I FEEL younger, but, hair looks old!

StarWish624

After finishing all of my treatments (chemo. & rads.), during which I lost about 35 lbs., I am starting to feel better, but my hair startles me when I look in the mirror, or see myself in a store window. I had light, reddish/brown hair "before", but it went away, and was replaced by white hair. The roots are coming in darker, now (so, some of the color might be coming back), but in the meantime, I am 58, but feel that I look much older. I am afraid to color it right now. People are saying that the cancer treatment really "aged" me due to the hair color change, but I feel pretty good (I just don't look like it).

Anyone else have the same color change with their regrowth?

crazy4carrots

StarWish:  The first "growth" of hair after chemo is usually whitish but after a few weeks I think you'll see a big change in colour as your usual colour will start to return.  Guess it takes awhile for the follicles to reprogramme themselves.  Hang in there!

And yes, I know what you mean about feeling young, but looking older.  I'm 60, feel like I'm 40, but Femara is starting to give me wrinkles which I never had before <sigh>.

Cheers, Linda 

dlb823

StarWish ~  I'm with you!  As Linda said, my first fuzz was white-ish, but now I've got a blend of steel gray, darker hair (my original color) and some silvery gray.  YUK!!!  I've tried a henna rinse and also a mousse color, and while they both blend in the gray, the color is flat and blah.  My hair is also extremely curly now -- a total change for me.  I look in the mirror and feel like I don't even know myself!  My last chemo was in October, and I'm still wearing a wig or baseball cap when I go out.  I think I'm going to have to break down and get my 2" of hair trimmed and colored.

Linda ~  How long have you been on the Femara?  I just started a week ago, and I swear I'm already seeing new wrinkles -- although I'm sure getting off HRT started the ball rolling.    Deanna 

crazy4carrots

Hi Deanna:

I started Femara last August.  began to notice some facial skin texture changes a few months later and, while I actually don't have many facial wrinkles (no kids, I think that might be why!!), my neck is getting very turkey-like.  I've always used a facial cream -- am now using Burt's Bees Day Radiance -- but never bothered with the neck

The other thing I've noticed about Femara is that my hair is much, much thinner.  I've been using Biotin for my hair and nails -- nails are stronger than they've ever been, but hair is thin and fine.  As for aches and pains, I've really only had morning stiffness and achey hands but that seems to come and go.  Never did have hot flashes so that hasn't been a problem either.

Well, everyone's different, but I find this site so helpful, because it's such a relief to encounter others who are experiencing some of the same se's.  There's a lot our oncs don't bother telling us, isn't there???!!!

Cheers, Linda

Jo_Ann_K

I turned grey in my 20's.  My maternal grandmother followed a similar path. The difference was the I dyed it for 30 years and she let her hair stay grey.  A couple of years ago, I went to a new hair stylist who suggested I let it grow out naturally and stop the hair dye. He thought my hair color was beautiful - bright silver and dark black hair.  I tried it for 4 months and loved it. I have gotten so many compliments on my hair color - from strangers too!  The good news is that my scalp is no longer dry like it was when I dyed it. However, now that the estrogen is being reduced from the Tamoxifen, the consistency of the hair is changing. And, of course, my friends think I'm very brave not to dye my hair...hahah.  Embracing age is tough, but you can't stop the process.

crazy4carrots

Jo Ann, I have a few friends who went grey early and never dyed their hair and it looks beautiful! I would say that I'm about 10% grey (thanks to heredity) and have used henna for years (which just provides reddish highlights).  But when I went shopping for a wig, I tried on several which were different shades of grey, and they didn't suit me at all.  So I guess you have just the right complexion for your natural hair colour!

As it turns out, I bought a blondish wig and got more compliments with it than I ever did with my natural hair.  Well, maybe they were just trying to make me feel better

Linda

Jo_Ann_K

Linda,

Did you have chemo with LCIS or were the wigs for other reasons?  One of the gals I work with is having a blast with her wigs - different personalities for every color!

Regards,

Jo Ann

crazy4carrots

Jo_Ann:  I did have chemo (my choice, just to improve my odds a few percentage points).  It's unusual with LCIS, but there were other factors to consider.

I hated wearing the wig, and as I'm retired, I didn't require it every day thank goodness!

Hope you're having springlike weather -- we are, in southern Ontario.  Hyacinths are blooming and the daffs will be in bloom next week.  I love spring, especially this year!!

Linda

nagem

Before breast cancer, my hair was unmanageably thick. After chemo, it came back thin—so thin my scalp shows through and I look like I'm getting a bald spot in the back. I'm afraid to dye it, and I really don't want to resume wig wearing. I'm nervous about taking supplements. I guess I'm stuck?

susan_CNY

nagem, have you talked to your PCP about your hair? what you are describing sounds like male pattern balding which sometimes can be helped with medication, if you are considering coloring your hair maybe you get a profesional to work on it, I think going a shade or so lighter with highlights would help the scalp showing through, please don't feel stuck!

junie

Starwish--ohhh, the regrowth of my hair after chemo STILL is a puzzle...

Prior to tx, I had mostly thick, coarse straight hair, mostly a lovely silver still with a bit of dark brown streaks...

 fast forward---after chemo--hair grew in curley, dark brown, curley, curley (grew to love the chemo curls!!!)--not one grey (silver) hair....

fast forward--Tamoxifen--lost the "chemo curls"...hair now so fine, no body, thin, looks like I have bald spots--awful stuff to deal with--and still, what little grey that is creeping in is so drab compared to my glorious silver.....

I had hoped that my hair would grow back in snow white...didn't happen...I HATE MY HAIR!!!

ok--I feel better now!!!