Eyebrows months after chemo has ended

Sandals

Eyebrows months after chemo has ended

Sandals

Hi ladies,

I finished Chemo on 1st Sept this year and my eyebrows and eyelashes started falling out about a month later.  My eyelashes grew back ok but are still short but my eyelashes are still thinning.  I need to wear eyebrow pencil every day.  I only had 4 rounds of taxotere/cytoxan so didn't expect to have eyebrow problems so far after it had ended.

Does anyone else have this problem?

Thank you.

Paulsgirl

Texas357

I finished chemo in April and if I didn't use a pencil, my eyebrows wouldn't show up at all! My lashes are about 1/2 as long as they were before I lost them. I've learned that the hair on different parts of our bodies grows at different rates. Perhaps eyebrows just take a really long time to "cycle" back up.

Sandals

Thats a long time.  Even if I had an idea of how long my eyebrows will take to get back to "normal" I wouldn't mind but I'm worried it may take years. 

LJ13-2

Eyelashes and eyebrows are the slowest growing hair on our bodies. Especially lashes.

I would say my eyebrows are now about normal, but my lashes are still about half their former length.

I finished chemo in May '08.

Sandals

Thats unbelievable. I had no idea they would even start thinning. I thought I was lucky to have got through Chemo with them pretty much normal looking.

I don't mind my eyelashes so much as they are barely noticeable but the eyebrows are a pain with having to put eyebrow pencil on every day.  I just think it looks fake even if people have told me it doesn't.

Thanks for your replies.

ktym

Paulsgirl, I'm the same, its been months and lashes and brows thin and short.  Only hair growing normal is on my legs (so not fair).  I noticed you said, only 4 rounds of TC.  That's what I had.  I'm always amazed to hear people say only TC.  My onc said theyr'e really having a hard time getting people through TC.  They hoped it would be a little easier then AC, but TC comes with its own set of problems.  Probably why its been working so well in studies.  So, give yourself a break, it wasn't "only TC".

lexislove

I just typed up my own post chemo eyebrow story....and it just went somewhere!..lol.

My eyebrows came back a lot thinnner and lighter than my hair color. I have very dark brown hair, and they eye brows were lighter. I have tried pencils, but with daily hot flashes, I became paranoid that the make up would run down my face.

So this past Monday I decided to get my eyebrows tinted to match my hair color,and seem more natural. Its temporary, and lasts 2-3 weeks. The more you wash your face it will fade, but it only cost me $15.00.

Im happy with the results.

revkat

Hair returned after 4 cycles of TC, but thinner in a number of places -- top of my head (sides and back are much fuller and grow faster!), eyebrows (used to be bushy, now sparse) and pubic area (much thinner). It's been a year and a half now since I finished chemo so I'm not expecting much change.

That said, many people have had brows and lashes thin out in 3 month cycles following chemo for a while -- it's like chemo resets them all to a grow/shed cycle together and it takes a while for them to stagger the growth cycle the way they did before. 

hrf

I'm 6 1/2 months following 4x TC.....hair is still so thin that I can't go uncovered. Brows fell out following chemo and now are very, very sparse and lashes are very short and thin. If anyone has suggestions to make hair grow let me know. I'm already doing Biotin.

thepinkbirdie

Try AG/pro. There is also a product called Hair, Skin & Nails with biotin.   But be sure to ask your oncologist first about any supplements

hrf

Thanks for the suggestion.

ktn

I finished chemo last Dec and lost my lashes and brows a few weeks after the Taxol was finished- very frustrating! My lashes were growing in 1 month and are shorter now then before but are full. My brows also came in lighter than my hair. They aren't as thick as before but I don't need to wax them either! I use a light pencil and then a brow product thats like a mascara but made for brows. It's hard to be patient but all will grow back!

otter

I had 4 rounds of Taxotere & Cytoxan, finishing up in June '08.  Like many of the women here, my brows and lashes held on until after chemo, and then they fell out.  Completely.

They grew back within a few weeks, but fell out again about 3 months later.  That happened again and again.  I've heard the same thing as revkat -- it's sort of a synchronization that occurs after they all fall out the first time.  It takes awhile for the growth cycles of the individual hairs to get out-of-phase.  Normally, we hardly notice when one or two lash or brow hairs come out; but when they're all (or mostly) gone, it's quite a shock.

