Eyelash and Eyebrow Regrowth

ForMyGranddaughter

My last treatment of T/C 4x was 2 weeks ago October 11, 2013. My brows are a little thinner; I don't see a change to my lashes. I use a herbal scalp + hair butter that I make . . . I'll have to wait + see.

bdavis

I think I used the Brian Joseph for 2 months post chemo... I think it was July when I stopped... And finished chemo May 10.

arvjane

I also used Brian Joseph's lash and brow gel and my lashes and brows stayed in very well until about month #3.  I have now just began month #5 and my final month and my eye lashes are almost totally gone and my eye brows are very thin and even some blank spaces over my right eye.  Needless to say I was very disappointed after spending $400 on Brian Joseph's lash and brow gel.  I wrote to the company and was told that they were aware of no such products that guaranteed you would not lose your brows and lashes and if I was taking the chemo drug Taxol (which I am) that I was very lucky to have retained even half of my brows and lashes at this point.  I wrote them back and told them this would have been nice to have known up front before I invested $400 to save half of my brows and lashes.  So I am not real happy with the company nor their product right now and would not recommend it to anyone.  Just hope it does not take too long for them grown back.  Good luck!

bdavis

arvjane... sorry to hear that. I bought 3 tubes in all, spending $150. I did keep most of my upper lashes, lower lashes thinned.... and brows thinned after 3rd treatment. And when I say thinned, I mean lost most of my brows. I attributed this to the fact that I went on vacation in the Caribbean then, and was swimming etc, and assumed the gel just got too wet. BUT the good news is, that as soon as chemo ended, they all came back and didn't cycle like most people. Eye lash and brow growth is different than hair on your head. It cycles (falls out) every few weeks. But not all lashes and brows are on the same cycle. So when you lose them due to chemo, it takes a while for that spaced out cycle, and many people lose them a few times after chemo. So I didn't have that.

bdavis

And their website kind of states that it prevents loss

http://www.brianjosephs.com/html/lash_brow_conditi...

KarenZ0305

I lost my lashes and brows in August 2012 about a month after finishing taxotere. I kept them through the months of chemo. I have a small amount of brows but need to pencil them in everyday and my lashes have grown back on the top but way too short to use mascara. My hair is taking its sweet old time coming back too. I've been living with a pixie for a year. However I love the cut so I don't care. It's the lashes and brows that bother me. I tried revitalash and that was just a waste of money for me. I'm not sure who posted it but a good liner does the trick. I line under my lids and then a line right in my lash line. A good pencil is key. I was supposed to go to a look good feel good thing but it got cancelled and never rescheduled. However if you are a girl of the 70's and 80's I'm sure you can do good liner!

arvjane

I have spent almost $500 on Brian Jospeh's lash and brow gel and I have lost almost all of my eyebrows and all of my lashes.  I was so very disappointed and when I wrote to the company I was told that if you are having to take the chemo drug Taxol I was lucky to have anything left after 4 1/2 months of treatments.  But my complaint to the company was no where in their literature or information online did I read this.  I don't think I would have chosen to spend $500 upfront had I known I was going to lose all my brows and lashes anyway.  To me this is taking advantage of the customers in their most vulnerable state.  And to add salt to the wound when I wrote this to the company they never even had the decency to write me back.  I would not recommend this product to anyone -- especially to anyone who is going to have to take the drug Taxol.  And I have just learned that Mary Kay also has a product that allows you to keep you brows and lashes during chemotherapy.  So do yourself a favor and try Mary Kays product.

christina0001

I would be very skeptical of anything that claims to help you keep your brows and lashes during chemo.

Nancy_T

What is PFC?  I wish people would use the real words before using the acronym. 

Rockym

Post Final Chemo :-)

bdavis

arvjane... I am sorry you did not have success... I used Brian Joseph, and kept a fair amount of my lashes... but not my brows. I had my brows til after my third of six rounds of chemo, but then went on a beach vacation, and feel that the swimming didn't help. Not sure how I would have done had I not had a wet face all day long.

