Is radiation related hair loss permanent?

ian1511
ian1511 Member Posts: 42
in Head and Neck Cancer #1
I lost 2 weird looking semicircle patches of hair at the base of my neck. May have been related to that plastic molding my neck sat on during radiation. Now have very fine hair, perhaps 1/16" in those areas. Also, my facial hair is for the most part gone.

I'm sure others here have lost hair due to radiation. Does it ever grow back? Is there anything that can be done except for starting a new funky hair style?

Thanks,

Darren

Comments

  • Jamie_Ann
    Jamie_Ann Member Posts: 35
    #2
    I have lost the hair off the
    I have lost the hair off the back of neck quite a ways up the hairline and was wondering the same thing!! If my hair is down it's not so noticable but if I put it up, it looks weird.
  • Daddisgrl
    Daddisgrl Member Posts: 116
    #3
    My hub is 1 1/2 years out;
    My hub is 1 1/2 years out; so far; no, some of it has not grown back.
    Where his is bad is the back; bottom right of his hairline at the neck; I normally cut the left side to match it since it's a good inch or 2 chunk. He also lost the beard hair on his right jaw line & throat; that hasn't grown back either.

    There were other parts that thinned that did grow back.
  • sweetblood22
    sweetblood22 Member Posts: 3,228
    #4
    Jamie_Ann said:

    I have lost the hair off the
    I have lost the hair off the back of neck quite a ways up the hairline and was wondering the same thing!! If my hair is down it's not so noticable but if I put it up, it looks weird.

    I lost everything from the
    I lost everything from the tops of my ears down. Bald from there down. Then the rest of it got extremely thin and straggly when I got down to 87 lbs. It did grow back after a few months. It grew back very kinky, wiry, curly and hard to control. So once I had some hair back there, I got a pixie cut. Super short. Then I kept it that way until now. I had noticed not so long ago that she wasn't shaving my neck area after cutting my hair. I stuck my hand back there and realized it's because the lower part on my neck has not grown back, which is ok. Thank God the rest grew back. I am trying to let it grow out again. We will see if I can manage it, since half of it is out of control. There is a clear line of demarkation from the radiation part and the non rads part.

    Everytime I try and flat iron my hair I burn myself with my stupid left arm that is spastic from the neck dissection. It doesn't do what I want it to. It will probably grow back. I was so upset when it started falling out in clumps. No one told me I would lose my hair and I had just grown it out the way I wanted and it was so pretty. Glad I'm here to try it again, I suppose. Lol
  • RushFan
    RushFan Member Posts: 224
    #5
    Same here...
    I'm almost 14 months post treatment...

    The semicircles have grown back for the most part but the hair remains a bit thin and the line is a little higher than before. My facial hair became very patchy at the end of treatments, but is mostly back to normal...I'm back to shaving every day.

    My facial hair under my chin and jawline did not come back.

    Best to you Darren and all here.
    Chuck
  • SASH
    SASH Member Posts: 421 Member
    #6
    I was lied to
    My Rad Onc told me I would never have to shave again. While the hair is thinner and takes longer to grow, it does. Now I have to shave 1 or 2 times a week. There are areas that are thicker than others all depending on where they radiated. It is an interesting conversation starter. Every year it seems to get a little thicker and thicker.
  • hawk711
    hawk711 Member Posts: 566
    #7
    SASH said:

    I was lied to
    My Rad Onc told me I would never have to shave again. While the hair is thinner and takes longer to grow, it does. Now I have to shave 1 or 2 times a week. There are areas that are thicker than others all depending on where they radiated. It is an interesting conversation starter. Every year it seems to get a little thicker and thicker.

    HI Darren
    Darren
    like you, I had a triangle in the back of my head that was gone. It did come back after about 6 months I think. My facial hair is gone. I used to grow a mustache and goatee, but not any more.
    I only shave my upper lip now and once a week my neck. It seems that rads kill cancer and also facial hair,lol. Like sash, it does grow back but very slowly it seems. I am 14 months post treatment.
    good luck
    Steve
  • adventurebob
    adventurebob Member Posts: 691
    #8
    Not for me
    I got all of it back except for where they radiated my chest. It did come back much darker but after a few haircuts is back to normal. It took a couple months though.

    Bob
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    #9
    New Funky Hairstyle...
    More than likely that's in your future....unless your are like me and just wear it short and tapered....but then again, I was in the Marine Corps for several years.....

    I'm just used to going in and saying, "Cut it til it bleeds..."

    Two years post rads, it hasn't grown back.

    Best,
    John
  • timreichhart
    timreichhart Member Posts: 194
    #10
    Skiffin16 said:

    New Funky Hairstyle...
    More than likely that's in your future....unless your are like me and just wear it short and tapered....but then again, I was in the Marine Corps for several years.....

