Chemo and hair regrowth

[Anita-B]

Hi ladies have just finished 6 sessions of chemo last week 😊😊 I am now wondering how long will it be before I have enough hair regrowth to not need to wear a wig/hat? Also once ur hair has come back how long is it before u can colour it? Just looking forward to having hair again. Thanks in advance.

[Debster2016]

Hi Anita well done you on finishing! Way to go!! What a relief and welcome to the rest of your life.

So my last treatment - I had 6, 3 fec and 3 docetaxol - was April 28 2017 and I stopped wearing my syrup at the end of August = 4 months later. I had very short grey hair - tho definitely more than bum fluff! - sitting close to my scalp. I was met and congratulated by a neighbour who said in a delighted manner “Well done you you’ve had all your hair cut off!! “ to which I replied “oh yeh going back to my roots” as I also needed to ex0lian the colour change.

I wasn’t prepared with a story to explain the change - ie Hair style from longer to very short - but what came out of my mouth was good enough.

I think she was being kind as although I hadn’t told anyone it was probably more obvious than I realised that I was wearing a wig. I have since thanks her for her great kindness and take so much delight in my curly hair now 👍🏻😁👍🏻😁👍🏻😁.

It won’t be long now for you Anita.

All the best xxx

[Anita-B in reply to Debster2016]

Thank you Debster, did u colour ur hair? If so how long did u wait ?

[Debster2016 in reply to Anita-B]

Oop sorry I forgot to reply to that! 😂. No I don’t colour my hair but read somewhere to wait for at least six months. See if you can grab a copy of the MacMillan booklet on How To Cope With Hair Loss for advice. I never read it before but read it after my hair had started to grow back and as such there was a piece of advice in there that I missed! And that as to still wash your scalp each day as it continues to produce natural oils and to sweat etc even without hair. So worth a read.

Anyhoo I don’t think my hair or its regrowth suffered from me not washing my naked scalp 😁.

Tho I would recommend Neals Yard Rosemary and Cedarwood Hair Treatment when growing back 👍🏻😁.

Keep going your doing fabulously xx

[Sandy108]

Hi Anita-B,

Firstly well done on completing your chemo

I finished my chemo (6 cycles of FEC) mid July 2016 and my hair started to grow back towards the end of Aug. I stopped wearing my wigs during the summer as it got too hot and i was very uncomfortable, it was a bit nerve wracking to start with and i did get a few stares (mainly when i was on holiday in Centre Parcs or in Cornwall). I did get one comment of a lady in Tesco who congratulated me on shaving my hair off for cancer awareness, I wouldn't have corrected her but my then 5yr old was with me who told her I had medicines that made my hair fall out, bless her she felt terrible.

I had hair that i could style from around Christmas, although i have very curly hair so couldn't do much with it and I dyed it after 6 months. I now have curly hair down to my shoulders, i cant wait for it to get past this length as it irritates me but do not want to chop it off lol.!

Take Care

Sandy xxx

[Margt34]

Hi Anita finished Chemo end of Jan and been going out without a wig and hats for about a month.I have been using wash in colours for a while now just gives a bit of a lift good luck and well done for coming through it xx

[jackearls1000]

Hello Anita ....well done for getting through treatment ...now its time to getting to you back to being you ....I finished chemo in January ...i had the cold cap and started with long black hair past my boobs but lost 75% of it and it ended up whiteand very whispy.

After alot of tears and research i found Daniel Field online ...vegan hair colour ...its brilliant, so i very quickly got my colour back and that enabled me to sport the Rosie Riveter look ( im in to the 50s look ) ...i then after a couple of months found a hairdresser that do weaves, my hair was strong enough to have them ....and since then i have never looked back ...It cost £200 ...but i can wash it and straighten it / curl ....and people havent even noticed ...i told very few and got away with a wig for a while ..but with the warm weather its nice to feel the fresh air on my head lol ( smple pleasures) ...each step has been a victory i can tell you ...and my " real hair is growing underneath and as soon as im ready to cut it and show it, i will ....good luck ...and if its colour you need "Daniel Field " they believe in this product so much they reckon its safe to use on chemo .....good luck i hope it helps ....lots of love Jane ...xxx