What's Up With My Hair??

Roya · April 2009

I started out with 'Revitalash' for the hair to get it growing in faster. I still use it but also use Carol's Daughter which I order online. I use Jada's combination.

Malaika, First of all, if you were told that you should do the chemo, then it is very important to do just that. Join a forum for the month that you start in 'chemotherapy- before, during, and after.' You will be able to network and share experiences with others who are going through the same thing during the same time. Hair is one of the big issues for discussion, especially during the first few weeks.

If you take Adriamycin/ Cytoxin. you will lose your hair but only for a while. It will probably begin to fall out after 2 - 3 weeks of treatments. About 5+ weeks later, you will probably notice that it is beginning to grow back in. There is no way to know how it will grow back since each of us is so different. Mine came back very straight at first but now, at nearly 2 inches, I can see a definite wave forming. There is no way to know ahead of time if it will return looking the same way that it did before. In reading the posts, most say that theirs came back with some differences

malaika · April 2009

hi Roya

while i respect that every here is going through a hard time (including me). i've never been one to just go along with whatever any doctor told me to do. i don't plan to start now...especially with so much at stake.

i see that you are the proud mom of three beautiful kids. well i am the woman who wants a family one day. when given a 50% chance of infertility with chemo for a 10% chance at a boost in life expectancy the decision isn't as cut and dried for me as it might be for you. each person must be at peace with whatever THEY choose in life.

i am facing some tough choices and am not foolish enough to make them based on a cosmetic inconvience. my interest here is purely curiosity if i do choose the chemotherapy route and my questions are borne out of that curiosity. thanks so much for sharing your experience...

Lcharmie · April 2009

Hi malaika,

Sorry you had to meet us this way---glad that you found us!!

It just all depends--my hair is close to my scalp and nappy--prior to Chemo I always wear a curl (it never looked like one) after Chemo for about 2 months my hair was straight---and then!!!! I needed a curl again. Now, one other experience I have had, is when I was on the Chemo called Navelbine--my hair was soft, just beautiful, I called it my Mexican Hair, I never minded this Chemo, even with all its side effects, I knew my hair was going to be so pretty!! 3 months off of that Chemo and it is back to the curl. I don't know that anyone will know till Chemo is over, what the hair will really look like.

Take care.

Linda C.

rogam · April 2009

Hello Ladies! I pray that everyone is doing well. I am about 6 months out from chemo and I am rocking the new hair do. It came back in the beginning baby fine and thin. Now it is growing nice and thick. I still have the curls and I love it. Finding the right products is the key... check out youtube for tips and styles. I have purchased quite a few of carol's daughter as well as other product. Bumble and bumble makes a nice curl creme or your could try the silk elements liquid gel-sold at sallys. You can make it work without getting a relaxer if you are not ready to make that step. I always think about how bald I was. Now I am delighted with the growth and I want to see what will come of my curls....

jenniferbecknell · July 2009

Hi Ladies,

This is my first time writing on this forum, despite having read it a few times. I am responding to a request for more women to inform on the hair progress a year out from chemo, Well, I am coming up on my two year anniversary of finshing chemo for S1/G2 Er+/PR-, HER2-bc in September. My hair grew back within a few months, but was extremely fine and thin. Prior to chemo my hair was fine but there was a lot of it. When it started coming in I was hopeful that over time it would fill in and all would return to normal. Much to my disappointment it has not gotten significantly thicker, and my eyebrows did not return normally either. They too are mousy and hard to see, unlike their former versions.

Can't tell you how many times I have been told and told myself that I should be grateful to be alive and to have "some" hair again. Truthfully, I am. Nonetheless there is a mourning for what has been lost that sweeps over me at times. I don't recognize myself anymore, and everyday when I get dressed in the morning I am faced with that truth. Sorry to be a downer, I am haivng a moment.

Lcharmie · August 2009

Hi Jenniferbecknell,

You just go ahead and have your moment--it is alright!!

I am wondering if you were on any kind of Chemo---I know I was on Navelbine and it changed the whole grade of my hair. I was also on Herceptin too, and I am not for sure if it did not change the grade. My hair was like Mexican hair,(my description) curly and easy to manage(beautiful) once I was off the Chemo, in 2 months, it was back to my old hair grade at the roots, and I needed " a curl", as a perm takes my hair out and I have "fine hair' anyway. Yep, and my eyelashes and eye brows have been very fine, I use pencil for my eye brows, I just have thin eyelashes--I'm Ok.

And I am sorry, but the statement that to "be glad we are alive and have some hair", Well, I think they would have to walk this path, and then to each , ones own talk---only if they been here--now I am venting Frown . I am with you that there will be many times we will mourn what we lost and, Our Feelings Are Neither Right Or Wrong---They Are Ours!!!

