Life After Cold Caps: a place for ex-cold-cappers to share

RainDew - Happy Birthday! I heard 40 is new 30! I believe that.

I started using Nioxin. Scalps tingled a bit but felt so good. Lost quite a bit when I used the conditioners. I may scrubbed my scalp a little too much....

Wish everyone a happy & positive 2015!

DMich- Big HUGS to you. we started this journey at the same time I was diagnosed 6/14. You've been quietly reading, I on the other hand have been chronically posting! perhaps there's a new forum for us chronic posters -a 12 step program of sorts:) I'm So glad you've gleaned so much valued advice from us! You have coverage which is great- a cut and color at some point will make you feel SO much better and clean up all those straggling pieces that dont work anymore. It took me two visits with my hairdresser to make a plan . Once I did I felt like a million bucks. you will too, your almost there. I used a "colorance" 5 weeks PFC, worked great!

Welcome to being an active member of BCO and we're glad you gained so much from the site while going through your chemo. Knowing that you are not alone and doing the best for YOUSELF as possible can be a great help.

The direct support and fedback will be very helpful too.

All the best

The Mods

To those who are shedding:

Remember to hold your hair in sections when you comb, then while holding, start from the bottom and work your way up the section. Even hair magazines recommend that method to minimize hair being pulled out.

"Comb like a Disney Princess", one hair magazine at my hairdresser's advised. I found that image amusing, but it reminds me to do it the correct way.

Hi, girls :-)

May I please get your thoughts on this product:

http://kenra.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ID=112

I finished chemo Nov. 7th. but with all this shedding I found a bold spot yesterday.

I am wondering if this product would be safe to use.

I see on the web page, Kenra has a partnership with the Rapunzel Project. Not sure if that means any/all of their products are safe for

us to use or not.

Many thanks!

P.S. WW and Barremom64-You both look amazing! I'd love to go short, but it is SO not a good look on me :-(

P.S.S - It figures I may go back to work the end of this month.

JJMom, I finished chemo on Nov. 5, we are 9 weeks PFC. Sorry to hear you found a bald spot. My hair is still shedding too, but mostly inside. It's obviously thin but I have just enough to cover this spots for now.... I don't know if the product you mentioned is safe or not. I never used Kenra products and the website of the product doesn't show any integredients... It was suggested by PCC rep to keep the same hair care until shedding stops. But I've started using Nioxin sincethe new year.

Nottoday, I noticed tiny hair growing around 8 weeks PFC. Not only on my head but hairs on unwanted areas (like face and legs) are slowly growing back now.

For those who are using Nioxin products, what "number" are you using? I notice there are several different formulas with different numbers. I am five weeks Pfc, still have hair and it seems that the shedding is lessening a bit. My husband told me after vacuuming today that he found a lot less hair in the filter! God bless him!

Thanks, Jeni

Jeni, I use #4 chemically treated hair. Hortense who recommended Nioxin used #4, too.I want to color my hair to cover grey as soon as shedding stops!

RainDew - I know it is not advisable, but, I did have my hair trimmed before I stopped shedding. I couldn't take the rat's nest that formed around my ends. When I spoke to my hairdresser she said that she just could not conceptualize any reason that it would cause more shedding. I'm not suggesting that you do this but it did work for me. It didn't make me shed more and I felt a lot better. It really cleaned up my hair.

Dear Cappers,

Thanks for sharing advice and experiences. I had a big shed after I shampooed Saturday...just when I thought it was slowing down! I plan to have a gentle, tender trim at the end of the month, I will be at 9 weeks PFC. May change my mind but right now I am so looking forward to a trim! I also am continuing dermorganics shampoo, gentle washes, air fry, Kendra leave in spray conditioner.mi really like that product!

My husband the vacuumer is an amazing person, I am blessed!

Jeni

ok you ladies are convincing me...maybe I will just book a haircut..

(Fingers soooo crossed that as I approach 16wks PFC this week it will stop anyhow...it's weird, I have plenty of hair but it's painful to lose so much every time I wash...like there is a voice in the back of my head wondering if it might just never stop and in 6months I'll be bald...)

The first time I went to the hair dresser after chemo I brought my own shampoo and creme rinse (Dermorganic), and gently explained what I had been through and why I was asking for special treatment. The staff was so understanding.

I told them I that I needed to have them use very cool to cold water to wash my hair and needed extra gentle washing of it - no rubbing, no massaging, just patting shampoo into suds and gentle rinsing, and the same thing done with the rinse, plus no pulling on my roots in any way such as combing from the middle or top, etc. Everyone understood and tried their best to go along with it. As a result, when I left I didn't feel I had lost a lot of hair and I looked so much better with a decent trim and a glaze to hide my roots. It did wonders for how I felt about myself. The next month we added some streaks.

I had used Nioxin #4 to cleanse my scalp about two weeks to a month after chemo ended because I couldn't stand how limp my hair looked at the time and also I had what looked like large flakes on my scalp. I chose #4 for Naturally Thinning Chemically Treated Hair not because my hair had been lightened before chemo, as my roots were about four inches long by then so the hair nearest my scalp was naturally colored, but because I figured my hair had been chemically treated by chemo and was thinning as a result of it. It worked beautifully for me.

My hair and scalp felt cleaner after the first shampoo and my hair looked much thicker because the build up had been partially stripped away. After the second shampoo a few days later I could see an even bigger change. My hair was shiny, had more volume and floated in the breeze again without its load of unseen build up and I no longer had "flakes". I didn't scrub during the shampoos, but after I put it on and patted up a decent amount of suds I did gingerly work my fingers through my hair along the scalp all over my head to try to loosen the flakes a bit before allowing the shampoo to sit on my hair 5-10 minutes to work on the build up and break it down. I think that helped a lot.

I went for my first trim a month PFC, coincidentally, around when I stopped shedding. I brought my own products, too. I have now attempted twice to cover or at least blend the gray using Clairol's Beautiful Browns. Stuff stinks for me bc it literally just highlights the gray until then first wash.

Since I only cut 1.5 inches at my first trim, I want to schedule another trim for this month. My hair is just too long. I was wondering about coloring with something like a Demi permanent at this point. My shedding has stopped.

Btw, I'm using phyto for thinning hair system. It works well. I've used it isn't he last when I lost hair due to pregnancy

thanks ladies - I think I am convinced. Hopefully the shedding will stop soon anyhow (16wks on Friday!!)

Now, I just need to find a new stylist...oh how nice to have a 'normal people problem'!!

hi Leslie - I just took the plunge and booked a haircut for this afternoon. I will have about 6 inches chopped off - I just can't live with it anymore and now that I've decided to go for it, kind of think 'what the hell'.

I'll let you know if I need a wig afterwards :-)