Hair color

Boppy_of_6

I know I have seen this on here before.I looked some but did not find anything to recent. When is it ok to color hair after chemo? I am 8 1/2 months out of chemo. My hair is almost the same color as before and I always had highlights. I was thinking of going lighter all over and was not sure when it was safe. Thanks. God Bless
(((hugs))) Janice

disneyfan2008

I did not do chemo
JUST wanted to happy you hair is back...!

I am sure you'll get much advice here...

joannstar

An opportunity
Hi Janice.
I'm 2 months out of chemo and my hair is growing back mostly salt and pepper. I've died my hair for 40 years and decided that I'd take this opportunity to go "natural".
I'm surprised by the comments that I get--people seem to love the whitish grey color and the short "cut". (I'm practicing saying thank you instead of "just been through chemo and the short, white, grey hair is not my choice".) My friends say how much my skin tone is complemented by the "new" color. Having been a blond for 5 years and a redhead for 35 before, it is taking some getting used to for me. My husband doesn't care and somehow I feel that it is safer and definitely cheaper to go without blond highlights and base color.
I hope someone can answer your question.
Hugs,
JoAnn

Boppy_of_6

joannstar said:

An opportunity
Hi Janice.
I'm 2 months out of chemo and my hair is growing back mostly salt and pepper. I've died my hair for 40 years and decided that I'd take this opportunity to go "natural".
I'm surprised by the comments that I get--people seem to love the whitish grey color and the short "cut". (I'm practicing saying thank you instead of "just been through chemo and the short, white, grey hair is not my choice".) My friends say how much my skin tone is complemented by the "new" color. Having been a blond for 5 years and a redhead for 35 before, it is taking some getting used to for me. My husband doesn't care and somehow I feel that it is safer and definitely cheaper to go without blond highlights and base color.
I hope someone can answer your question.
Hugs,
JoAnn

Thank You
Thank you both for your comments. Joann your hair sounds beautiful! I was hoping mine would come back gray but it did not, it did come back really curly though. I too get comments on my hair and I like it, I was just thinking of a change from my normal sorta blah brown! God Bless
(((hugs))) Janice

TraciInLA

Boppy_of_6 said:

Thank You
Thank you both for your comments. Joann your hair sounds beautiful! I was hoping mine would come back gray but it did not, it did come back really curly though. I too get comments on my hair and I like it, I was just thinking of a change from my normal sorta blah brown! God Bless
(((hugs))) Janice

Similar situation, Janice
Janice, my hair also came back only about a shade or two darker than before -- definitely a "blah brown" -- and I also had always had highlights, and really missed them.

My stylist did little mini-highlights for me the hot second it was barely long enough for her to comb the color through it, about 3-4 months after I finished chemo. I had read in my ACS materials that the reason they say it isn't "safe" to color your hair for 6 months is that your "new" hair is fragile, and coloring it could cause it to fall out again. My thought was heck -- been there, done that, if that's the worst that could happen, bring on the highlights!

And I'll tell you, it was the best boost to my exhausted, battered, post-treatment self-esteem that I could have given myself. It really felt great to look in the mirror and finally see someone who looked more like "me" again.

Traci

jessiesmom1

Hair color after chemo
That was one of the many questions on my list when I went to the oncologist last Friday. It has been 7 months since my last chemo. He said there is no reason I cannot color my hair. My health is good. My blood counts are normal. It was his feeling that there are no reliable studies that indicate that hair color is harmful to cancer survivors. I just have to have enough hair to make it worthwhile. Pretty soon I think. Yay.

sweetvickid

Like Joann
Like Joann I had no idea what my true haircolor was. Was always changing the color when I got bored. LOL I am 55 and it has come back in salt and pepper, predominately salt. I have gotten so many compliments on it that I am going to keep it. The funny thing is I have not gotten use to it but when I put a wig on, that was an exact color and hairstyle match before chemo, it looks strange too! Guess I just got way to comfortable with the bald head. LOL

NJMom10

So glad you asked this
I'm only 6 wks out of chemo and my hair is growing back salt and pepper. I've also been coloring it for about 10 years and I was pretty sure it was going to come in grey. I'm sure some highlights wouldn't hurt you. All over color probably should wait for the 6 month point though. Personally I can't wait. Good Luck!