Take care---feel what you got to feel---hang in here!!!

Linda C.

perdita · August 2009

So you mean the hair texture could change again??? I just finished my chemo in May (T/C/H) and will take Herceptin until January. My hair started to grow back very fine and straight but has thickened up, and I love sportin' my short/wavy do! It's so easy! I was so my hair before -- and now I'm not! Smile I was hoping the texture would stay like this so I would not have to get a relaxer again (really want to stay away from the chemicals!). Has anybody kept the post chemo hair for a long period of time?? Is it possible that this could be the "final" hair? Anyone taking hair vitamins?

Thanks!

Lcharmie · August 2009

Hi perdita,

I would say the hair texture could change again---and too, it depends on what type of hair you have, See, I have to have chemicals on my hair 'cause it is not good hair!! Yep, me too, I was about my hair--till now. You may know in 2 months or more what you are dealing with. I never took hair vitamins, I think if you think supplements will help, can't hurt to try them--that is just my opinon--I belive in them,

Take care.

juneph66 · December 2009

Hi, I was diagnosed (trip neg) in early April of this year about a month before my 43rd birthday and had a mastectomy on May 1st. My hair has always been long and when this whole thing started was dark brown and with the help of a relaxer reached to below my shoulder blades. After learning I would need to have chemo that would make my hair fall out I was all for cutting it before it left me but everyone was like no don't do it so I waited.Started chemo ( Cytx, Adra with Nuelasta the day after)on June 16th had 8 weeks of that (every other week) and my hair started falling out after the second treatment. My scalp itched like crazy most of the time and the rest of my hair including pubic but not eyebrows or eyelashes came out. I always wanted a Brazilian wax job Smile

and now I would get one. By July 3rd I had had enough and had a friend cut it low ( I looked like Fantasia for a week before I had my sister cut it all off because I looked like I had gotten burned from a relaxer it was falling out in patches) I have always had hair so I decided to just wrap my bald head with colorful scarves (used a satin cap at night) and Thank God my husband of twenty years still found( and finds me sexy) and that it was not winter because I would have definitely done a wig then (I am from the Virgin Islands and all of this happened in Baltimore when I was on vacation) I had a break after the eight weeks and started twelve weeks(Taxol) every week of 2nd round on August 10th and finished on October 27th. My scalp started itching again in September and by the end of the month I had peach fuzz (yup even down there it was fun while it lasted). My hair is fine and baby like (have only used a baby brush) all over but especially in the back and my scalp is still visible on top and around my hairline hasn't grown in yet but it's coming. I use baby shampoo/conditioner all in one with a little spritz of botanical oil once a week and brush until my scalp tingles once a day (I hope I am stimulating the growth that way). It is very gray (depending on which way I brush it) which I don't mind since I had always admired the silver foxes I've seen. Before cancer my hair was very fast growning and this seems to remain the case. I never really made a big fuss over it just something else to deal with like the palms and soles of my feet getting dark and the nail beds growing dark as well. Everything is coming back and I thank God that I can say to my female friends get a mammogram and know what is going on with your bodies.

Lcharmie · December 2009

juneph66,

I am sorry we had to meet this way, I am glad you found us.

It seems as though you traveled this journey well, with all the twist and turns. I am glad that this is ending for you.

You are so right, we women need to be so in touch with our bodies and take "nothing" to chance.

Thanks for sharing--- and we look forward to hearing from you again.

Linda C.

Sable43 · January 2010

Hi to everyone!

I've been lurking the site for a while. I've just completed my final round of chemo (Ixempra/Cytoxan) and am scheduled for a lumpectomy this week with 7 weeks of radiation to follow.

I've read a lot of good things about Carol's Daughters products and actually use the Hair Butter on my 9 year old daughter's natural hair. It is good for moisturizing and smells so nice. I'll start using that on my now bald head as well along with this Growth Serum by B&B I picked up.

My oldest daughter ordered Ovation Cell Therapy for me that seems to have garnered some positive reviews from previous chemo pts. ( on the site ) that had trouble with their hair. Has anyone else heard of this product or know of anyone that uses it? Would love some feedback.

Also curious about how long did some of you wait before relaxing your hair or coloring it. My fuzz is white; a side effect that my oncologist told me to expect. Not too happy about that, but am grateful that something is sprouting. Hope it continues.

Again any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Zipmum · January 2010

I really need help with my hair. I had the first chemo in early Nov and by Thanksgiving my hair was coming out in clumps. The first week in December I had my hair shaved off because by that time I just had patches of hair. What can I do to bring my hair back? I have one more final chemo session in January. Can you please give me some advice. I am not really a wig person and I have no problem with short hair but I am no where near to short hair... I am bald!

nasharayne · January 2010

Hi Zipmum - I never thought I was a wig person either until like you I had no hair. The wig was my choice but, I no some people do some really good things with scarves or maybe even a hat.

