Where's my hair?????

2Floridiansisters said:

Yes...me

You're not going to want to hear this but it might never be what it once was and that's the truth. Doing chemo is going to change your hair. Mine is extremely thin on the top now. I used to have enough hair for 3 people, today I barely have enough hair for myself. My hair used to be wavy, real wavy but not curly. Today my hair is as straight as a ruler. Nothing like it once was. Some people eventually get hair that is exactly like it once was. Some people even get thicker hair. Lucky them. It's a roll of the dice. It is what it is. I have tried many products, many vitamins to restore my once pretty hair...nothing has helped. It's thin, it's straight now and it's what I have to show for doing chemo.  

I finished chemo in August of 2010. 

coco2008 said:

Ouch!

Not exactly what I wanted to hear, but thanks for your honesty.  I  prefer truth over pipe dreams any  way.  Plus you've probably saved me a lot of money on useless products.  Thanks.

Except mine does not cover my head.  I look like an 80-year-old man whose job is crypt keeper.  Coco2008, I hope you see continued growth and filling in.  It's only been 5 months, so I hope patience will serve you well.  For some folks it just takes longer than others. 

I finished chemo in September 2010 - Taxotere and Cytoxin.  Permanent hair loss is a known side effect of Taxotere.  No one complains unless they end up really bald.  I did.  Hope it doesn't happen to you.  I now wear wigs.  I did not wear wigs during chemo, but what little hair I have is really hideous.

Suzanne 

coco2008 said:

Chemo ended Aug 2013

It's been a year and a half.  The front started looking a bit better.  You can still see half way to the back of my head, but you used to be able to see the crown from the front.  I went to the hair dresser to find a good style (wigs are hot and move around and I look goofy in hats).  She cut my hair and I was pleased with the result.  She then handed me a mirror to check the back.  I stopped breathing for a bit.  All I saw was literally the back of my head all the way to the crown.  Big bald spots and where there is hair it looks like a very bad comb over and a fringe along the bottom.  I had no idea, but it sure explained why my head is always cold.

I was also on Taxotere and Cytoxin and am now taking Arimidex.  Sounds like my only hope is a magic marker.  My eyebrows are also mostly gone.  Just a patch on the inner aspect of each brow.  But the hair on my legs came back like gang busters.  Maybe I should look into a hair transplant????

Sandy

Oh, dear, I thought your chemo ended in 2014.  You might want to visit this website http://aheadofourtime.org/ and think about joining the support group Taxotears.  I belong.  We are not alone and peeps have many different solutions they've learned to live with.  You might be a good candidate for a hairpiece.  Hair transplant?  Well, you have to have enough hair to transplant.  I don't. 

Eyebrows - I have permanent makeup.  Eyelashes - I did wear extensions, but have permanent eyeliner and with about 5 tubes of mascara, lashes are ok.  I can't even feel my lashes, they're so puny.  I got over the wigs are hot and slip thing, and simply shaved my head.  Wigs are not hot, it's the hair smooshed under them that makes them hot.   I have great wigs and my own hair never looked this good (and it never will).  I know 2 women personally who are using a bonded system (think Hair Club for Men) and they love them and they look very natural.  It's an expensive option, but they're younger women and out and about and in the public more than me.  I get many compliments on my "hair". 

I switched from Arimidex to Tamoxifen in an attempt to see if the Arimidex was contributing to my hair loss.  It can.  But I'm still follicularly challenged.  I may have some more hair than I did on Arimidex, but it's still not enough to cover my head. 

Have you tried Minoxidil?  My dermatologist suggested I give it a try and I did - for 6 months.  Faithfully.  Didn't help me, but it might help you.  She suggested I use the extra strength men's version (5%).  I did.  You can purchase it anywhere without a prescription. 

Good luck, Sandy.   I'm probably still not over living this way and I probably never will be, but I have found a solution that works for me most of the time.  Right now I'm sitting at my computer wearing a scarf.  Some days (in the house) I wear a hat.  I also wear a ballcap to the gym to exercise.  But when I'm "fixed up", it's time for the wigs.  Sort of fun to be able to change styles and colors on a whim, actually.  But I'd still rather have my hair.

Suzanne 

I finished chemo (ACT) in July 2012.  My hair did grow back, but it is not the same.  Not sure if it ever will be.  I used to have thick, coarse hair with a bit of a natural wave.  I didn't have to do anything to it, as I kept it relatively short.

Now my hair is soft (fine) and generally straight.  I am still trying to get used to it.

My hair grew back fairly evenly.  My head was covered well enough that by the end of September 2012, I quit wearing hats/wig when I was out and about.  I think I had my first bit of a trim around Thanksgiving and again near Christmas.  I forget when it was I went back to my usual hair cutter.  She has noticed the difference, and we have been trying to figure out what works, as my former style just doesn't.

I can go longer between cuts, not that my hair grows more slowly.  It's just the way it lies.  It is more manageable for a longer period of time.

The pictures are my pre-chemo (l) and post-chemo (r) hair.  (Don't ask me why I have these pictures..... I have an odd sense of humor at times.)

coco2008 said:

WOW!

Sounds like after chemo you grew someone else's hair.  I wonder who got yours. 

The joke with my siblings is that I went from having Willard Hair (my father) to having Mildred Hair (my mother).

Bottom line is that I am glad that I have hair!  

My hairline and the rear left side of my head wont grow longer than an inch while the rest grows rapidly. Different color and texture than it was before. Its lighter and much softer now. Eyebrows and lashes are barely visible. I had ACT and radiation in 2010. now am on Tamoxifen 10mgs.

Im struggling with it also as the career and business image and my current looks dont match. It is a battle for self-acceptance & self-esteem. My mouth was also in bad shape, lost my teeth so now as someone else said I very much feel like a little old man when I look in the mirror without all the fake stuff attached.

Best of luck with learning ways to deal with it. For me when Im feeling bad I try to list the things that went well and that I can be thankful for (ie lumpectomy but still have pretty decent boobs, skin healed well etc), I sometimes give myself a reality check and read what some other people are going through (then I usually feel like a selfish superficial jerk for caring so much about my looks when ppl are out there fighting just to get to where I am). Outside of that I rely on my support network of friends & family that constantly remind me that I am beautiful, strong, a princess, a warrior and I kicked Cancers butt! So yeah I have a few battle wounds etc but its ok.

God Bless

SAvent said:

Yes

My hairline and the rear left side of my head wont grow longer than an inch while the rest grows rapidly. Different color and texture than it was before. Its lighter and much softer now. Eyebrows and lashes are barely visible. I had ACT and radiation in 2010. now am on Tamoxifen 10mgs.

Im struggling with it also as the career and business image and my current looks dont match. It is a battle for self-acceptance & self-esteem. My mouth was also in bad shape, lost my teeth so now as someone else said I very much feel like a little old man when I look in the mirror without all the fake stuff attached.

Best of luck with learning ways to deal with it. For me when Im feeling bad I try to list the things that went well and that I can be thankful for (ie lumpectomy but still have pretty decent boobs, skin healed well etc), I sometimes give myself a reality check and read what some other people are going through (then I usually feel like a selfish superficial jerk for caring so much about my looks when ppl are out there fighting just to get to where I am). Outside of that I rely on my support network of friends & family that constantly remind me that I am beautiful, strong, a princess, a warrior and I kicked Cancers butt! So yeah I have a few battle wounds etc but its ok.

God Bless

My hair came in curly and its now wavy, it is thin but it always was. I have male pattern baldness on the upper sides it gets vcovered with special bang cutting by my hairdresser. It does grow in unevenly, and my hair took a long time. much longer than most people