Shall I? Shan't I? Can I? Can't I?

[lisarm5]

Hi everyone, would like some of your wonderful advice please. When is it ok to colour my hair?I finished Chemo in January, hair is growing back really well but its white!!!!!! I'm going back to work soon and would rather go back wigless but don't want to go back white either. Any suggestions or advice gladly welcome. Lisa xx

[Hidden]

Good question, Sandra is normally coloured blonde but after hair loss comes back grey. She waited until the curly bits are gone and trimmed out so approx 6 mths after treatment. You can prob do it sooner than that. Rgds Paul x

[Hidden]

Hi Lisa,

There has been a few discussions on this and you will find it under "tags" hair dye, hair colour, bleach Etc....also there are a few hairdressers on here too, I am sure they will be along to help soon....love x G x

[angelina]

Hi Lisa,

My oncologists advice was to wait until I had 2 hair cuts and then it was safe to use

a vegetable hair colour which I know some of the ladies have tried with good results.

I am just considering having my first hair cut since finishing chemo end of last may.

It has taken such a long time for my hair to grow and then it came back curly. It now

looks like an old ladies perm that is just growing out....not a good look for someone

who used to have a sleek medium brown bob with blonde highlights.

(mine has grown back grey!!)

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Love Angie xx

[doreenharwood]

Hi I finished chemotherapy in November last year. I was told I could dye mine when it was an inch ling. I dyed it first in February. I used the dye from Holland and barred . I dyed it fir the second time last Friday this time I used Holland and bsrrett dark copper and as you will see from my picture its quite red but I love it. Mine came back sort of non colour I suppose it was a light grey but I was not happy that colour. Dint use any old dye get a vegetable one. If you have Holland and barred near you they are very good and have a great range of colours. Love Babs x x

[osborne1963 in reply to doreenharwood]

Doreen did you use the semi permanent or permenant?

[doreenharwood]

Sorry about some of the funny words only I am using my phone x

[TinaWright]

Hi ladies,

From a proffesional hairdressers point of view, My advice would be to always go and have your hair coloured by a proffesional hairdresser. It would also be wise to check at the salon first, to make sure they are aware of your recent chemo.

Never even think about a colour without a skin test first, not all salons will do this but insist because your skin maybe extra sensitive after chemo as it alters the epidermis layer of the skin which becomes thin, reason why we should avoid sun beds and sunbathing for a while too. I would also avoid bleach or highlift colours for at least 6 months. After this time you should be able to have highlights with no problem because the bleach or high percent peroxide is not in direct contact with your scalp. A strand test would be a good idea first, to make sure your hair is strong enough. Avoid full head root re-touch applied direct to the roots with bleach or highlift for about 9 months to a year, darker tones with a loxer volume of peroxide would be more gentle to the hair and scalp.

If you can`t wait this long then just go for a semi permanet colour, with no peroxide. Again the reason being is your scalp may react.

Be aware of the darker tones on very short hair because it may stain your scalp and this is not a good look.

Also very short highlighted hair will result in lepeard spotting, which is also not a good look.

My hair was back to its normal jaw length bob with highlights and low lights after about a year, it`s amazing how quickly your hair will grow back.

Light trimming of the ends is only really nessasary to take off the fluffy bits from first growth. I actually only really had the nape of my neck trimmed for the first year then it gradually found its origional bob shape again very quickly.

Any further questions please feel free to ask.

Best of luck

Tina xx

[citrine]

At Barts hospital chemo patients are given a leaflet which entitles us to have two free hairdos at a classy

salon with a lady who has been doing this for chemo patients for about 20 years. She did an amazing job on mine and on my second visit - about 8 months after the end of my chemo - she gave me a three quarter head of highlights and lowlights. My kinky bits have gone now and my hair is jaw length which I'm really happy with, lthough it still has a tendency to stand on end in a mad professor style first thing in the morning

The two free visits could be used as and when and how we wanted. If desired, patients could go for a head massage whilst on treatment. It was a huge boost to my morale and I really appreciated it. Would be interested to know if any other hospitals do this.

