I'm allergic to my wig!

kimber3006

Of all of the awful SE's and trials we must face with this disease, I thought I'd share one so ridiculous that it might bring a smile to someone else.  My hands are completely broken out, itching and irritated for the third time in the last month.  When it first happened  (less severe), we just thought it was yet another weird chemo SE.  The second time it got worse - not in sync with treatment.  Hmph, weird.  So when I realized it's covering half of my hands and fingers today, my husband and I started brainstorming to try and find a common factor in all of those times, weeks apart and it hit me.  I got my wig about a month ago, but my hats are soooo much more comfortable so I've only worn it THREE times, immediately preceding my breakouts.  Geesh!  Guess it's time to learn to tie a scarf before it gets too hot for my hats!

janincanada

That is funny in an ironic sort of way.  When I started chemo it was May and trying to find the bright side I fixated on not having to shave my legs during the summer.  Well....I lost the hair on my head before my second treatment and then when I got to the 4th I knew I was going to lose my body hair.  No more shaving I thought.  For me though I lost my eyebrows and eyelashes and when it came to body hair I lost it from my torso out.  The very last hair to disappear was from my knees down.  I have quite a few laughs about the vision of a bald woman without any hair on her torso or arms or head and face having to shave from the knees down.  Just my luck. 

 I wore my wig sometimes, but also found hats and scarves more comfortable.  I found quite a few for summer that gave me the coverage that I wanted, but still allowed some airflow.  I also found that I became more open to going natural; first in my home and backyard and then front yard etc.  I suggest that you get yourself going with the scarves and then buy some great summer hats and do whatever makes you feel good.

Gitane

Oh, you gave me such a good laugh.  It wasn't funny for you, though.  Sorry!  I've never heard of this before.  Could it be something they used to wash the wig?  Scarves and hats can be a lot more fun and are so much more comfortable. My goodness, just what you need, a new mystery SE.

kimber3006

It's okay, I'm just hoping this itchy mess clears up soon!  I really dislike the wig (I don't even wear a hat around the house) but I felt like the wig cost so much that I HAD to get some use out of it.  Not anymore.  Someone who needs it will get a really nice one, barely used, when I happily donate it.   

Jan - Same here with the lower leg hair.  I was so disappointed when it stayed after I lost the hair on my head.

KerryMac

Leg hair is a funny one - mine never all fell out, but it hasn't all grown back either....strange!

jenn3

Kimber - like the others said it is funny - of course not to you at the moment.  It seems there is always something with this disease.   I bought a wig, but never wore it, I'll eventually donate it to the American Cancer Society. I liked the scarves and bandana's better. I wore the bandanas the most, but when I went out or dressed up for an event out came the pretty scarves.  I learned to tie my scarves from a lady in the waiting room - the Look Good class didn't spend enough time on it so I asked a lady in the waiting room that always had on pretty scarves and nice bows and knots tied into them.  Mine never looked as good as hers, but they looked pretty good. 

apple

i had little rashes after treatments - but they went away pretty quickly.. I only wore my wig twice.  i sooooooooo hated it.

men loved it tho.. they'd come up and congratulate me.. I think they thought it was suddenly my real hair. 

AnacortesGirl

Is the wig synthetic or human hair?  That allergery thing just makes me curious...

The first 3 months after I lost my hair I just loved wearing the different wigs I'd gotten to work.  I'd wear different colors depending on my mood and just to keep the guys I work with guessing.  It was fun back when I had the energy.  No more.  I'm worn out from the chemo.  My face is bland from the lack of sun, eyebrows and eyelashes.  Now that I'm not working I only wear my blonde wig when I have to be in a social event.  Today's treatment day so it's be a comfortable scarf.  I no longer care that I look like a cancer patient.  I am a cancer patient.  I've gone through a lot and I feel I've earned the right to be comfortable.

cherneski

lmao in a sick way.  Just cant get a break.

weesa

I too was allergic to my wigs, and they itched my head violently. One hot summer day I had to grab my wig, which was a very realistic one, off my head in front of a very startled client and started scratching my poor beet red scalp like a dog with fleas. I mostly wore baseball caps and scarves but when I needed to wear a wig I did--only after I soaked it in a mild soap and rinsed many times and then hungout to dry. That seemed to stop the allergic response altho it always looked a bit bedraggled after that.

kimber3006

LOL Weesa!

Anacortes-It's synthetic.  I'll bet it's a finishing product or something.  No matter, I'm just happy to have an excuse not to put the horribly itchy thing on again.  I actually don't think I look bad bald - though my face is a mess right now.  I tried to lightly exfoliate in the shower yesterday b/c the dry skin was so bad.  Big mistake!  I look like I used sandpaper on it.

Leah_S

kimber, it could be you're allergic to whatever the wig is made of. Bottom line is, synthetic means plastic.

If you want, you might go on ebay and see if you can get a human hair wig for a reasonable price.

The thing that I found funniest about the hair loss was that I lost the hair in my nose. Drip, drip, drip.

Leah