Well, I've had my 6 carboplatin (4th round of chemo). They said my hair may get thinner, but it didn't. I'm having it cut on Friday. Its not too bad , but would be better with some highlights/ and/ or lowlights.Its a bit beige at the moment!
Obviously , whatever I do will be at my own risk, but I am interested in peoples experiences.
Normally i would wait 8 weeks, but am a bit worried I may be back on chemo by then . Please share your experiences good and bad.
Thanks
Juliex
Hi Julie,
I didn't ever return to hair dye after chemo as I was too worried about the effect of the chemicals on my skin and the cancer risk. However, I have discovered that my hair has become very dry since chemo and menopause, so every couple of weeks I rub a mixture of loive oil and lemon juice into my hair and scalp, wrap it in a warm towel for about an hour and wash it out with a mild shampoo, and it leaves my hair in really shiny condition, and makes the natural 'salt and pepper' colours sparkle.
Isadora.
i was told not to dye my hair during chemo i was gutted at 40 and dark hair i would look in the mirror and see this old person.i waited 6 weeks after chemo and used daniel field hair dye which only uses natural products
I've actually lost my hair because I had Taxol but did ask if I could dye it when it eventually grows back and was told to wait until at least six months after the end of chemo.
Liz X
Hi Julie
I dyed mine around 3 months after I'd finished chemo. I think the issue is about how delicate the hair is when it first grows back after Taxol.
Anyway, a hairdresser friend did it for me with a gentle colour and it was fine. In fact, my hair seemed to grow back much thicker than it had been before and I've been dying it myself ever since (about 18 months), using off the shelf Live XXL colours with no problems at all.
Gael x
Hi julie,
This is from a hairdressers point of view as well as a post chemo sufferer.
I did lose all my hair to taxol however, in your case it is still best if you don`t use permanent hair dye while going through chemo, simply because the hair may be weakened to a certain degree and it could encourage thinning. Also your scap could be more sensitive and you could have a allergyreaction, even if you may not have done before.
However, you can use coloured mousse - talk to your hairdresser for a good colour match and she will advice you on this one, alternatively a mild wash in wash out shampoo with a hint of colour would be fine as well.
I worked with people going through cancer and this is what we would do sometimes, of course each and every one of us is different so I wouldn`t advice you to take matters in your own hands, always ask the proffesional and ask your oncologist too, you can always give your chemo nurse a call at any time regarding any matter like this.
I must warn that it is the warmer (darker) shades of hair dye that are most likely to cause a reaction than the lifted (lighter) tones, bleach and high lift colours are strong chemically and they can damage hair if not used if any these are the ones that have a cancer thret to them.
For those ladies who have lost their hair, Liz is correct its best to wait 6 months before applying color but thats mainly because the hair hasn`t grown enough to colour before that time and at first hair will appear fine and sparse for some people. As soon as my hair had any length to it, I had a dark semi permanent color put on it - wow, that was a shock cos I have always been blonde from a baby. I only had a semi permanent but the pro colour I used stains the hair rather than wash out, WARNING "I couldn`t get rid of it". As soon as my hair was long enough I went on to have cap highlights with bleach to lift the dark red out. My hair got hammered but this way the colour wasn`t directly on my scalp. This is something else to think about, you can alwasy have cap low lights and there is no reason why you can`t apply a semi permanent color this way too.
Remember that new hair growth after loss to chemo is classed to the hairdressing world as virgin hair, this is hair that has never been touched, chemically as in peroxide or other. Quite often the hair is stronger than it was before if you are one to abuse your hair with chemicals that is. But hair often changes in texture, those of us with straight hair often notice curls, it can grow back a different shade or maybe we simply notice the grey more with the products that hide it, LOL!!!!!
It can be finer, thicker (as mine was), and the elasticity can be better or weaker.
the only rules in my book is always seek advice from your hair dresser and never do it alone at home.
Hope this helps
Hugs sent from Tina xx
Hi Tina
Thanks for your reply, lots of interesting info.My hair is fair with a few grey bits.I had Taxol last summer so its continued growing back while I had platinum this summer. Surprisingly , its in really good condition and thicker than ever!
I am seeing my hairdresser to have it cut on Friday and we are going to also talk about colouring then and do the allergy test, if she doesn't think its too soon. I was particularly interested in what you said about semi permanent cap low lights.I am going to ask my hairdresser about that. Dee 52 mentioned The Daniel Fielding natural dye so maybe we can use that for low lights.
After my 1st lot of Taxol (4 yrs ago) I had a similar experience to you.
I used a 'gentle semi permanent light brown' once my hair had a bit of length to it. It came out deep dark red!! And it was very permanent.!It certainly covered all the grey though.
Fortunately, after the initial shock, I really loved it, and so did everyone else. It was a good excuse to buy lots of new clothes to go with my hair.
Best wishes
Juliex
Bless you, well done.
Red tones always stick especially if your hair is porus due to previous treatments such as lifting or permanent waving. I have to say I never expected mine to stick as much as it did due to the new virgin state of my hair. We never stop learning about things and new ideas do we? I am so happy to be blonde again now.
yes julie i am fine its over 2 years since i had chemo.daniel field also has a help line.oh and thanks my hair was coloured with the natural dye on that picture xx
your welcome.hope eveything is goes well.Its a great feeling when you can start doing all the things you used to do before chemo.its another step to normality and doing all the things we took for granted before cancer.hope you stay well and happy xxx
Hi Julie
I had carboplatin only and my hair was scarcely affected. I normally get a colour in every 6 weeks and I had it done about a week after I finished chemo. Not very wise perhaps but I suffered no ill effects and felt better knowing my hair looked good!
All the best
Linda
Hi Linda
Thats interesting.Thanks for telling me.Having a cut tomorrow and speaking to my hairdresser about colouring.If she is ok with it I may have it done quite soon.My holiday in Wales is at the end of next week, I think i will be able to go as I've been feeling quite good this week.Fingers crossed. Ideally want my hair looking nice for my hols....
Best wishes,
Juliex
Well you learn something new every day i was never told I shouldn't dye my hair during chemo
Hi Scardycat.
Well maybe your Dr knows something the others don't. Or did you have a different chemo? Did you dye your hair on chemo?
Juliex
When my hair started to grow back, I hated the way I looked with short mousy hair and impulsively bleached it blonde (more than once). It looked cute, but it did damage it, which ultimately made it take longer to grow back. I wish that I had gone to a salon and had a professional do a more gentle treatment; I think that would have been much better for the health of my hair.
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