I must update my profile photo as I still look kinky

[Whippit in reply to citrine]

I'm on my cancer centre's patients liaison committee. I'll ask if this can be offered here in Cardiff. It's a super idea and a great advert for the hair stylist for future business!

Thanks for posting up this great idea. xxx Annie

[citrine in reply to Whippit]

You are right about it being good for business Annie. I'm still going there even though I now have to pay. Hope you can get this idea off the ground. Mary xx

[wendydee]

What a brilliant scheme from Barts! Well done to them. There's a company called 'Look good, feel better' which some of us have used. They can be contacted via the web and I think they give beauty advice and do make-overs. Not sure, but I know some of our friends on here have been to their sessions.

Good luck with the new look

Love Wendy xx

[Whippit]

Dear Lisa

Do you family and friends tell you they love the new snowy you. I've got a lot of friends who have lost their hair and it has grown back white. I love their new hair and think it looks very glamorous and yet they are in despair.

I seem to remember someone else posting about hair colour and there were some useful tips about the sort of colouring you should be using. Apparently there's a specific brand that is recommended and you can also find hair stylists who are trained to advise clients with cancer. My local Tony and Guy has a specialist consultant for this.

Hope this is helpful. I can't speak from experience as I've never coloured my hair but speak as an observer who admires their friends change of image following chemotherapy.

Loads of love xxx Annie

[lisarm5]

Thank you all so much for all your advice. I am very interested in what they do at Barts, i had my surgery there but my chemo at my local hosp, i wonder if i would be eligible as i am one of their patients?. Annie, i wish my grey/ white hair was a hit but it seems to be a unanimous vote that it makes me look much older. I feel about ninety, dont want to look it as well lol xx

[citrine in reply to lisarm5]

It would be worth asking Lisa. The hairdressers is called Goldilocks and is in Muswell Hill. Also, you could flag it up at your local hospital. As Annie says, good for local business.

I didn't like my curly grey hair though it did look better once it had been shaped. It was good to go blonde again.

Love Mary xx

[Hidden]

I hadn't seen my colour for years and was agonised about it when it came through grey. Now I don't think I will either grow it again or dye it. I keep being told how good it looks and one woman I met called it statement hair! I may change my mind again later... I think you should do what feels good. There seem to be a rash if new gentler colouring products out, which is good news!

Love

Sue xxx

[Hidden]

Hi

I dyed my hair after chemo and like above used the non peroxide from Holland and Barratt

I didnt think it would last long but it did. I did ask my hairdresser to put it on for me which she was happy to do. Mine is just growing back again 3rd time at the moment it has gone very straight and not long enough to do anything with looks quiet nice, white shame about the dark bits!!

Good luck Barbara.X

[TinaWright]

I think it all depends on age, if I were older then I`d love to have white hair but the salt and peper effect on me was just horrible. I also had a shock when my new hair started to grow back, I hadn`t seen my natural colour since I was the age of 18. I was amazed how much white there was in it but the dark hair at the back was dull and lifeless. I have never in my life been really dark before so I went for a dark semi to begin with. I actually loved it and I had a lot of thumbs up from my friends too however, as soon as it had grown back into a bob and the blonde highlights were back everyone then told me how much better that was. So there we go, don`t think we can always believe what our friends tell us, after all would you honestly tell someone after what we have been through that our new growth of hair was awful. Well, it`d take a real nasty person to do that.

I remember everyone also telling me how fab and well I looked, then when I got back to better health they told me how ill I looked before.

My advice is to do whatever you feel comfortable with, this is about YOU (US), look in the mirror every single day and tell yourself how beautiful you are. Grey, white, blonde or brunette the only person to please is yourself. Give yourself a big hug you are all fabulous love you for it xxxxxxxxxx

[angelina in reply to TinaWright]

Hi Tina,

Can you give me some advice please...i'm coming up to having my first

hair cut and as I mentioned above, my hair has come through curly.

