Hair growth pictures

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  • newter
    newter Member Posts: 4,330
    edited May 2007

    Thanks for that great site Nandy.

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited May 2007
    Those pics are of Paula74. She went through chemo around the same time as I did and was always so encouraging and full of ideas about different products to try, etc. I see her posts still, occasionally, on some of the other boards. She should know what a legacy she has given!

    Marin
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  • newter
    newter Member Posts: 4,330
    edited May 2007

    Time to bump

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  • newter
    newter Member Posts: 4,330
    edited May 2007
    Cheryl,

    I went almost a whole day without my wig and probably will again today. Whoo hoo! Tomorrow is the big test, will I have the guts to go to work with hair "out"?

    Really, the wig is just too hot/irritating with my hair growth underneath. I have to just beat down my vanity. It just sucks to lose my looks and I just hope I look normal to other people even if I do not feel like I do.

    I do not remember ever having hair this short. I can't get used to my exposed neck. Oh well, I should not complain, last year this time I was anticipating the hair loss and getting ready to start chemo. Much much rather be where I am now.

    Newter
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  • thomcat
    thomcat Member Posts: 356
    edited May 2007
    Did anyone have the peach fuzz shaved? If so, did it seem to help with the regrowth? I'm 8 weeks post chemo and I started getting lots of gray peach fuzz. Now, the black hair is starting to grow but the peach fuzz is much longer.

    I really want to speed up this process. My wig is getting too hot!!!
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  • newter
    newter Member Posts: 4,330
    edited May 2007
    Thompcat,

    I hear ya! My hair can't grow fast enough. I do not remember having any peach fuzz.

    Good luck on speeding up the process. From reading these boards I learned about Nioxin, which is a scalp therapy you can get at a salon. Also, I take a lot of a vitamin called Biotin. I am afraid to stop both of these in case they are really working.

    Newter
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  • Lighthouse1
    Lighthouse1 Member Posts: 20
    edited May 2007

    Hi everyone. I found an interim solution that works great. My hair was growing back, but it just looked so weird and was too short to cut or style for several months. I felt embarassed to go natural, but was also ready to ditch the wig. My hairdresser advised me to visit an "ethnic" stylist. So, I went to an African American based shop where the stylist produced a small weave of bangs and a little fullness on the sides. It was like a miracle! No one could tell -- she matched my natural brown color perfectly! Instead of "sewing" it in, she made it where I could just pin it in each morning. So -- no more wig! It is still not completely naturally my own hair but about 3/4's of it is. Anyhow, I will try and post a picture so you can see if I can figure out how. I highly recommend it. Of course, many of you probably already know about weaves, but it was new to me.

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  • cheryl58
    cheryl58 Member Posts: 182
    edited May 2007
    Newter! Yea for you!! I understand the self-conciousness about your looks now. We went out to brunch this morning for mother's day and I wore my wig. I also wore it at mini-golf this afternoon. I do not look anything like I used to now and I don't know how to adjust or "fix" my looks now. I know I will wear the wig to my son's graduation on Saturday too. I guess I will just wait for more growth and then try to have it colored back to my dark blond. (I think I would look strange right now if I colored my short little gray and brown poodle curls!!) I know I am supposed to be grateful for "having hair" but jeesh, this hair is weird.

    The funny thing is because it is sooo curly and kind of growing straight up, my wig sits all poofy on my head. So now, I am not sure if the wig is starting to look as weird as my hair??

    Keep up the good work! I am proud of you and hope someday to be brave enough to rid myself of the wig!

    Cheryl
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  • newter
    newter Member Posts: 4,330
    edited May 2007
    Lighthouse, I wish I would have known about ethnic stylist earlier. I never heard of them but I will check out our area. I had looked into full extensions but they were too expensive and not good for my fragile growth.

    Cheryl, I did it!! Yippee, I went to work without my wig. I spent the beginning of my workday in tears because I was getting too much attention and feeling really weird. But then I settled down and the day was pretty uneventful. My son, who will be 6 in a couple of weeks, told me I looked "fine" without my wig but then I told him I was going to Muffins with Mom without my wig and, well, that was not so fine. Oh well, he still loves me and he will get over it.