    I'm just used to going in and saying, "Cut it til it bleeds..."

    Two years post rads, it hasn't grown back.

    Best,
    John

    about hair loss
    when I was going through my radiation treatment for my NPC I lost all my facial hair and my hair in the back did get very thin. Now I am almost 10months post treatments I was able to regrow my facial hair back and now I just have a small spot on the back of my head is completely gone its width of a green bean that is how small of the spot is here.
  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #11
    timreichhart said:

    about hair loss
    when I was going through my radiation treatment for my NPC I lost all my facial hair and my hair in the back did get very thin. Now I am almost 10months post treatments I was able to regrow my facial hair back and now I just have a small spot on the back of my head is completely gone its width of a green bean that is how small of the spot is here.

    Hi Darren

    On my first rad treatment I was able to grow about 90% of my hair back on the second only about 40% but hell like the wife said I still look good to her and that is all that matters.

    Take care
    Hondo
  • Jimbo55
    Jimbo55 Member Posts: 590 Member
    #12
    Hair Loss/Regrowth
    Darren, I had similar hair loss. I didn't have to shave my neck and only the rest of my face on occasion, back of the head above the neck line was very thin and hairless in spots (so my giggling wife told me). !0 months out and am back to shaving same as before treatment and also it has grown in back of my head. So there is hope for you. Cheers

    Jimbo
  • ian1511
    ian1511 Member Posts: 42
    #13
    Jimbo55 said:

    Hair Loss/Regrowth
    Darren, I had similar hair loss. I didn't have to shave my neck and only the rest of my face on occasion, back of the head above the neck line was very thin and hairless in spots (so my giggling wife told me). !0 months out and am back to shaving same as before treatment and also it has grown in back of my head. So there is hope for you. Cheers

    Jimbo

    There Goes My Business Plan
    It sounds like the majority of you who responded did get some or reasonable hair regrowth. Darn it;) I was goinng to start a new business: Funky Haircuts, but I can see my VCs jumping ship based on the positive responses here! BTW, congrats to you for either getting hair back or being loved, "Just the way you are!" Darren
  • Kent Cass
    Kent Cass Member Posts: 1,898 Member
    #14
    ian1511 said:

    There Goes My Business Plan
    It sounds like the majority of you who responded did get some or reasonable hair regrowth. Darn it;) I was goinng to start a new business: Funky Haircuts, but I can see my VCs jumping ship based on the positive responses here! BTW, congrats to you for either getting hair back or being loved, "Just the way you are!" Darren

    Darren
    You still have the bottom of the back hairline to get creative with, and make your fortune. Two years out, and no improvement there for me. Has nothing to do with age and general baldness- I blame the rads.

    kcass
  • Dav1965
    Dav1965 Member Posts: 132
    #15
    Kent Cass said:

    Darren
    You still have the bottom of the back hairline to get creative with, and make your fortune. Two years out, and no improvement there for me. Has nothing to do with age and general baldness- I blame the rads.

    kcass

    Hair
    I had a beard every since i got out of the military always kept short. About a 3 day old beard. Now i have only one spot about a half inch wide on both jaws. Nothing on my neck either. Its been 10 months since radiation for me.
  • palmyrafan
    palmyrafan Member Posts: 396
    #16
    Radiation and Hair
    My hair came out sporadically during 30 sessions of radiation treatment. No rhyme or reason to where or how it fell out.

    I gave up trying to keep the baby-fine hair looking good so I went and had it cut pixie style (which for me was hard). Once I had my hair cut short, the hair that did fall out was less noticeable.

    My hair took about 3 months to grow back. It came back the same way it left. Baby-fine and sporadically. It also did something else strange. My hair now grows forward on my head. Drives my hairstylists nuts!!!

    Blessings.

    Teresa
  • KDDavis
    KDDavis Member Posts: 34
    #17
    Hair Loss
    Darren,

    I finished my last rad treatment on May 27th. It's so funny because now I really don't have to shave the right side of my face anymore! If I go without shaving for 4 or 5 days I really look off balance. I don't know if it'll come back or not but I guess that if I ever get to tackle one of the things on my bucket list (thru hiking the Appalachian Trail) I'll have to either shave regularly or look a little odd.

    I hope and pray that everyone out there fighting this disease is keeping their chins up. Like I read on one thread -- Never ever give up!
  • Pam M
    Pam M Member Posts: 2,196
    #18
    Sometimes It Comes Back
    Mine didn't - my doc told me it wouldn't. I'M 15 months post rads. My bald patch is bigger than I expected it to be (across the back, about mid-ear height down, with a few stragglers). I keep my hair short now(for a woman), but let the back grow longer to cover the bald spot. Ah well - I can think of much worse things to have than a bald patch.

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