I'm looking for some advice please. I'm currently undergoing chemotherapy and having Carboplatin (only this drug and no others). I've had three treatments so far and have three more to go.
I haven't had my hair highlighted since September 2021 due to my cancer diagnosis however I would be grateful to know when I would be able to get my hair highlighted again please if anybody knows? I know in the whole scheme of things there are more important issues and my questions seems trivial and my apologies for asking this question.
I have not lost any of my hair with my Carboplatin chemo and nor has it thinned and wondered when I would be able to have it highlighted again. I discussed this with my hairdresser and she said she hears of 'wait 6 months after chemo to have your hair highlighted' but I'm not sure if that is for people who have lost their hair? She did say if I were able to have it highlighted she would do a patch test first a couple of weeks earlier.
My hair is naturally light brown and I usually have it highlighted and of course would like to get it highlighted but if this would seriously damage my hair then I would wait however to date my hair does not seem to have been affected by my chemo so I'm sure if I'm being overly cautious? Or despite my hair not seemingly being affected by the chemo should I wait six months from my last chemo treatment?
Could anybody advise me when I would be able to get it highlighted please? I'm thinking perhaps to wait two to three months after my sixth (final) chemo treatment.
Thank you for any advice.
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SarahBa
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When you say you had highlights right through, do you mean you got it done despite being on chemo? And can I ask if they were literally highlights and not low lights, i.e.,, lighter or blonde streaks? And last question, did your hair get thinner on carboplatin, because mine is, noticing a little more hair loss than usual which is making me nervous about risking blonde highlights... but I cannot bear another 10 weeks of it looking like it does😳
Hi Sarah,My journey was a little different I had 6 treatments of Carbo/taxol I think the taxol is what causes the hair loss I used a cooling cap kept most of my hair been going to my gal for 20 years blonde hi lights it I finished my last treatment October 2021 she did a light bleach didn’t do as many strands in December pulled more thru in February going back to the full hi light tomorrow I checked for hair loss in the sink a long the way none seems like your good to go I felt the same way I also lost all my lashes at #6 had Onc prescribe Latisse they all came back in a month and a half I’m sure your lashes are fine if not it works. Good Luck
Hiya. I’m on carbo/caelyx and I had my hair highlighted after my first treatment.. I’m having it done again next week just after my fifth it’s not been a problem. I have the cold cap as well. My niece is a hairdresser so I always say if anything happens it won’t be her fault haha. Anything to make us feel better ay! Good luck xx
Hi Sarah, I had carboplatin/Taxol I lost all my hair but it grew back grey and curly. I asked my oncologist about dying it but was told to wait until end of maintenance treatment. But think you probably will be OK if you have a patch test first, good luck and best wishes.
Yea my too lost after taxol/carboplatin and now its grey and curly ! )) Hope very much I wont loose it on Caelyx for the next 6 month )) Will wear cold cap ))
According to Trevor Sorbie (celebrity hairdresser who helps Cancer Patients) you should wait 6 months before putting permanent dye on your hair. Non permanent should be okay so long as you do the tests. Hope this helps Sue xx
Thank you Sue, I appreciate your reply. I'm not proposing to put a dye on my hair. Highlights are strands of lighter colour achieved via mild peroxide bleach on strands of my hair. This wouldn't be all over my hair just strands so it looks a bit blonder.
Hi Sarah, I think bleach and peroxide would be permanent dye so explain you've had chemo to your hairdresser and she should be able to strand test and hopefully go ahead.
Wooow ! Lucky people on Carboplatin ! )) I just done my brows microbladed 2 weeks before my second line chemo will start again. While I v been on Taxol/carboplatin and Niraparib later they told be NO to anything like that. But 6 month after chemo and now stopped my Niraparib so I though hell with that - I will do my brows ! I will need brows top up in 4 weeks time and hope it be OK with chemo ))
Sorry but I've got to say I did not feel 'lucky'to be on carboplatin only ,due to an allergic reaction to taxol on 1st line treatment fot Stage 4 PPC. It felt very much like I was fighting this disease with one boxing glove and caused me so much stress. Thankfully I have not become platinum resistant and 2nd line carbo did it's best. A very kindly nurse pointed out that you could still knock somebody out and win with just one boxing glove on😍
OK I understand. But whats the difference between platinum sensitive and platinum resistant ? If my C came back after 1st st line 6 month on Carbo platin / taxol, what am I ?
I was told wait sixth months after chemo finishes by my oncologist so probably best to ask your medical team . My beautician was very cagey and asked me to provide a letter from the doctor for insurance purposes . I thought that was a bit OTT but got one and everything went ahead no problem . Good luck x
I've just checked this out with my head chemo nurse - I'm on carboplatin single agent, had 4 treatments, 2 to go, and like you, usually have blonde highlights done with foils. The last time I had it done was 7 weeks before chemo started, and my hair currently looks absolutely awful, with 2 inch long very dark roots and its totally depressing me. I was thinking of risking it and just getting it done, but the chemo nurse said no, not unless I wanted to risk losing the treated hair. She reckons the hair at and near the roots will be fragile and not strong enough to cope with colour, especially not a colour that involves peroxide or bleach to make it lighter, but said I could use a wash in wash out mousse type colour (though she couldn't remember the name of it). But like you, I don't want an all over colour, I just have streaks or highlights, so I'm going to have a chat with my hairdresser to see what can be done. I hate the way my hair looks right now so much that I'm debating whether to chance the highlights and if a lot falls out, just get a wig instead, because she also told me you have to wait a minimum of 6 weeks after you finish chemo, and preferably 3-6 months.... I find it all a bit puzzling, it doesn't make sense to me. I have shoulder length hair, so its obvious that even after 6 months, some of the length will be what grew during chemo anyway, so what's the point in waiting so long... so I imagine the timing advice they give is on the assumption we all have short hair.