Jerrib813

I think it is very important to note that not all of us are having the same treatment and still everyone has different reactions so, please don't think that you are unusual if you are different from the norm. With that being said, I'll share my experience because I know it helps all of us with knowing what others are dealing with. I finished Taxol 4 weeks ago after 12 rounds and having 4 rounds of Adriamycin and Cytoxan. I didn't notice any changes at all to my brows or lashes until about the 10th round of Taxol when they started thinning. Just this week, I noticed that they were all gone. I'm with all of you who said that this was way more upsetting to me than losing the hair in my head!

DO NOT waste your money on products that say they will keep your lashes. They are misleading... Nothing stops the fall out. If they worked, these companies would be endorsed by every oncologist out there! You can use these products once your lashes start growing back, but remember, that they may fall out again, so do so only if you have the money to spare!

As for the Latisse users, the company specifically states on their own website not to use on lower lashes and if the product gets in your eyes, it can change your eye color by darkening it.

Just my 2 cents worth... Good luck to all of you fellow cancer warriors and survivors! I'm hoping mine grow back as quickly as some of you who have said a couple of weeks, but then I'll worry about losing them again. 😞. Guess I just need to focus on the positives and stop worrying about stupid hair.... There are way worse issues to deal with for many. Count me thankful.

MinusTwo

Jerri- this thread has not been active for some time - but I want to say that Latisse worked well for me. Yes, it was very expensive - but I kept most of my eyebrows and my upper lashes. I didn't use it on the lower lashes & was OK that they got really sparse.

I did quit using make up on around my eyes, but I was fortunate that I never lost so much of my brows & lashes that I looked like a deer in the headlights. That was my goal. I could dig up the strength to deal with the loss of hair on my head, bad as that was, but I could NOT have dealt with the loss of brows & lashes. So I would recommend Latisse if your doc will write a script and if you can afford the prescription.

FightingTheFight

I finished chemo a little over 3 weeks ago and still have a majority of my eyelashes. But I started losing my eyebrows after chemo 4 of 6 and they are completely gone now. I'm used to having thick eyebrows, so my face looks so different without them. I'm using a brow gel and powder to try to recreate them, but I'm only mediocre at it. I'm really hoping my eyebrows come back within the next week or two.

Rockym

I believe my lashes came back after 3 weeks. My brows have been kinda sparse since chemo, but I use pencil to shape them up. Regardless, my hair is long again and all and all I would say everything is back to normal (only 6 years older).

Jink

I too completed 4 rounds of AC followed by 12 rounds of Taxol (last Taxol treatment next Wednesday!). Has ANYONE had issues with getting swollen bumps appear on the rims of their lids? I am seeing tiny little black hairs appearing slowly and am thinking that the new growth is irritating the hair shafts. Can't seem to find anything anywhere on this. Woke up this morning to a swollen right lid and a tiny little white bump that appeared right on the rim of my upper lid.

Moderators

Jink, first, welcome to our community. Sounds as though you may actually want to talk with your doctor about this. Maybe they can prescribe some drops or ointment that may help you with this. Sorry that you are experiencing that problem!

Sorella

I am sorry I wasted money on Brian Joseph as I lost my lashes and most of my eyebrows by the end of chemo which was Feb. 27, 2017. 2 months later and my eyebrows are growing in albeit shaggy. My right is fuller than my left but I have been using elf 1.00 stencils and eyebrow make up to draw in what I need since losing them. I am trying to decide whether to actually start plucking the stray hairs under my brows. I know of people who had semi permanent eyebrows done by a make up artist pre-chemo and would have done that had I known (better than wasting that money on Brian Joseph) I haven't used mascara yet but would like to, on my lashes which are growing but still short but am paranoid that it will damage them. If anyone wants to weigh in, input would be greatly appreciated!

