Brows & Lashes

elise24601

I know taxotere can cause permanent hair loss, but what about brows & lashes? Do these always grow back after chemo?

Why2015

My eyelashes and eyebrows fell out about 6 weeks after 12 weeks of chemo. They grew back in a few weeks however three months after they grew, back I notice I'm losing them again. I was putting on make up last Sunday and noticed how thin my eyebrows were, and yesterday just noticed I have almost no eyelashes again! Since this happened, honestly I try not to look in the mirror, so I don't notice these things because it is a reminder of the ravages of treatment. I look in the mirror quickly just to adjust wig before going out. You might want to read about more people, because I've read that the cycles continue every three months until it cycle catches up to regulate and that they grow on a different cycle so that they don't all fall at once. If I'm going out for an event, which is very rare these days I will use an eyebrow pencil. I'm not one for eyeliner but had to put some on to attend a special event. These are all the hidden "tortures" that go along with chemotherapy and cancer treatment. Someone wrote on the blog you "lose your hair and you lose your privacy" that is true! Stay strong! Take care

LtotheK

I believe there are more than the 6% they claim lose their hair permanently who have their hair change. My eyebrows are about 1/4 of what they used to be, and my lashes are very stubby and burned out. My head hair, while it came back, is fine on top with receding where I used to have finer hair at the temples.

It took me time to adjust and now I found an incredible hairdresser who has figured out how to make me feel entirely my old self!

As for the brows, in fact drawing them in has given me a much more polished look. That doesn't bother me at all. I would love to have better lashes, but in the big picture, that is what falsies are for, no thing!

Please know that I wouldn't have traded my treatment for any of this. I am grateful beyond words that I got strong medicine in my fight to stay alive--and I was a young patient. I dwelled for a while on hair, and ultimately realized it was more about control over what I couldn't control than anything else, because truthfully no one has ever noticed--even my head hair.

ElaineTherese

I had my last chemo infusion (Taxol) in December 2014, and my lashes and brows are still pretty sparse. I use an eyebrow pencil to draw in my brows, and I use eyeliner. I was using false eyelashes for awhile, but I could never get both eyes to match. I just got a new pair of eyeglass frames that are more dramatic; maybe, they will draw attention away from my lashless eyes.