hair growth

Sarah McD

I heard a woman talking about a topical cream (or something) she applied to her head before and during hair growth. She said it made her hair come in so full and rather quickly. She could not remember the name of it. Has anyone heard of anything or recommend any type of application to encourage hair growth?

How long after my last chemo should I expect to see growth? My lst treatment is Feb 25th. I am getting excited aout this!!

Sher43009

I'd be careful about
I'd be careful about applying anything to your scalp. It maybe sensitive to the touch. I put aloe gel on my head to keep it moisturized. I lost my hair 14 days after the first treatment so I shaved it off. It started to come back in 2 1/2 weeks after treatment ended then my head pealed and it all came out again. I stopped treatment on 10/7 and it's about 3/4" now.

TraciInLA

Which chemo cocktail are you doing?
Hi, Sarah -

I did 4 rounds of Cytoxan/Taxotere, and my oncologist specifically told me that most women on that cocktail reach "maximum hair loss" about 2 weeks after the 2nd round.

The tiny buzzed hairs I had left on my scalp stopped falling out right around my 3rd round, and my hair actually started *growing* again between rounds 3 and 4 -- not very fast, mind you, but enough to be noticeable.

I didn't look into any creams or potions to help with hair growth -- for me personally, trying to stay out of the bathroom became my highest priority during chemo, so any concerns about my hair fell to the bottom of the list! :-)

Welcome to the board -- please visit often, and ask all your questions!

Traci

LadyParvati

Info from a doctor/pharmacist
I attend a local support group called Hope Oklahoma. The couple who run it are a BC survivor and her husband, who is both a pharmacist and a dermatologist. He recommends the following:

1) Rogaine (minoxidil) 5% solution or foam twice daily. He says, "This is not a hormonal treatment. It is to help increase blood flow to the hair follicles to encourage them to become very active. The directions say not to be used by females. Apparently this is because the pharmaceutical company did not do the studies to get the FDA approval for females. However, there are no studies that show it to be unsafe for women to use the 5% solution or foam."
2) Biotin 1 mg twice daily; helps hair regrowth and general health and strength of fingernails

As I'm still in chemo, I haven't tried either of these yet, so I can't attest to their efficacy.

Good luck!

Sandy

MAJW

Hair.......
She may have been referring to Rogaine.......that's a topical cream......but personally, I don't think you'll need anything like that.....and it wouldnt' work anyway until you are finished chemo..Chemo temporarily destroys the hair follicles...I am 5 months out of chemo and have a head full of CHEMO CURLS! It's about an inch long......I love it, so easy! And I NEVER had curly hair before... I, too, started the hair loss 14 days to the day of my first infusion. I had it buzzed before my first chemo and when that started to fall out, I just shaved it off....You need to be careful when it starts to come out.......have a soft scarf type "thingy" to wear as your scalp will become very, very tender......my head actually was very sore for about a week, and then it was fine.....it's traumatic to lose your hair, no doubt about it, but know it will and does grow back! Personally, for me, it was a small price to pay.......
Best wishes

Skeezie

MAJW said:

Hair.......
She may have been referring to Rogaine.......that's a topical cream......but personally, I don't think you'll need anything like that.....and it wouldnt' work anyway until you are finished chemo..Chemo temporarily destroys the hair follicles...I am 5 months out of chemo and have a head full of CHEMO CURLS! It's about an inch long......I love it, so easy! And I NEVER had curly hair before... I, too, started the hair loss 14 days to the day of my first infusion. I had it buzzed before my first chemo and when that started to fall out, I just shaved it off....You need to be careful when it starts to come out.......have a soft scarf type "thingy" to wear as your scalp will become very, very tender......my head actually was very sore for about a week, and then it was fine.....it's traumatic to lose your hair, no doubt about it, but know it will and does grow back! Personally, for me, it was a small price to pay.......
Best wishes

Hair
It's been six weeks since my last chemo and my hair is growing back. But I expected it to all grow at once, but it's coming back here and there so I have different lengths. Some hair that was left when it was buzzed never did come out and those hairs are about an inch and a half and standing straight up. But now when I run my hand over my head I feel little fine hair instead of icky scalp.

Before bc I had fine, permed, colored hair that was a little thin right in the front. I was using Nioxin and it seemed to stop hair loss. I checked with my hairdresser to see when I should start using it again and she said absolutely no becauise I had a nasty bout with Falliculitis (spelling) during chemo. It's been healed since Nov but I still have red dots (or scars?) wherever there was the infected hair follicle. So I guess there are no quick fixes for me.

I think we should check with the onc or someone who knows about this before uising and hair growth products.

I was hoping to have enough hair about 2 inches by May so I wouldn't have to wear any head coverings when it was warm out but after reading everyone's experiences that may not happen. I'm just now losing my eyebrows and lashes!

Hugs, Judy :-)

mixtymotions

Hello Sarah
I had the good fortune of meeting some brave and interesting folks during chemo and radiation. Towards the end of my radiation treatments, I met a lovely 61 year old woman who was bringing her mother to treatment. I couldn't help but notice how beautiful her hair was and she told me that she used Ovation hair products. As soon as I got home, I searched Ovation hair (in fact, I think it's ovationhair.com) and ordered the shampoo, conditioner, and cell therapy. I want to believe my hair is coming in fuller & faster, but having never been bald before (except as a newborn!) I have no point of reference. It wasn't a huge investment and I won't be terribly disappointed if it doesn't work. Best wishes on your treatments, recovery and victory!