I am now 18 months post-chemo, and I'm sad to say that my brows and lashes never did come back with the same length and thickness they had pre-chemo.  My lashes are about half as long as they used to be; my brows are thin and patchy.  There actually are bare spots in my brows, and the color is lighter than it used to be. So, I use a few light strokes of brow pencil to try to make my brows (and my eyes) more noticeable.  I never used brow pencil or powder before.  I gave up on the lashes -- mascara hardly makes any difference on such short lash hairs; and the brush gets too close to my contact lenses.

<sigh> They call this, "Moving Beyond Cancer?"...

otter 

artsee

It's been a year and a half since the end of chemo and finally the three month fall out has stopped. The eyebrows are more sparse and the lashes are not as long as they were.Mine were exceptionally long so I do miss that but at least I have them all now.

Artsee

crusader1

Hi,

I too had four rounds of TC. I finished my fourth on May 4th. My eyebrows are still very sparse. I too use an eyebrow brush on them each day.I never lost all of them during the chemo and felt they would go back to their bushy old self. Wrong.  My eyelashes are also quite sparse. Hair throughout the rest of my body has grown back. My hair is now very curly .(BTW I do enjoy it.) I gave up my wig seven months after the start of chemo.

But you know what I am really not that concerned. Our cancers are gone( hopefuly) and all this stuff is fluff to me.

Enjoy this holiday.

Hugs,

Francine

Sandals

So do they never really come back as normal?  Even 3 years down the line for example. I could live with a 1.5 years of eyebrow pencil but the thought of using it forever is a pain.  Means, makeup every single day!

LRM216

I don't think you can use anyone else's time span for hair to grow, no matter what type of hair, but your own.  I had my last Taxotere on 9/10/09 and by that time I was bald, no eyebrows, no eyelashes and eyes that wouldn't stop tearing 24/7.  I was hating this damn cancer even more, if that was possible.  I never thought I would get any of it back again.  Hair had completely covered my head, just not yet as thick as what it was prior to chemo, so I am still waiting for that, but no bald spots, etc.  My eyebrows are now back to normal, started right before Thanksgiving, and I do have lashes.  Since they are still growing and thickening, I have yet to use mascara.  Nothing has fallen back out - all is growing.  Yours will too!  Scalp hair isn't growing and thickening quite as quickly as I would like, but I am 62 (going on 40) and I will just have to be patient.  You will get there too! 

Linda

DD_done

I finished four rounds of TC in June 08.  I lost all of the hair on my head, both eyebrows, all lashes on one eye and most on the other.  Hair on my head began to grow in Aug, and was long enough to ditch the annoying-but-appreciated wig by end of Oct.  I wear my hair short, so I can tell you my hair went through 3 distinct phases of re-growth.  First, light grey, coarse, and very curly (2-3 mos); second, darker grey, semi-coarse and semi-curly (6-9 mos); third - hooray, my mouse-brown, silky-fine, wavy hair is back, with substantially LESS grey than pre-chemo. 

Eyelashes were only stubble in Mar of 09, so I started using Latisse/Lumigan.  I'm a runner and the sweat running into my eyes was painful.  My insurance wouldn't pay for Latisse, so my internist wrote Lumigan for me off-label.  Takes 10 or so weeks, but it works!  It grows lashes!! 

Eyebrows were equally slow to re-grow, and sparse.  By Sept 09, one was 35% re-grown and the other almost non-existent - so I started brushing the brow ridge with Lumigan daily.  Now, Jan 10, I have one 60% re-grown and the other about 35% - although both brows are markedly finer and fairer than pre-chemo.

BTW, forget arguing with the insurance company.  You can get the generic of Lumigan from Canada for $20 a month. 

ruthbru

My hair and eyelashes came back fine, but my eyebrows are still not good (21/2 years later!). I still have to use a pencil to darken them in and basically 'draw' them on at the ends. I am semi-seriously considering getting them tatooed on (costs $300). My beautican had hers done and they look nice.  Anyone have any experience with this? The cost, the pain, and the thought of "What if I don't like the way they look, then what?" are what is holding me back.

crazy4carrots

Ruth, if you do the tatoos, then what happens if you want to change your hair colour (or if you go grey/white naturally)?  At least with eyebrow pencil, you have a choice of shades.

My eyebrows are sparse (I use a Revlon pencil -- dark blonde) and my eyelashes are both sparse and short!  However, I think I've only shaved legs and underarms about 5 times since end of chemo 18 months ago!

Seems to me that those of us on an AI are the ones most affected by this "hair change"....hrf, I'm wondering if you took a month's break, maybe your hair would start growing.  Just a thought...

