going for a new look and a confident you!

Lisaj514

radical, love the idea of cancer survivors struttin' their stuff at a fashion show. In their beautiful bald heads and/or any stage of regrowth. One group on this board(dec chemo thread) at one point chatted about needing a calendar of "baldy beauties" when we were all posting our bald looks

Mikesgirl17

Eye brows....my last chemo was March 17.  About a week later all my eyebrows fell out along with most of my lashes.  I felt like a freak without brows, more so than being bald.  On April 23 my eyebrow area looked blue, sort of like 5 o clock shadow.  I am happy to say that today, May 21, my lashes have started growing in nicely and my eyebrows are mostly all back  I will mention that I used Model Supplies rapid brow growth that I bought on Amazon and think it helped a lot.  I don't know for sure, but I have more brows on the outside edges than I had before.  I also couldn't take the peach fuzz all over my face so I used the finishing touch trimmer. $10 at dept. stores.

Lisaj514

yes...my eyebrows and lashes falling out now 4weeks PFC. Maybe will get the model sullpies brow growth. Can you get it in stores? Hair on head is growing thin fuzzy kiwi hair (still look very bald from further than 2feet away) but still no body hair...anywhere. Except some chin hair, go figure! Not minding the lack of leg or underarm hair or bikini area hair but no pubic hair anywhere feels weird as well as the lack of arm hair, back hair (didn't realize I had any there until I lost it and my clothes feel so smooth against my skin). Well that's my hair rant! Feeling sort of normal in the inside but come on outside! I would love the short GI Jane look, even gray

GeorgiaRai

I posted this in a Stage III thread, but decided to share it here, too.  Not that I'm "all that" - lol - but I literally have the slowest growing hair on the planet (true before chemo and more true after), and even I have made it to the stage where my ears are covered!  I've gotten several trims of the sides and back, trying to work into a graduated bob.  I doubt I'll ever get back to my pre-treatment hair, but at least I have a style rather than just side-effect hair!

Oh, and the facial hair, ACK!  It freaked me out, and I was so glad to find others talking about it at the time (I think our thread was called Planet of the Apes or something).  I used Nair for face 2 or 3 times, and after that, it wasn't a problem any more.  I still don't have to shave my legs, and only 1 underarm. 

Best of luck to all of you finishing up treatment.  There *IS* a light at the end of the long, ugly tunnel!