Hair Loss

I also had very long hair prior to chemo. I cut it short to just below my ear prior to starting and had a hairpiece made from the hair I had cut off, here is the link to the site.

http://www.chemodiva.com/

The majority of people lose their hair right around day 14 - or within the following week, but it can also depend on the specific chemo regimen they receive. If you are doing Taxol as a stand alone regimen it may be a more gradual thinning, or if you do CMF, some people have very little hair loss. I waited to shave my remaining hair off until it was coming out in clumps, and then I did not shave it smooth, but left about 1/2 inch, which I did not completely lose. Good luck!

samjune79-I also had long hair prior to chemo. I would recommend having your haircut into a cute, short hairdo just before you start chemo. It doesn't matter if you like the hairdo or not, you will only have it for a few weeks, but choosing to cut it gives you a little control in a situation where you otherwise don't have much control. It is also a little easier when shorter hair (which doesn't seem like your hair) falls out than when long hair falls out. In hindsight, I waited too long to cut my hair. It was really hard to pull BIG wads of hair out of my hairbrush, the shower, the back of my chair, and anywhere else I sat. I literally filled two hotel room trash cans with hair for a few days before I cut my hair. Heaven knows what the hotel maids thought was going on!!

I agree with Italychick on the wig. I bought a longer wig that looked somewhat like my real hair. I rarely wore it. I did wear scarves -loads of them. They were cheaper, morecomfortable and looked better (in my mind, anyway) than the wig did. It was also easier to stop wearing them once I had a reasonable skiff of real hair back.

Great advice from everyone, and thanks SpecialK for the resource!

Consider if cutting the hair short now will lessen the trauma for you.  Everyone is different. I had my hair shorn close about a week after starting AC chemo.  It didn't start shedding in earnest until day 19 for me.  Some women get an itchy scalp as the hair starts releasing. I think most women notice when washing or brushing their hair when it is coming out fast. I actually kept a decent amount of hair through AC. I was thinking that I was lucky.  However, soon after starting Taxol, most of the rest quickly exited, along with almost all the eyebrows and lashes.  I'm now 4 weeks post chemo and eagerly awaiting noticeable growth. I still can't really see it but can feel some stubble on my head.

I think hair loss in very individual. All the prior chemo I had a bit shed but I had such thick hair no one but me noticed. Like I had never seen my scalp before. Taxol was a different story. Between cycle 1 & 2 it really shed not clumps. Shed a lot. My puppy had my hair stuck on her feet. Some patients do have clumps fall. I cut hair from chin length to below ear. But have had peach fuzz also. Don't know what that's about. If that falls also? For those of you who remember old movies. Think of the B&W Scrooge with an old actor name Sim. Not much hair. Some on sides & a tiny bit on top, none in front. That's me. I couldn't stand the wig. Itched & hot. Using scarves.  A few don't lose hair, hear of some losing hair after treatment stops! Hope you are one of those that have a good head. Luck

Thanks for the feedback ladies!

If you have really long hair, cut it short and consider donating it to Locks of Love. They use it to make wigs. A great charity. Or do as Special K suggested.

I had a synthetic wig, couldn't stand it in the Florida heat and humidity. May be nice now to wear up north in the cold

All of this is hard, but it seems like the hair loss is particularly so. I've always had longish hair - never above my shoulders - and would have preferred to keep it that way! I'm on TCHP and the hair started to really come out about day 16. It was on my pillow, on my clothes, in the brush, all over my hands in the shower, all over the bathroom. It seemed to be most thin on top so I wore a ponytail for a few days to cover that up. When I found myself crying after each shower for two days - I decided it was time to do something.

Unfortunately, I never felt "empowered" or like I was "in charge" like some people do. I was incredibly sad and felt like none of this was my choosing. I went to a beauty salon that sells wigs and they buzzed it to about a quarter inch in a private room. I pretty much cried the whole time. However - I was thankful when it was over and my scalp was no longer sensitive. I walked out with my wig on and carried on.

I'm now almost up to my third round. I'm still losing some hair but the pieces are so small that you don't notice. I swear the hair in the back is growing! And it's still a shock to see my pale scalp with dark and gray stubble after coloring my hair lighter for many years. I think that completely bald would be better than this.

Good luck. I hope that you have peace in your decision. Keep telling yourself that it's just for now!

Hugs and welcome to both samjune79 and NotVeryBrave. You are indeed quite brave

Glad you found this amazing group of people!

Hello everyone.. I'm new to all of this....I started chemo on June 28, 2017. I am taking carboplatin, taxotere, and Herceptin. I have to do 6 treatments and then Herceptin by itself for 8 months. When I first started chemo I was using the cool caps. I used them for the first 2 chemo treatments. After the 2nd treatment my hair started really thinning out so I decided to quit using the cool caps. I was suppose to have my 3rd one today, however by platelets were too low so it was postponed. Now I'm really thinking I should have kept trying the cool caps. I haven't lost any of my eyebrows or my eyelashes yet either. Is there anyone that didn't loose a lot of hair taking the same chemo drugs. I'm really struggling with the whole hair loss and hope that I just stay with the thinning out.

My hair starting growing back on TCHP around the fourth round without cold capping. I never lost all of it, but it was quite thin with probably 80% gone - worst on top.

I didn't lose eyebrows until almost finished with chemo (slow thinning with rapid regrowth) and eyelashes well after chemo was done (left quickly and returned slowly). My upper lashes are still only 2/3 their normal length and I finished chemo in April!

Notverybrave.... I am hoping that I am with you and don't lose all of my hair. I would be fine if it just stayed as thin as it is now with out having to loose much more. Its weird how some people lose it all and others it just thins out. Thanks for responding!