Eyebrows and Eyelashes

billandpatty

My question isn't terribly important, but I've wondered for awhile if any other survivors have experienced the following:

I finished chemo and radiation 3 1/2 years ago and all my hair grew back in the right places, but one thing I've had happen many times is: every couple of months or so my eyebrows get real thinned out and I lose most of my eyelashes. After a couple of weeks they've grown back and I go along for awhile and "poof" they're almost gone again. I've told my oncologist about this, and he blames it on menopause (I was 48 when chemo put me into menopause) and I think he kinda thinks it's no big deal...and it isn't as long as they grow back! Like always, we have to rely on each other for this kind of information. The medical people tend to always say "I've never heard of that before" when you ask about your symptoms.

So, if any of you have experienced this, it will just put my mind at ease that it's one of those things that goes along with surviving...

Have a great weekend everyone.

DeeNY711

To tell you the truth, the thing that petrified me most about loss of eyebrows was a total lack of experience and talent drawing them on. JoanCrawfordEyebrowPhobia: fear of exaggerated overcompensation, was a big concern. I simply hoped that enough would remain to avoid the whole thing entirely. No such luck.

Just yesterday, I decided to haul out my Look Good/Feel Better make-up kit and do the whole 12 steps. When I got to the eyebrows, I gasped upon realizing that once again, they were so sparse as to require the dread pencil. I wondered whether I was just imagining either that they had ever returned to normal or that they were disappearing again. However, you question gave me a jolt. I really do think that they did start disappearing again.

I tend not to use the mascara too much because I'm always afraid of hitting myself in the eye with the wand brush. I thought the lashes were quite sparse when I got to that part of the list as well.

Maybe you have observed something that was so gradual and subtle that it never occured to the rest of us that this is happening. I do not like looking into the mirror carefully because I look nothing like I did before. Hair, skin, facial features, coloring, just everything is so different that even the surgeon said she did not see one single thing that would have helped her to tell it was me sitting in the waiting room. She had to ask.
Hugs,
Denise

lynne40

Hi, a few weeks back I posted the same question. Like you I asked my docs and the nurses and they supposedly hadn't heard that before!!! Whatever, just by reading these boards I discovered it was a common occurence. Mine fell out, then came back, even before my hair did, then all of a sudden, they were gone again. It does freak you out, but then they came back. How can the oncologists office bot be aware that this happens? Life is in the details we are women and feeling good about the face in the mirror is important. Like a nurse told my husband at his gym"I took care of cancer patients and thought I knew how they felt. Was I wrong!! Now that I'm going through it I realize how many emotions are wrapped up in this process, and it really does change your life"Same thing with the fuzzy face, they hadn't heard of that either! Once again these boards were a God-send I read that I wasn't a freak this was a common occurance. Hang in there! Hugs,
Lynne

PurpleTiger

My left eyebrow hairs keep falling out and growing back. My eyelashes (both eyes) are falling out more than before. I have not mentioned this to "Doc" because experience tells me the answer will be, "It has nothing to do with your cancer and/or treatment."

DeeNY711

lynne40 said:

Hi, a few weeks back I posted the same question. Like you I asked my docs and the nurses and they supposedly hadn't heard that before!!! Whatever, just by reading these boards I discovered it was a common occurence. Mine fell out, then came back, even before my hair did, then all of a sudden, they were gone again. It does freak you out, but then they came back. How can the oncologists office bot be aware that this happens? Life is in the details we are women and feeling good about the face in the mirror is important. Like a nurse told my husband at his gym"I took care of cancer patients and thought I knew how they felt. Was I wrong!! Now that I'm going through it I realize how many emotions are wrapped up in this process, and it really does change your life"Same thing with the fuzzy face, they hadn't heard of that either! Once again these boards were a God-send I read that I wasn't a freak this was a common occurance. Hang in there! Hugs,
Lynne

I'm glad you brought up the fuzzy face business again. After I read your post, I recalled looking in the mirror one day, bringing my nose right up to the glass and muttering OHHHHHH NOOOOO now what?? There was visible soft fine hair all over my cheeks and chin when the light hit it a certain way. I had to snicker at the fact that I had been bald for six months, only to have hair grow on my FACE. Then I walked away from the mirror and decided to forget about it. And I did.
Love,
Denise

blessings1020

Luckily, most of my eyebrows have grown back but I would like to tell you about something new I found to color in your eyebrows (and it does not require the artistic demeanor of using a pencil).

The product I found is called Ardell Brow Defining Powder. This comes with a small "stiff" brush that you can use to fill in and elongate the brows and, get this, you can even purchase eyebrow stencils!

I hope this helps.

Diane (now you know my name)

wingingit

This has happened to me too! I never lost my eyebrows completely during chemo and my eyelashes were very sparse and kind of stubby. Although the brows and lashes grew back in, they were not as full as I remember. Now they have begun to look sparse again. It is reassuring to hear some of you say that they do grow back in again. Revlon Browmaker (sounds similar to what Diane was describing minus the stencils), liner, and long bangs on my wig helped me look a little less scary while on chemo and now I am beginning to rely on them again. At least the bangs are my own this time! Yeah, and I definitely have the fuzzy face. Mine really has not gone away. I should quit procrastinating and go ahead and have it waxed. Ouch!

Thanks to all for sharing and letting me commiserate with you. I do think walking away from the mirror like Denise suggested is sometimes the best advice. While I was bald, I learned to not stare at my head in the mirror for more than a couple of seconds at a time. I called it my 2 second rule. It sure was a lot less stressful! I just might have to reenact that rule . . . Krista

billandpatty

Thanks everyone for replying. It's nice to hear that I'm not "the only one" to experience some of these things and that I'm not imagining it. I have the fuzzy face too!

I'm pretty new to this site, I've gotten a lot of information and inspiration from everyone. Thanks to you all.

Patty