Linda

kim40

Wow - I was just having this conversation with my husband today.

My last chemo was June 17th - and I'm still waiting for something to show up for my brows!  I still have nothing!  Lashes are growing, but still very short.

I'm tired of drawing the brows on my face.  Somedays it looks good, but most days it looks uneven!  I suck at it!!

ruthbru

Hey Linda, I hadn't thought about the hair/eyebrow color factor. Since mine came back, I've kind of gone crazy with it. It  actually is a medium brown ( which came in with way too much gray); so  first I had it colored, then highlighted, then dyed it a maroon red, and now the more 'normal' brown/red on the picture. I figure,"Why not? What's the worst that can happen?" So, I better keep drawing those eyebrows on, at least until I settle on a 'natural' color!

iodine

I've colored my hair auburn since my late teens.  I have used eyebrow pencil since I was 12---and needed it!

When I began to color my hair I changed to auburn pencil.  A long while back it became hard to find and I was tired of no expression on my days off or at the pool, so I got tattoo.  It's light brown and I fill it in with orangy eyeshadow and the match my hair perfectly.  Was told that cosmetic red/auburn was not available.  (or at least not from her)

My new pcp finally started me on thyroid---just after diagnosis, but it's not made a great deal of difference in brow thickness.  At least not as much as the eye drops --I get them from an Indian pharm, but now have the name of one in Canada and may use it.  HUGE difference in lashes, not so much in brows, but I've not been as regular on the brows since they already have color.

Tats are not so bad, using lidocaine gel and let it sit for a while.  My husband didn't even know I'd had them done!  Oh, he's not all that observant either.  LOL

ruthbru

Iodine, now I am tempted again. For sure my husband would never notice, I've bought large pieces of furniture and waited for him to say something, only to finally point out that we have a new table, or whatever!!! This I would be doing for myself  ! Ruth

iodine

Of course, you are doing it for yourself!  It's YOUR face you see each morning when you wash it.  And each night when you brush your teeth.

Somehow!  we have to get over the "stuff" (read sh*t) that tells us we cannot do what we want to do because it seems ahhhhhhhhh VAIN!  Who the hell cares.  If it's vanity to want to enjoy not having wrinkles, or Having lashes, etc, and I am taking no food or education from my kids, then by george I Earned it.  And I will have it.  Last time I ck'd  a little vanity is ok and NOT one of the 10 commandmants.  so, I feel I'm clear to do what ever won't hurt me or others.

When seeking a perm. cosmetic : GET REFERRALS and ck out all the women they offer as recommendations.  Don't look at the tech herself, she may have more tats than a biker and a bad face job.  Just be sure to see as many as possible, at as many stages of recovery (the dye bleeds into itself and kinda moves, I'm told) as possible.  I've seen some BAD jobs, for cheap prices and vice versa.  I feel if your plastic surgeon can recommend one, that is likely a good recommendatoion.  I had my lower lases lined by the gal my PS uses for nipples. and she did exactly as I requested.  Extra, extra light. 

Also, ask for the lightest possible tat---along with the option of FREE return for touch up and darkening.  And for THAT to actually work, they have to have been in business for a while at the SAME location.  LOL, know what I mean?

Anonymous

I'll just add to Dotti's post about getting your tattoos light. I asked for them to be extra light and that's what she did, despite encouraging me to go darker. After about 6-8 months, I could hardly see them at all and it was too late for the touch-up that comes with the original package and price. Since I'm not springing for another $400, I use pencil every day and hate it. Sigh......

~Marin

ruthbru

I think we deserve to be very vain, high maintenance women!

hrf

lindasa, thanks for your suggestion. However, since the bc was 100% ER+ I am reluctant to stop the AI for a month. I didn't start the AI until about 2 months after chemo and in that 2 months, I had almost no hair growth at all so I don't think it's the AI as much as the chemo. I may consider the tatoos for eyebrows though.

ruthbru

I just talked to a friend (she didn't need chemo, went right to radiation) who said that since she's started on Tamoxifin her eyebrows are growing like crazy; but they are extremely bushy and she's plucking them all the time and feels like a cave woman!!! So maybe we should be glad for thin eyebrows!?!

lbrewer

You can use Rogaine on your eyebrows.  Just use a Qtip.  it works!  I also had a Bobbie Brown make up specialist show me how to use a powder rather than pencil to fill them in and it looks much more natural.  If you're looking for advice on permanent, check out facecrafter.com

She posts on here fairly regularly.