    Overall, I am happy to be done with the wig. My new hair growth was peeking down in front and I too had some poofiness on top.

    Good luck, I hope I gave you some incentive to "just do it". Keep me posted.

    Newter
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  • newter
    newter Member Posts: 4,330
    edited May 2007

    bump

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  • miamimama
    miamimama Member Posts: 77
    edited May 2007

    Had my first haircut yesterday. Since I am only at 17 weeks, I felt a bit ridiculous going into the salon - but it was great for my self confidence. They evened it out just like a man's haircut - and it looks almost OK.

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  • katymom
    katymom Member Posts: 141
    edited May 2007

    Has the password changed? I couldn't get in.....

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited May 2007
    No, it's still bcsisters. Paula has also been posting over on the 'Chemo' board where they're discussing how freaky and awful they feel without hair, despite not considering themselves vain or ever having put much stock in having hair bc. I think we can all identify with that!

    Marin
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  • newter
    newter Member Posts: 4,330
    edited May 2007

    bump again. It has been a few days.

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  • newter
    newter Member Posts: 4,330
    edited June 2007

    bumping again for anyone interested

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  • trumpkin46
    trumpkin46 Member Posts: 47
    edited June 2007
    I had no eyebrows during chemo and for the longest time after. Get yourself along to a good cosmetic counter for a good eyebrow pencil and a lesson on how to use it. You'll feel much better while you wait. BTW, a year post chemo I've had 5 or 6 hair cuts, my short hair is thick and wavey (but not that post chemo curl, which came off with the cuts). I'm so glad to have my hair back - up here in the north, it's cold without hair. But I did discover that I have a very nicely shaped head. I figure that the secret of getting through chemo looking not too awful is Big EYES, great EARRINGS, and Clinique Bronzer. And a smooth scalp...If you haven't been to 'look good, feel better" run by the American Cancer Society (or in Canada - the CCS) you might enjoy it. It's a free program with lots of freebies.

    Alice
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  • newter
    newter Member Posts: 4,330
    edited June 2007

    Bump up again

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  • honeygirl
    honeygirl Member Posts: 1,718
    edited June 2007

    Thanks ladies for bumping this up. I was just asking on the chemo thread how long it takes for your hair to grow back. Mine has been cut short and should be falling out within the next two weeks. This is such another devestating time for me. But its so good to hear from all of you who have been there , done that and are showing off a beautiful head of hair! Thanks again.

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited June 2007

    bump...

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  • laureniris
    laureniris Member Posts: 36
    edited June 2007
    Hi,
    I've been the biggest chemo-curl kvetch out there, but I have finally found a style that works (one year past treatment, but could have figured this out earlier). First off, I had the biggest, baddest, thickest, coarsest chemo curl out there. Here's what I've done: my last two trims, I've cut off the bottom two thirds of my hair (bottom two thirds of my head, not each hair) so that it's two short to curl. I then blowdry, style the top-third while it's growing in. Last week I had the top-third relaxed, which seemed to work great. Not Asian-straightened, just relaxed. I figure it doesn't matter if I keep on trimming the bottom two-thirds, because the top-third needs to catch up anyway. Has anyone else hit on this technique. So far, so good...
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  • cheryl58
    cheryl58 Member Posts: 182
    edited June 2007
    Hey Newter, just thought I would check in with you and see if you have had any luck with the hairstyling? I posted a more recent picture for my avatar (though it is too dark and you can't see these curls very well). Right now, I have pretty much taken everybody's advice: LOTS of conditioner, a curl-defining lotion and just kinda pull the curls around on my head then let air-dry. I think it is the best I can do for now.

    My best friend saw me recently and told me that she wouldn't have recognized me if she had tripped over me on the street..... JEEZ!!!

    I am glad I have hair but........
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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited June 2007

    bump....

