When will my hair start growing in?

My hair came in about a month later.  I had a trim about 4 months after chemo to give it some shape, although it was still pretty short then.  It often does come in curly, and I knew someone who had it come in curly and in a much darker color. The curls and the color went away for her after maybe 9 mos.  I grew mine long since I missed having it so much.  My hair was perfectly straight before but the ends were slightly curly when it came back in.  I recently (after more than 3 years) had about an inch and a half taken off, and I still have a little curl.

I've been told that the neuropathy goes away in some people and stays in others.  I still have mine almost 4 years later. It was bad at first, so bad that I fell on the edge of the blacktop driveway at a friend's house, because I couldn't feel my feet.  It got better eventually and was just numbness when I went to bed at night.  But lately, a couple of toes have had stabbing pains that come at night, so it's much worse. I don't know why.

I was told by my oncologist that accupuncture works for some people, so I tried it early on.  I went through 6 sessions and it didn't help one bit.  The accupuncturist told me that one of the spots between my big toe and second toe was the most sensitive spot of all the places to place needles during accupuncture, and it did seem that way. It was a waste of money for me.

I found out an interesting fact at one point.  If you have hypothyroidism, you might normally only have part of an eyebrow.  When mine came back in, I noticed that it didn't go all the way across.  I'd never noticed whether it was like that before or not.  I might have a few hairs on the outer parts but there is a definite difference between the two sides.

Good luck with everything. 

NoTimeForCancer said:

Can't help you on the neuropathy

but I think some of the other ladies can chime in on that as they have experienced this unfortunately

Your hair starts growing back right away, it takes time, but it won't be long before you have hair again.  I was so thrilled to get my eyelashes back!!!  I really missed them and treat them gently because I never want to lose them again.

I am glad you posted this, I would be interested to hear from all the other ladies if their hair EVER went back to the way it was before chemo or do they have new hair?

I had straight hair before chemo, and I really liked it, but my chemo ended Dec 2013 and it is still curly!  I hate my hair so much, I know, I should be happy I have hair, but I hate it. 

One more thing, how have you ladies controled this crazy curl?  I use Bed Head Control Freak but it is hard to find and would like to hear what others have used.

So happy to hear you finished the treatment!  Did you ring the bell?

My hair was only a little curly on the ends.  I had a friend whose hair came in curly and in a darker color after chemo.  Her curls went away about 9 mos. later. I still have a slight curl although I  cut most of the curl off a couple of weeks ago.

I've recently (almost 4 years out from surgery) bought a tool called the Perfector.  I saw a demo of it on TV, and there are also some demos online.  Look at the one done by the company itself, not the other user(s).  It's shaped similar to a curling iron, minus the clip, but with a round brush over the heating element.  It's ionic and instead of drying out the hair like a curling iron, it makes it more moist and shiny.  I like what it does for me.  You can comb through your hair to just straighten it, or you can pouff it up if it's short, or curl it by twisting your hair around it if it's longer. I know you won't be doing that.  You're supposed to comb through each section of hair twice slowly before you do whatever else you decide to do with it to improve the quality of your hair.  I use it every day now, as it seems to make my hair more silky.  The only drawback is the price.  It was $99.99 at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.  Fortunately, I got 20% off with one of their coupons.  Although it's pricier to start, it may save you some money over buying various products in the long run if the curls don't go away on their own. 

txtrisha55 said:

Mine started growing back in

Mine started growing back in within a month but when it got about 3 inches long it had curl to it which I now hate.  It is not much of one but it makes my hair stick out and nothing will keep it down.  Sop I keep it short.  It was long and straight before chemo now I keep it short.  I had slight neuropathy in toes and fingers that for the most part of gone away.  I am 2 1/2 years from last chemo in Aug 2012.  Hope yours goes away.  good luck.  trish

Yay, I know you are so glad to be done!  I can't answer your questions. I am just on chemo #1, but I am glad you asked this but I have been wondering as well. Looks like we're in for curly hair!

ConnieSW said:

Hair

Mine, too, started coming in after a month.  It was fuzzy at first but my beautician says that  is what it does.  She trimmed that off at 4 months and by 6 months it was the short cropped length that I decided to keep.  My texture and color didn't change.  My eyebrows came back quickly, then one mostly fell out again ( ???) then regrew.

You're right.  I'd forgotten about that fuzzy hair.  It was quite a novelty as it started to grow back in.  When I rubbed my scalp, it was almost like petting a soft stuffed animal. I couldn't stop marvelling that it was coming back.  I didn't care if it was fuzzy or not.  I was just glad to have it again. 

Isn't it odd that everybody's hair falls out at almost exactly the same time and grows back in at exactly the same time? 

However, I did suffer hair loss and my hair grew back fairly quickly. One thing I noticed, though, was that my hair has not been the same since. It used to be thick and silky and easier to manage. It came back curlier and frizzier and less manageable! I'm glad to see I'm not alone in this phenomenon, but I thought I would put it out there that you, dear abbycat2, may find that your hair has changed for the better or the worse. Let us know!