Anonymous · January 2010

Hi Zipmum - I didn't have to do chemo so didn't lose my hair but from earlier posts it seems Carol's Daughter works well for many. You really won't be able to do anything about bringing your hair back until after tx. Visit a wig store just to try them on as nowadays they are better made and you may be pleasantly surprised.

Also check out: The Sisters Network to see if there is a chapter near you for sisters who are going through the same issues. www.sistersnetworkinc.org

Sexy-bald-chemo-girl · January 2010

Hi Zipmum, if you have another round of chemo, you hair will probably start growing back within a few weeks of that. I had fuzz on my scalp less than a month after the end of my chemotherapy. As for products, trial and error is going to be your good friend. I just started using Miss Jessie's products and I like them. I didn't care for Carol's Daughter -- though I know a lot of people who love it. I didn't like the smell -- too strong for me.

I refused to wear wigs, though I bought two specifically to get me through chemo. I didn't wear scarves or anything. Just rocked my shiny bald head. Honestly, its been a year since I finished chemo and I miss my baldie actually. My hair is softer and curlier than before. But there are so many textures on my head that its bothersome. And its growing back really slowly.

Best advice I can offer you is to hold on and keep the faith. Your hair may grow back uickly or it may not. I've talked to women who were amazed that I had hair so soon after chemotherapy. I just remembered... I used this hair oil right after chemo that my friends had convinced me to try prior to my diagnosis. Its called growth specifics and you order it online. www.growthspecifics.com I ordered the growth serum. And like I said, I had fuzz within a couple of weeks of ending chemo.

Good luck.

Anonymous · January 2010

Hi, Zipmum! I see that you and mrsdoty have already been replied to by some of the awesome ladies I have met on the boards, nasharayne, patoo, ILinda, and Roya, to name a few. You, go, ILinda, tell it like it is! Laughing

I had four four-week cycles of TCH (Taxotere/Carboplatin/Herceptin) early 2009, beginning in March. My hair came out on cue about 26 days after my first infusion. I never shaved my head, but as the hair began to clump, I cut it off and I had my wig waiting already.

My last cycle of TCH was in July 2009. I am now on Herceptin and Fulvestrant.

My hair has been press and curl for most of my life. I had it to a nape of the neck pageboy when chemo took it out. Now, I guess, I'd have to say that I have "Mexican hair." (A nod to ILinda's previous post.) It is soft and curly, about an inch long, and my entire scalp has filled in.

I think it is cute, but I still wear my wig because I can't stand the world seeing a new me w/o a pageboy. So, I have a philtrum (mouth), diastema (teeth), and poliosis (hair). See? I have learned new terms for a Cupid's Bow, space between my front teeth, and a patch of white hair in the front of my 80% pepper/20% salt hair.

To be honest with you? Part of me thinks that if the cancer returns, I'll have to go through losing my hair again, so I don't want to get attached to it like I used to be. Back before I lost my hair, the wig was uncomfortable because of the thick hair I had underneath it for a few weeks (press and curl). I don't know what I'll do if my wig gets very uncomfortable again because of my real hair growing beneath it.

I use Carol's Daughter's products and I like them very much.

sessna1

Tarry1 · February 2010

Hi everyone, I recently new to the forum and I just scrolled down and found this topic about hair. My last chemo session of Taxotare will be on March 11, then I go for radiation and I understand that I have to wait at least 4 weeks after the last chemo, I was wondering about how long it took for some of your hair to start growing back. My surgeon told me that when it grows back it grows back curlier than before. I had been wearing a weave since 2003 and now I am wearing wigs, which I used to be uncomfortable with but I getting used to them. Do you think I can get Carol's Daughters products in Canada or are they available on line.

Thanks

Sable43 · February 2010

Hi Tarry1,

Wishing you a speedy recovery. Sprouts of hair began resurfacing for me about 3 to 4 weeks after my last chemo. session ( Dec. 21st ) I was given Ixempra and Cytoxan. My hair is fine, straight, and soft now; completely different from my former hair's texture. I recalled reading somewhere that if your hair was previously relaxed that the texture would be straight and might grow in course after several months. I'm considering taking hair supplements to aid in my hair's growth. My doctor said that I could do so. Right now I'm using B&B's Growth serum twice daily, Organic Root Stimulator's Hair Fertilizer, along with Carol's Daughter's Hair Butter. I'm also using Ovation's Cell Therapy but was told recently it was a more expensive version of Equyss' Mega-Tek ( a product used for horses; a protein product ). As you can see I'm on a mission. I do think the combination of these products have helped with my hair growth. It's not down my back but my head is covered although some of the scalp is still visible.