When I was on carboplatin only 18 months back, I only had 5 treatments , then waited 6 weeks to get highlights done - I vaguely recall the hairdresser using something different (he said it was a bit more gentle, but permanent) to do the streaks the first time, so it wasn't my usual colour, and I didn't have any problems back then, but obviously I had waited till I'd finished chemo...and made sure the highlights were done the week before chemo started, so it didn't look as bad last time.
Hi I had 6 carboplatin. I waited a month after my last treatment then went and had an allergic test at the hairdresser. I then had half head of foils and I was fine.
I have been under the impression the issue with hair colouring of any sort, bleaching, dye whilst on treatment was to do with the chemicals being absorbed into your system and giving your liver yet another chemical to deal with. I suppose if your hairdresser could apply andnot make contact with your scalp via foils the absorption would be limited. I am desperate to get my highlights done but at the moment trying to get maintenance dose right so choosing to wait.
That's what I thought, but I got a bonkers response from the chemo nurse yesterday when I said that about keeping chemicals off the scalp - she said that didn't matter, it was the hair itself during chemo that was at risk from colouring so that's what they are worried about. Thing is, whether the NHS acknowledges it or not, exposing your skin to as few chemicals as possible during chemo is a good idea - I don't even use the same shower gel or deodorant when on chemo for this reason, as well as not using my normal cleaning sprays, so I don't get why the NHS doesn't understand that... more chemicals are bound to cause the liver more problems.
My hairdresser has confirmed he wouldn't dream of using any preparation directly on the scalp when I'm on chemo - says he will check the quality of my hair before he decides what can be done and what can't in terms of colouring...
I like your one boxing glove analogy - I was supposed to have caelyx and carbo this time round, but the caelyx nearly caused me to have an instant heart attack, terrible crushing chest pain within a minute or two, so its just been carbo since, and I was worried it wouldn't work or not do much on its own.
Common sense on our part I think! Surely what it does to your hair is literally cosmetic not medical?? I too couldn't have caeylx with carbo as I had a bit of a heart blip during debulking surgery. I am now on rucaparib, maintenance which is still being a bit of a nuisance with side affects I am highest dose atm so options to reduce.
I was on niraparib after carbo last time - it worked, knocked the cancer marker down even further, but caused significant blood pressure/heart rate problems, so they had to drop the dose to the lowest, and then it stopped working. I'm told once you've had any PARP, you don't get one again, which strikes me as more about money than efficacy - I'd like to have been given the chance to try rucaparib after carbo this time round, but unless NICEchanges the rules, its not gonna happen... The thing I disliked about niraparib, apart from the BP/heart rate issues, was never being able to sleep properly; it also caused ongoing hair loss after the first couple of months. I think rucaparib side effects might be different and yes, they do start on the highest dose and work down if necessary ... good luck with it anyway.
Hi. Here in france they say no as color permeates I to blood stream. If you are just bleaching it might be different. Here they say 6 months after chemo ends
Hi, I must say I'm still unclear if I can go ahead or not. What I am thinking of having done is definitely not a colour or a dye it is just a bleach on some strands of my hair,
I'm thinking with a patch test a couple of weeks beforehand and the foils not touching my scalp and my hairdresser using a weaker bleach than usual for my highlights I might be OK.
Just a little update - I'm between 4th and 5th carbo treatments and I had my streaks done today -he just didn't do so many and left a tiny gap near the scalp to keep it off. He checked my hair first and said it wasn't any different to how it normally is, so we went ahead, much to my relief. Will let you know if it all falls out🙂
I would contact Hairreborn.uk. They are a fantastic charity operating via hairdressing salons which has been set up to advise and support people who are losing their hair through cancer treatment. I think they would be able to offer advice over the phone on this even if there is not a salon in your area.
Thank you for the link but I don't wish to put a dye on my hair. My query is whether I could have some highlights in my hair however I do appreciate you posting on to this thread.
If you know whether I could have highlights that would be helpful.
I am really sorry if I misunderstood your question.
Cancer Hair Care are an organisation who may be help you with further information about this. I will share a link to their website here: cancerhaircare.co.uk . You can contact them by calling 01438 311 322 or by emailing support@cancerhaircare.com .
Please do let me know if I can help with anything else.
Well I will get frowns for this but after my initial carbo/ taxol I was totally bald. Finished treatment Dec and had full head peroxide/ colour on in the March.( hated the grey ) Multiple patch tests prior-it was fine, Now have just finished carbo/ caelyx and no real hair loss just haven’t dared risk colouring it during chemo. Root touch ups and coloured mousse leave a horrible coating on my hair so not a big fan of those . Hairdresser said try highlights as not touching scalp and thats plan next week, after testing this of course. You can maybe be my guinea pig.😂. Personal choice and good luck x
Like Laz66, I went totally bald after 6 rounds of carbo/taxol. When it eventually grew back in, it was grey. I used to be a (box-colour) redhead so this was a massive change for me. I didn't ask permission, or even for advice, I used a box colour to bleach out the darker greys and turn everything to a light blonde, then played with semi-permanent colours on top of that. I patch tested everything and had no adverse reactions at all. I've continued to play with bleach and colour as my hair has regrown. I'm currently sporting much thicker hair than I've ever had, but the maintenance regime (olaparib and bevacizumab) seems to have slowed down the regrowth considerably. I am currently wearing a very funky mid-pink.Your hairdresser should do patch tests as a matter of course, and it would be good to hear what Cancer hair care people say so you can take the right decisions for you. Good luck.
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