How to cope with hair loss.

grams2jc said:

It is such a personal thing
At my work up to 100 people come through every day and some have been coming in regularly for years. I had some hats ready which I found made it difficult to talk on the phone plus a wig my stylist helped me order and then colored (human hair wig) and styled to look very much like my own hair. After the 3rd person told me how sorry about my cancer they were and their kindness made me cry I ditched the hats. My wig faked them out enough that now that I am not wearing it I am getting a lot of comments on my "haircut". It was just easier for ME to not have to answer the questions and deal with the comments so I strove to look like I always had.

My son-in-law got the honors of shaving my head 3 days after my second chemo when my hair was coming out in huge handfuls, and what was left looked dull and lifeless. Not many men can say that they shaved their mother-in-laws head and lived. He was the only one of us who could do it and not cry. I used Nioxin and another salon product I can't think of the name of for thinning hair the whole time just because it made me feel like I was doing something to help my scalp, but I don't know that it really mattered, just gave me a psychological boost thinking I was doing something.

I wish you the easiest time you can possibly have coping with this.

Hang in there,

Jennifer

margz35 said:

wigs, hair, etc
Hi Clara68sam:
My hair did not fall out until half way through my chemo and when it did - wow!

I did order a wig from headcovers.com - Racquel Welch - Infatuation - awesome, and have worn it everyday since. I work in an air conditioned office and have a 5 year old so it helps all round. It is not itchy and is comfortable.

My last treatment was on July 1 and I now have a 1/2 inch stubble of brown hair coming through. While I was bald, I used a really good scalp tonic by L'oreal called Nature's Therapy Scalp Relief Leave In tonic. I purchased it at Sally's Beauty Supply and it was $8.59 I use about a nickel size amount each morning and night and it is just lovely.
I started using it in June when my hair started to fall out and I have about 1/2" left in the bottle. It smells lovely too - a cross between aloe vera / mango.
I am now using Nioxin in the morning when I shower and I am convinced this has helped my hair grow (it cleans out the hair shafts and nourishes the follicles - so they say!)
Do not use Ovation - it was a waste of money and did nothing.

Good luck on your journey and your hair will return...

Margz

Heatherbelle said:

silk head scarves
im so sorry you're having to deal with that. For me, losing my hair was the worst part of my breast cancer journey. The tingling/sore scalp only lasts for maybe a week or so, and like others have said during that time I wore a cotton sleep cap. When my hair was coming out in big clumps, I had my husband shave my head -not all the way down with a razor, but down to the stubble. I got a few wigs from a local cancer center, but honestly i didn't wear it much. My hair was gone throughout the winter, so I wore alot of cute beanie type stocking caps. My favorite head coverings were 2 silk scarves - i bought a christian dior one and a coach one (both used) off of ebay. The silk felt SO good on my head, and they had the designer logos so they made me feel stylish still. The one good thing is that your hair will start growing back in as soon as your chemo is done. Mine took about 6 weeks before I had a full covering of stubbles on my head. Hugs to you, I know just how hard that must be for you.
*hugs*
heather

skipper54 said:

Try to grin and bear it
My hair started falling out pretty early, before my second treatment. I shaved my head and word soft cotton knit wraps, sort of like a bandanna, some hats, and my wig only to chruch or special things. I continued to use my shampoo and condition on my scalp to try and keep it healthy and only covered my head when going outside the house (even just for the mail). I also used a GOOD moisturizer every morning and sometimes in the evening before bed. (I had 4 roundsd of a/c cocktail and 4 of taxotere) My hair started growing back while I was still on the Tax and by Dec. 22nd when I had my mastectomy there was enough hair to had a "dent" in it from the oxygen tube. I had it trimmed at the end of March and it has now been cut 3 times since then. I'm keeping it fairly short until the wavey stuff grows out because it's pretty hard to manage otherwise. I'll have to decide soon what to do with it because it is starting to go back to the normal poker straight hair that I've know but not always loved for over 50 years.

Hang in there, your hair will come back too. My oncologist told me hair loss was a good thing because it meant my body was receptive to the drugs and they were doing their thing.

{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}