Carol's Daughter does have it's own site but some Sephora stores in malls carry the products as well. In any event, I wish you well on your hair growing journey.

Claire_in_Seattle · February 2010

Read this thread with a lot of interest. I am not black, but sure can relate to the "Homer Simpson" comment about my current hair which is trying to grow back even though not done with Taxol. I will face the problem of dealing with uneven color, and who knows what it all will look like in three months time, or what styling products I will need????

What I wanted to add is that most of us will look somewhat different throughout the regrowth process. I think a trip to a good department store for a makeover can be just as critical as getting the hair right. Because it all goes together, and what was fab a year ago, may no longer cut it.

I know I have had to work around minimal eyebrows and got a really snazzy eyeliner to highlight my eyes now that eyebrows are sparse.

But as we rock new hairstyles, we need the rest of the look to match. This can be a time of great experimentation.

I learned a long time ago, I am best off with professional help here. - Claire

Tarry1 · February 2010

Hi Sable43 and Claire,

Sable thanks for the info on where I can get Carols Daughters products (Sephora's easy to get to) I'm thinking that even when my hair does grow back, I'll probably still wear the wig rather than going back to a weave again(too much trouble)

Claire a makeover might be a good idea. It has gotten to the point where I don't even put on makeup much anymore, maybe doing that might make me feel a little better.

Sable43 · March 2010

Also forgot to mention that some Macy's stores carry Carol's Daughter products too. Good luck to all who are dealing this issue. Hair is our crowning glory. I'm not looking for length, but do want my hair to be healthy. I've already decided not to relax anymore and allow my hair to grow into its natural state. There are so many organic products out there that claim to aid in the maintence of Black hair. I'm willing to give it a try.

Looking for suggestions if anyone is going the natural route. Thanks in advance!

nasharayne · March 2010

Hello ladies,

They also have Carol's Daughter in JC Penny. I'm not sure if I like it or not though. My last chemo was June 30th and my hair is still very curly and a little over two inches long. I had long hair before so, I 'm hoping for it to hurry back but, everyone insists it looks good at this length. Right now it is super dry and hard to keep it moustrized for the entire day. That's why I'm debating on the Carol's Daughter. It might be time to switch to something else.

rcames · April 2010

Hey ladies,

I'm really enjoying reading everyone's posts. I haven't quite finished chemo, my last TCH is scheduled for 4/28/10. However, I do have some fuzz on my head already. Judging by the majority, I guess I can expect my hair to come back curly (it was kinky before chemo!) Our hair is already an adventure, I can't wait to see what mine has in store for me. Smile

Tarry1 · April 2010

My last chemo was on March 11 and my hais started to grow back a week later. Someone told me that once the first layer grows in that it is supposed to be shaved and then the next layer will be the permanent hair. Has anyone heard this?

rcames · April 2010

Tarry1 You know, I've never heard that. However I do work with a lady who has been through this and has all of her hair. I'll ask her and post again. Wink

clane1 · June 2010

Well all I know is my hair grew in spots just the way baby hair grows and in my top its real scappy and thin. I was told that because im still taking tamoxifen that is why my hair is not growing like it should. any suggestion?

Sable43 · June 2010

I just started Tamoxifen late last month. I knew hair thinning was an issue but didn't believe that the side effects would start so soon. My hair is thickest in the back; sort of like a shag going on but with definite thinning at the front. I'm so discouraged. Has anyone grown their hair back while using Tamoxifen or know of anyone who has? I'm dealing with at least 2-3 different textures now and when I comb my hair it's an afro.

Someone told me to try the Hawaiian Silky 14 in 1 product; that might help my hair to retain moisture and to lay it down a bit.

Tarry1 · June 2010

I've been on Tamoxifen for about two months now. I didn't realize that taking that would cause my hair to take a long time to grow back. My hair is growing back, but it's very slow, I've been using IC leave in moisterizer and conditioner which is supposed to help weak and damaged hair.

Sable43 · July 2010

Hi Tarry1

I just started a new post after reading about the benefits of Jamaican Black Castor Oil. Have you heard anything about this product?

Tarry1 · July 2010

Hi Sable43,

no I have not heard of this product, years ago I used to use Jamaican Black hair grower, now it only comes in the pink. I am going to the beauty supply store and I will look for the castor oil. My hair is growing but it is growing slowly, I finished my chemo in March and I know others that finished in Feb and March and their hair is really thick now, I guess it depends on the individual. I have been using a scalp massager to increase stimulation, I'm not sure how much it's helping yet lol. I also use an olive oil leave in conditioner, So we'll see.

What's Up With My Hair??

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