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  • cfrie
    cfrie Member Posts: 19
    edited June 2007

    This is a great thread, thanks for bumping up, I haven't read it in quite a while. I have been trying to ignore how awful my hair looks, but is it encouraging to know I'm not alone, and there is hope out there! I haven't ditched my wig yet, I would love to, but my hair is so out of control, which amazes me considering how short it is. I'm hoping that within a month or so it will grow in enough that I can do something with it. I'm very impatient, I finished chemo in January and feel like I should have a lot more hair by now. :-(

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited July 2007

    BUMP!

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  • newter
    newter Member Posts: 4,330
    edited July 2007

    bump **

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  • abbadoodles
    abbadoodles Member Posts: 2,618
    edited July 2007
    Well, yeah, I wish I had enough new hair to post a picture!
    I'm 2 months post chemo (A/C only from 4/5 to 5/17) and my hair, although growing back finally is still too short and sparse to flaunt publicly. For me. AND, there seems to be LOTS more gray in there than there was before.

    Remember those baby pictures where you are almost bald but have this cute bit of fluff and a curl right at the top? That about describes it. With a verrrrrry short curl. LOL

    I am guessing that since I had only the DD A/C and it keeps working for about a month after your last treatment, that is why my growth is so slow to appear. Those of you who have had Taxol after the A/C seem to get off to a faster regrowth. Perhaps that isn't as hard on hair as the A/C which is notorious for total hair loss in most cases. I dunno. I just wish it would hurry up.

    I'm hoping that I look good enough in very short hair to keep it that way forever. A la Dame Judi Dench. I love her hair and would never have had the nerve to cut it that way on my own, but in this case I can see what it looks like and pass judgement and keep it there or let it continue to grow.

    Here's a question for all of you: What are your plans for hairstyles or what have you actually done post chemo once it has grown back in?

    Tina
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  • katielou2
    katielou2 Member Posts: 9
    edited July 2007
    I have never colored my hair before since I loved (and was proud of) my natural color. But the new hair growing in was just awful....dark and blah with a lot more gray than I ever remembered..... I decided to be bold and let my hairdresser play. She gave me a reddish-blond that was brighter than my natural color and redder than my kids', but I love it. And I love my short hair. I finished chemo in January and if you go to my blog (I guess you get there through my profile? I'm new here)...anyway go to my blog and my picture is from June. I had had 2 haircuts since February and the color was new. I will probably never go back to long hair again. This is so easy to take care of!
    Katie
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  • abbadoodles
    abbadoodles Member Posts: 2,618
    edited July 2007
    Katie, I love your hair-do! I don't know if I can go as punk and I have a wicked widow's peak and wavy hairline, but I am hoping for something pretty cool, too.

    Your color is great! How long did you wait after chemo to start coloring. Is it permanent color or semi? I hear so much conflicting advice about coloring.

    I've colored my hair with one thing or another since about age 13. I'm almost 60 now. In all modesty, I can say I don't look it. Even my surgeon says I may look 40 BUT I'M NOT!!! Thanks, sir. Anyway, the gray up top sure does nothing for the youthful look and, yes, I totally believe in faking it if you can pull it off.

    I love that you named your wigs; Delores, indeed. Great sense of humor.

    Didn't realize the ACS took donated, used wigs. I'll definitely be sending them my own, plus the Friar Tuck hat hair. How about scarves and hats?

    So, anyone else out there color their hair after chemo? When?

    Thanks so much for the feedback.

    Tina
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  • katielou2
    katielou2 Member Posts: 9
    edited July 2007
    Hi Tina, thanks for the raves on my 'do. That picture was from a dance recital so I had punked my hair out a little more than normal! I use a paste/wax for men that gives the hair some texture and lets you mold it up, down, whatever....I really like that it takes me all of 3 minutes to do my hair in the morning.

    I waited about 4months after chemo to get my hair colored. Finished chemo in January, had growth by late Feb/Mar, first cut in April, cut and color in May.

    Not sure if it's permanent or semi. This was my first time coloring so I had no idea what to ask!

    I really think the paste/wax makes a huge difference in taming new hair. It helped my hair look less like a crewcut and more like a woman's hairstyle. Are we allowed to name brands online? If so, I'll post it. Thanks.
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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited August 2007

    bump....
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