Hair Falling Out - How Long till it all goes?

Hi, Kelli ~  It normally takes 3 or 4 days for it all to come out.  A lot of women cut their hair very short prior to it starting to come out, so that it's not quite so dramatic when the clumps start to fall, and that also helps with that weird pain (like a too-tight pony tail feeling) many of us experience.  You might want to quickly do that, or have someone shave it for you.  I'd left mine long, and the loose hairs got really tangled when I washed my hair and made a real mess.

Another thing I wanted to mention is that there have been threads here in the past about how to tell young children about the hair loss.  I remember one in particular with suggestions from a member who worked at a preschool, and she had some excellent ideas about how to communicate what you're going through without scaring kids about taking medicine because they might be afraid their hair will fall out, too.  I don't recall her exact suggestions, but you might want to search for it using the search feature (above right), with words like "tell young children" or "preschool," if you work with kids that young.       Deanna     

Hi Kelli, I can't predict when all of your hair will be gone but as you are waiting to make this decision I suggest that you begin taking a look at your options. Wigs are an obvious choice but scarves are great and stylish as well. I'm a survivor of Hodgkin's and had to deal with hair loss as I was going through treatment I did a post on my blog, a resource for cancer fighters and survivors that may be able to help you on scarves as well as resources to where you can find them http://blog.cincovidas.com/the-beauty-in-scarves-getting-your-hair-loss-under-wraps. Also, I'm not sure if you are already aware but insurance may cover your wig. I also did a post on this information http://blog.cincovidas.com/i’m-going-through-chemo-and-i-need-a-wig-will-my-insurance-cover-it. Please let me know if this helps. Love, strength and survival - Britta