Lynn Smith

NJMom10 said:

So glad you asked this
I'm only 6 wks out of chemo and my hair is growing back salt and pepper. I've also been coloring it for about 10 years and I was pretty sure it was going to come in grey. I'm sure some highlights wouldn't hurt you. All over color probably should wait for the 6 month point though. Personally I can't wait. Good Luck!

hair changes
I didn't have chemo but friends did.Their hair came back curly, darker and some salt and pepper.My hair has only been colored 2 times in my life.Didn't look good plus I have fine thin hair.

My hair is thinning slightly now with Tamoxifin but Color hasn't changed for years.I am 64 and my hair is a light brown with tints of grey(very little) and can barely see the grey.

I wondered if my hair would have been curly if I had chemo.I have to roll it everyday.I hate that. Happy I didn't need it but did wonder when I heard about my dx if I would need chemo and lose my hair.

Lynn Smith

TraciInLA

Lynn Smith said:

hair changes
I didn't have chemo but friends did.Their hair came back curly, darker and some salt and pepper.My hair has only been colored 2 times in my life.Didn't look good plus I have fine thin hair.

My hair is thinning slightly now with Tamoxifin but Color hasn't changed for years.I am 64 and my hair is a light brown with tints of grey(very little) and can barely see the grey.

I wondered if my hair would have been curly if I had chemo.I have to roll it everyday.I hate that. Happy I didn't need it but did wonder when I heard about my dx if I would need chemo and lose my hair.

Lynn Smith

Can't count on it, Lynn
My hair has always been stick-straight, and I was SO looking forward to getting some "chemo curl" when my hair grew back after chemo....at least one little perk for everything I went through!

Not one curl anywhere on my head. Not one little wave, not even a bend. Same stick-straight hair I've always had.

I tried to blame my oncologist, but he played the "Killing Cancer Cells Is More Important Than Curly Hair" card. I just can't understand where his priorities are....:-)

Traci

linpsu

hair
My hair came in white and curly (was reddish-brown and highlighted and just slightly wavy for many years before) and I decided the white did not look good with my fair complexion. So I got it colored and highlighted about 6 months after chemo when it was long enough, and I love it. However, the curliness is starting to straighten out, and I was wondering if that is normal? I loved the style with the curls and now I hate to lose them. At what point does the straightness/curliness work itself out and stay whichever way it's going to stay?

missingtexas

I once read to wait 3
I once read to wait 3 months...I waited about 4. My hair was ash blonde (and really long). It came in kind of an ash brown...I dyed it dark brown. People don't even recognize me.

Boppy_of_6

missingtexas said:

I once read to wait 3
I once read to wait 3 months...I waited about 4. My hair was ash blonde (and really long). It came in kind of an ash brown...I dyed it dark brown. People don't even recognize me.

Thank you all!
Thank you all so much for your help and advice. I had a little body in my hair before but it has been really curly . I have noticed linpsu that mine does seem to be getting a little straighter too. The curls have been so easy a little gel and I am good to go so I kinda hate to think of loosing them all. I think I am ready for a different color and look. I have only colored my hair once but have had highlights for years. Again thank you all and best of luck with your hair. God Bless
(((hugs))) Janice

Brooklynchele

Great question
I'm glad you asked. I had not even thought that there might be a reason not dye my hair because none of my docs ever told me I couldn't. My last chemo was at the end of September and I was planning on talking to my stylist this coming weekend. My hair was stick straight and black before chemo but it's grown back medium brown with some silver-gray and curly. I guess I'm different than most ladies because I hate the curls...I have never had curly hair and have no idea what to do with it! It just curls straight up. I was hoping my old stylist (haven't seen her in a year obviously) could suggest something that I could use to get the curls to behave.

missingtexas

Brooklynchele said:

Great question
I'm glad you asked. I had not even thought that there might be a reason not dye my hair because none of my docs ever told me I couldn't. My last chemo was at the end of September and I was planning on talking to my stylist this coming weekend. My hair was stick straight and black before chemo but it's grown back medium brown with some silver-gray and curly. I guess I'm different than most ladies because I hate the curls...I have never had curly hair and have no idea what to do with it! It just curls straight up. I was hoping my old stylist (haven't seen her in a year obviously) could suggest something that I could use to get the curls to behave.

Brooklynchele...I'm in the
Brooklynchele...I'm in the same boat...my hair was so straight and I don't know what to do with these curls!!!!!!!

