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

This is the product my hairstylist used to color my hair

http://www.davines.com/en/in-salon/all/a-new-colour

hey curly girl and other cold capppers! Just found this thread this morning, at like 4 am, since I woke up with pain from my lump and reduction. Nerve pain and swelling...ouch. Anyway, I am just 5.5 weeks PFC. Couldn't really reach the showerhead to pull it off, bend over, and use cold water on my hair after surgery, so last week I used lukewarm water to rinse my hair. While standing upright. From the showerhead! Seriously, I cannot wait to blast my head with hot, hot water, I miss it so much. soon, though!

I haven't had much shedding post pregnancy or PFC. Wondering if surgery will do it, but so far so good. I am really going this week to get my hair cut. Probably like 1-2 inches only, and a dry cut, or I'll wash it myself at home, then walk down to the fancy salon. My eyebrows looked like I tried unsuccessfully to shave them off. What happened? Little stupid eyebrow hairs, how could you leave me. I still have the arch and long part, it just the thicker part of the beginning of the brow that thinned. Easy to fill in, but look so Cancer-y in the mornings. I feel like I look like I've really aged. I want to laser my face, get Botox, get my hair bleached, get my nails done, etc, but I'm still holding off. Going back in for a dirty margin in mid May, I'll treat myself to the rest maybe after that. Keep posting ladies, I'll post an after cut photo here soon. Hugs

Oh, Gatomal, isn't it great to wash our hair UNDER A SHOWER?! Your earlier hair photos look great. I have had two trims( finished chemo 12/8/14) and am waiting until June for a color weave as I golighter and need harsher color. Hope to look okay for my daughter's wedding at the end of June. Hair is not my old really thick mane. But it is there!

I finally went for a haircut last week! It was three months PFC because I was actually enjoying my hair long for awhile. But I had about three inches cut off and it feels and looks so much better! She was also able to cut more bangs to cover my thinning spot in the front. I can't wait until next month when I can get rid of the gray strands with some non ammonia hair color and stop using the Color Mark!

Kim, have you tried Colormark? That's what I use to cover the gray. Madison Reed also has some brush on color that might work. I'm 14 weeks PFC but I'm going to wait until next month to color. Just don't want to jinx it at this point!

Thanks for the tips, girls. I will try to wait a few more weeks to color this mop but it's so tough. Patin - do you have blonde hair? Is that why your hair turned green? I'm still shedding but nothing like I was. It actually feels like it's starting to fill in. Thnx again! Kim

Patin - I hear ya about getting gray - what the heck!! I think I have more now than ever .... not that I was stressed out or anything?! Ok, I won't be using the Clairol. I will contact my salon in a few weeks and see what they recommend. Thanks.

When did you girls start washing your hair with warm water? I'm still using a shower cap (how sexy) when showering and wash my hair in the kitchen sink. I'm ready for that to be over too. Thanks.

Kim

Aww, thanks, pch! You'll be here before you know it!! ONE more treatment, baby! Then we can celebrate ... with hair!!

I have "blonde" hair and by five months PFC it looked awful. It was dry with long dark roots that had strange grey hairs mixed in. After hearing about Penguin's protocol, my hairdresser decided to just to put a glaze on my hair the first time, which she said was gentler than bleaching, and she trimmed it beautifully, making it several inches shorter so that it instantly looked thicker and healthier. The glaze gave it a nice shine which was welcome after how dry my poor hair had looked. The following month she began putting in blonde streaks, finishing with a glaze again, and I began to look like myself. I have read about others successfully streaking their hair much earlier, but I didn't want to chance anything bad happening.

I do think a glaze can be used much earlier than I used it at five months, and that hair can be trimmed as well. I would hold off on an overall lightening/bleaching until after six months. I also think hair could be given some streaks to help blend the roots in with the rest of the hair as long as the bleach is kept away from the scalp - don't apply it at scalp level, apply it farther down as if the streak had already grown out a bit.

I had a lot of new hair growing in all over my head by five months PFC, really a lot! Eventually, the wide part in my hair that had developed during chemo filled in and I had a full head of hair again, rather than a thin one. That first growth was a bit curly, but after about five inches of wavy hair growth, it reverted back to my normal straight hair pattern.

I credit the strong regrowth and filling in I experienced to taking BioSil, liquid silica drops. Liquid silica has been proven in double blind clinical trials to grow thicker stronger hair, which is why I started taking it shortly after my last Chemo treatment. My doctor assured me that it was safe to take. BioSil needs to be taken a long time, 6-8 months, before you will see a difference because it takes that long for hair follicles to be affected and to grow hair long enough to be seen. I get between a half and 3/4" a month growth, judging by my roots.

I also took and still take Biotin, but I do not feel it does much. I say that because I slacked off on taking BioSil out of laziness last summer and by the fall I began to shed a lot which upset me. I think the shedding was due to the fact that I am on Arimidex which is known for causing hair to thin. I had dropped from BioSil's recommended twice a day regimen to once a day thinking it wouldn't make a difference, but it did, as I was taking only half the recommended dose. After about four months of shedding, and when I could see that my hair was actually getting thinner in volume, I decided to try going back to taking BioSil twice a day. About a month later the shedding slowed way down. I believe that taking BioSil is counteracting the thinning effects of the Arimidex so I plan to stay on it twice a day.

I didn't bleach until after six months, and had no off color problems. My hair looked great.

Yay for PCH!! Congrats & welcome to this board. So happy and proud of us. We did it. Same questions here... I'm 7 weeks out. Hair looks horrible. When can I start washing my hair again in the shower. My sexy purple shower cap really needs to be retired thnx everyone again (especially pch) for getting me through the toughest part of chemo .... capping! It definitely works!! ♡Kim

Congrats and welcome to the other side pch!! I'm with you goldenpaws, when can we stop the cold water cup washing every third day and move back to warm shower washes that are every day (or at least every other day)? And has anyone found at least a passible nonperoxide, nonammonia blond hair dye?

mimamma, that is so wrong for your RO to treat you that way! Glad you made the switch. I like all my docs but my RO is my favorite - I didn't want the tattoos on my chest so he said no worries we will mark with a sharpie and keep it under a clear piece of surgical tape. If it fades, we'll remark it. I did get tiny ones on each side but they are tinier than a freckle and I have to really search to find them. I hope yours will fade in time. Hang in there! I found rads very easy - best advice is to stay very hydrated inside and out. I drank a gallon of water every day and slathered myself with the lotion they gave me and the Aquaphor at night. 28 rounds and my skin didn't even get pink. You'll do great - hope the new RO is awesome

Thank you, pch! Hopefully the new RO will be better...but I'm still left with tattoos I didn't want. All my other docs were so great that this just blindsided me. And what really pisses me off is that the RO also said I needed the tattoos in case of recurrence. Like I need to hear that! Okay, I'm going to stop ranting. We will get through the rads and then have the tats removed (and if my husband has his way, the hospital will cover it)! And I will take your advice and drink lots and lots of water. Thanks again!

Yay Jaejk5!!

(I know I already said it, but it's fun to say it twice. CONGRATS!)