Paddymom

I completed 6 rounds of TCHP nearly three years ago. Eyebrows and eyelashes did not fall out until after Chemotherapy was finished. The eyebrows thinned but never completely disappeared. The eyelashes have fallen out and started regrowth repeatedly. Today the few lashes I have are thin and so short they are barely visible. Anyone else having completed TCHP having a similar problem

Chucksmommy

I was diagnosed with stage 3C ILC and had a bilateral mastectomy 1 year ago. Since that time I underwent 5 months of chemo ( 4 treatments with A/C and 12 taxol treatments ) I noticed my eyebrows thinning during chemo but I didn't lose them completely until about 1 month after chemo was done...and that's when I also lost my eyelashes. Then I went through 5 painful months of radiation with horrible infected blistering and scarring. My eyebrows are slowly growing back...my eyelashes grew back but they were nothing like my old lashes...then about a month later my left eyelids were so itchy and then my lashes fell out again...they grew back and I am just finally happy enough with them and my left eyelids are incredibly itchy again...so I suppose they will be falling out again...it's so disheartening...I know most people think hair etc is a vanity thing...but I had beautiful thick hair and lashes...and I want them back...I think I have been through enough...has anyone else experienced this?

Rockym

I too had thick hair, but when it finally grew back it was sort of regular. Sometimes I wonder if this was the instant menopause thing. My eyelashes and eyebrows all came back, but once again not like they were. Oh, and the public hair... damn I may be old, but I liked the fluff and now it's more thin and old ladyish. Also, one side is even thinner then the other. Somehow that really bums me out. It reminds me of my mother down there when she was 80 years old.

Oh well, still alive, cancer free :--).

Tigerlily318

Hi, I am starting 4 rounds of TC shortly. Does anything have experience with that chemo and what happened to their eyelashes and brows? I have revitalash advanced conditioner for both and am wondering if I should use it throughout or if it is no match for the chemo and if I would wait. Thank you.

DebAL

Hi tigerlily, I finished 4 rounds of TC June 4th. Never lost much on the right side at all as far as eyebrows and eye lashes. On the left the middle section of my left eyebrow thinned down to almost nothing. Is that not bizarre? Eyelashes thinned. This all occurred during the month of July, a month after completion. Eyebrows are back to normal now and there are more eyelashes each day to put mascara on. To me this was absolutely no big deal at all. I used a clinique and Sally's product for the brow and no one could tell. I hear this happens in cycles so I'm keeping my products handy for the future. You will get a lot of good responses to your questions I am sure. In fact, be prepared for "egads"to start posting pics of babies with bushy eyebrows. She had me in tears. Best of luck with the TC. I wish for you my experience, no side effects. Take care!

Tigerlily318

thank you DebAL

Egads007

Never let an opportunity pass.....this is for you DebAL...…..

Bostoniangal25

tiger lily 33, I m researching the topic , because I m going for second round of TC on August 29 as well . So I posted a topic in Chemo : before during and after. Seeking for a good product. I find some info about black cohosh essential gel - it’s went for a research among oncologists scientists - I think it’s better than other thing but it is pricey-90$ per 1 jar . I heard Latisse is good.

I think on TC regimen we may loose brow and lashes after- so ask your oncologist, I will plan too

Google black cohosh for chemo treatment

Are you planning to use cold cups for preserving your hair- I start using Paxman caps. Please check August chemo 2018 thread - we are there there 2 threads started by 2 members. I m posting in thread where more posts- welcome there

Bostoniangal25

tiger lily https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/first-clincally-tested-eyebrow-solution-expands-to-beauty-consumer-market-300452064.html

It’s expensive but I think it’s better what do you think

Tigerlily318

thanks bostoniangal25, will check it out, appreciate it very much! Have the revitalash, also pricey, but will also talk to the nurses. And yes doing the cold cap and checking out those threads.

eulainemc

It's been a few years since your post, but I'm concerned about the estrogen mimics too. Any more info. to share since 2012? I'm only 2 months out from finishing chemo and only lost brows and lashes after my last chemo. So tired of drawing on brows, which rubs off too easily. Hoping to hear back.