Gabe N Abby Mom

Brooklynchele said:

Great question
I'm glad you asked. I had not even thought that there might be a reason not dye my hair because none of my docs ever told me I couldn't. My last chemo was at the end of September and I was planning on talking to my stylist this coming weekend. My hair was stick straight and black before chemo but it's grown back medium brown with some silver-gray and curly. I guess I'm different than most ladies because I hate the curls...I have never had curly hair and have no idea what to do with it! It just curls straight up. I was hoping my old stylist (haven't seen her in a year obviously) could suggest something that I could use to get the curls to behave.

Look for a book called Curly
Look for a book called Curly Girls. It's all about how to care for curly/wavy hair. I found it for my daughter, and she's been following 'the curly girl method' for about three weeks now. She's always worn it back in a pony tail, because we both found her hair very challenging. She used to want me to do it all the time, now she won't let me touch it because she likes Curly Girls so much. Now she's wearing it loose most of the time, loving it, and getting lots of great comments about it.

I'm using it on my 1/4 inch hair, in case it curls.

Hugs,

Linda

Kat11

Gabe N Abby Mom said:

Look for a book called Curly
Look for a book called Curly Girls. It's all about how to care for curly/wavy hair. I found it for my daughter, and she's been following 'the curly girl method' for about three weeks now. She's always worn it back in a pony tail, because we both found her hair very challenging. She used to want me to do it all the time, now she won't let me touch it because she likes Curly Girls so much. Now she's wearing it loose most of the time, loving it, and getting lots of great comments about it.

I'm using it on my 1/4 inch hair, in case it curls.

Hugs,

Linda

I colored my hair when I had
I colored my hair when I had enough hair to color. I took very good care of what little hair I had before I did this. When my hair first started coming in I used only cond on it.I did not use shampoo until I had enough hair for that. I don't know if all this really helped or not, but my hair dresser said my hair is in good shape. I also dye it myself.
Kathy ~

Reikigemgirl

My hair came back in pure grey.....
I had dyed it red for years and when it grew back in grey, it just didn't look good with my coloring. So, as soon as I had a small amount of hair, I dyed it again and have been ever since. The pure grey made me look to old.

Love and Light,
Vicki

DianeBC

joannstar said:

An opportunity
Hi Janice.
I'm 2 months out of chemo and my hair is growing back mostly salt and pepper. I've died my hair for 40 years and decided that I'd take this opportunity to go "natural".
I'm surprised by the comments that I get--people seem to love the whitish grey color and the short "cut". (I'm practicing saying thank you instead of "just been through chemo and the short, white, grey hair is not my choice".) My friends say how much my skin tone is complemented by the "new" color. Having been a blond for 5 years and a redhead for 35 before, it is taking some getting used to for me. My husband doesn't care and somehow I feel that it is safer and definitely cheaper to go without blond highlights and base color.
I hope someone can answer your question.
Hugs,
JoAnn

You will look beautiful
You will look beautiful Janice no matter what color of hair you have!

Boppy_of_6

DianeBC said:

You will look beautiful
You will look beautiful Janice no matter what color of hair you have!

Thank you!!
That is so very sweet Diane!! I think I am just ready for something new. I made an appt. with my hairdresser for next Wed. I will let you know how it turns out! God Bless
(((hugs))) Janice

Double Whammy

Reikigemgirl said:

My hair came back in pure grey.....
I had dyed it red for years and when it grew back in grey, it just didn't look good with my coloring. So, as soon as I had a small amount of hair, I dyed it again and have been ever since. The pure grey made me look to old.

Love and Light,
Vicki

Hair color
I had finally reached the point where all the color had been cut off my hair and was merrily adjusting to being gray when I got my diagnosis. Recently, I've been thinking I might color it again (if I ever get enough!). But then - I pulled up a picture of me that is about 3 years old and the last picture I had taken the day we buzzed my hair. I think I actually look better with gray than with colored and highlighted hair. And the most important thing I noticed is I did not look any younger with my hair colored - I looked the same age - just with a different color of hair! I've aged considerably these past 9 months, so coloring my hair at this point would probably make me look like a silly old lady trying to look young. I'm sure I'll look frumpy until it gets cut in a style, but it is what it is and I've got my mojo back anyway!

Suzanne