Coloring Hair After Chemo

jllj813

Wondering how long people waited and what they used. I'm almost four months post-chemo and really want to color my very gray/white hair. Any suggestions? I've read online that waiting six months is recommended.

Polly413

Jill, I had my last chemo Thanksgiving week and colored my hair the first time in May. I did not have hair at all until February so I did not delay because I had heard the "6 month rule" but because my hair was not long enough to bother until May. I am not sure what kind of color it is. It takes out the grey and colors in one step if that is helpful. I almost stayed grey but it made me look tired I thought so I went back to color. I did read an interview of a woman who was 106 years old or something like that and she said the secret is: "tell the ladies to keep coloring their hair.!" Hope we all live a long time, hair color or not. Polly

NotVeryBrave

As others have mentioned on here before - after all the toxins that chemo was putting into my body, I wasn't going to worry about a few chemicals on my head briefly! I colored my hair as soon as it was getting filled in enough that I didn't like it!

CBK

Ha!! NotveryBrave 🤣

Colored mine around the 6 month mark. I didn’t wait for any particular reason except I still wear wigs. My hair is so wild it started poking through my wigs and it’s a completely different color.

My hair is resisting color though. Anyone having this problem? My virgin hair is a mix of grey and dark brown. Who knew? And my dyed color a copper blonde to light auburn. Halp!!???

OCDAmy

Had my first cut and color 6 months post chemo. My stylist said she wouldn't want to bleach it for awhile but the color did great. My hair was so gray, I was happy to have it colored and cutting off that chemo hair made it much healthier.

jllj813

Thanks! I think I'm going to go for it.

LeesaD

I had last chemo July 17 2017 and colored
my hair three months later and I would’ve done it sooner but there was no growth. It was still stubble when I colored it but it was all grey and I wanted nothing to do with grey. I wanted my blond back. My colorist used a gentle color, no bleach and it took fine. I had it colored three more times with the gentle color and then a month ago i was able to finally do a light color single process and then a full head of highlights bleach and all. It’s made such a huge difference in my psyche to at least have my color back as it’s growing out. I even have roots now which just shows me that it is growing.

Egads007

I coloured at the 3 month point with a demi-permanent product (gentler than semi). Chewed my nails waiting for what little regrowth I had to fall out, it didn’t. I picked a medium goldish brown. Result...about the colour of a mushroom top...and not in a good way! At least it wasn’t grey

NancyD

I don't remember exactly how long I waited, but I do recall that the first time the color was w-a-y off from my usual medium auburn. Same brand, same color, but the new growth took it differently. I looked like a real carrot-top. So if you're doing it yourself, be prepared for results that aren't what you want. Maybe go to a salon for the first few times, as most will work with you until you get the color you want.

Tri-lady7

I'm just about 4 months post chemo and colored my hair two weeks ago. I went to a salon that does organic hair color. I am so glad I did as now I go out wigless and feel great!

Denise-G

I finished chemo on May 24 and had my little tennis ball hair fuzz dyed two months later on July 24. My niece is a hair stylist and I told her that was long enough! She warned me it may not be my "usual before chemo blonde" - it was a tad strawberry blonde, but hey, anything was better than the white I had.

People asked me if I should have asked my Oncologist before dying my hair. My answer was, "Hey, he had gallons and gallons of poison poured into me. What's a little hair dye?"

My philosophy - the sooner the better! Makes you feel like you are making progress! GOOD LUCK!

PS - TRI-LADY - looks great!!

l_brain

Hello,

I waited about 6 months. My hair came in much darker than normal. My hairdresser used an all over color. It went crazy orange even with toner. Had to apply toner again. It was a bit better. Then she suggested I go dark for a good base to eventually get to the highlights I had before. It lasted about a week. Then back to red. Even in areas that had not been previously dyed. Weird! After that she added a bit of blonde. Now some days I swear it's got way more blonde than she actually added. It's way too warm a color for me. I feel like a chameleon. I don't know if it will ever take color like it did. In my case I wish I had left it dark, but I didn't have any grey. Wishing you all well in your hair adventures.

NotTheBoss

I had my last chemo in February and colored it in March-the same day I stopped wearing bandanas. I colored it purple, thinking it was only for a couple months, but it's been over a year now and I'm still coloring purple. Moral of the story: do what makes you happy!

Gingermiss65

Same here to what some women have said on here. I coloured my hair with store bought hair colouring pretty much when I had enough hair to do so. I agree, how can hair colouring be any worse than chemo? If it makes you feel better, and gets you out of the house, it's worth it.

StubbornDog

I came here this morning with exactly this question! I am not quite two months post chemo. My hair is coming in black and gray. Can Icolor it myself to a darker blond? I am a little afraid of ending up mushroom as mentioned above. So far it seems too short to go to a salon and I’m wondering about products i could use myself. I amready to appear wigless at work as soon as I get a little bit to more lashes and brows.

CBK

Hi Stubborn Dog-

I had my hair professionally colored almost 6 months PFC. My hairdresser had to apply color twice and it faded very quickly. Of course I am going from a brown/grey color to copper red and I think my "hair growth shampoo" also faded it quickly. Red fades terribly if you ever had any experience with it.

Anyway, I bought some hair dye at Whole Foods called Naturtint and applied myself. I loved the color but it "took" unevenly. So I asked a friend to reapply it again a few weeks later, and it took beautifully. Even and the perfect color I was looking for. My point is you may need to try a few times before you nail the color you want, depending on your natural color and what you want to achieve. I do love this product and I think a bit milder than most store bought drugstore brands, although I'm hardly an expert on store bought hair color.