Do you think I should have my chemo curls cut at a good salon or just

go for a quicky trim in a cheaper salon. Also should I go for just a trim

or a cut and finish. As you can see I am so confused at the moment

and also very nervous as I have had to wait 12months for my hair to

grow 2inches.

I will be very grateful for any advice you can give me.

Lots of Love

Angie xx

[TinaWright in reply to angelina]

Hi Angie,

To be honest I`d always go to a salon with a good reputation - even for just a trim. Now as you know, I am a retired hairdresser and I have two grown up daughters, also hairdressers. Now either one of them will cut my hair but one isn`t quite so sissor happy as the other. This can be a huge problem in the hairdressing profession and before you know it your curls will be gone along with most of your hair.

It is actually in many ways harder to trim off a little bit here and there to gradually achieve a style, than give it a good restyle. But I think I`d always go for the full finished look, even if you only have the tinest bit trimmed off. Then the stylist can advice you on a way to make the most out of the look while it grows into the style that you want to achieve, does that make sence?

If I knew how to down load pics on here - I`d be able to send some photos of the variable styles and colours that I had while in the growing process.

The only reason I do not have a profile pic on here is because I can`t seem to do it. Can do it on Face book fine!

Also, a good hairdresser will be able to advice you on colours and this alone can make such a new women out of us, even without a style yet.

Because I wanted to go back to a short graduated bob, I simply just useto have the nape of the neck trimmed while the rest of it grew down. The back grew back much quicker than the sides and the fridge seemed to take ages.

I have a very low hairline at the sides, so this also appeared to get quite long too, I didn`t have those trimmed for a long, long time because to achieve the style the sides needed to grow longer than the back.

Once I`d achieved the outline shape, the layers took care of themselves for a while. I`m a year ahead of you now but I have been having proper cuts every 6 weeks for the last 6 months at least. I promise you it will suddenly take off and you`ll be where you want to be sooner than you may think. With No more chemo of course.

Hope that helps a little bit - hugs from Tina xxx

[angelina in reply to TinaWright]

Thanks Tina you have been a real help with my dilema.

Some people say have a quick trim but they are the

ones who don't spend much on their hair anyway. I always

went to a good salon pre cancer (But I never told my

friends how much it cost me) think they would have fainted

with shock!

I have been out today and living by the coast it can get

quite windy.....I looked like a fuzz ball after an hour in the

wind. So thanks again for your advice and I'm off to get

my curly locks cut this coming week.

Lots of Love

Angie xx

[TinaWright in reply to angelina]

Your welcome hunnie,

I do think you would be doing the right thing returning to the hairdresser you`ve been useto, remember she/he will know your hair better than anyone new as she`ll/he`ll be able to compare your hair to pre chemo and now.

I also don`t think we should put a price on our locks, the most important thing is to feel comfortable with the salon and able to TRUST the person with those sissor`s, pricelss really, isn`t it?

Also talk about the frizz, there are several good frizz ease products available. It`s difficult for me to recommend one type over another, its best to get that sort of advice from one who can actually examin your hair.

But you may find having the tiniest of ends trimmed off will make a huge difference to the texture, the curls don`t always stay after chemo, mine didn`t.

Let us know how you get on, won`t you?

Love from Tina xxx

[AnnieMae]

Before I was diagnosed my Husband was always saying 'Why don't you let the colour grow out of your hair and see how grey it is' As if I was going to do that!!!

Move forward 8 months and I'm 2 tone grey with a bit of white. Just had my first trim at the back and sides and was amazed how much it had grown.

Haven't decided yet if I will colour it in the future. For now I'm quite happy with it and it does feel like a 'badge of courage'

It's a personal thing I suppose so we will each make our decision.

Good luck with your decision Lisa.

Annette xxx