Shaving Facial Hair

Bill.S
Bill.S Member Posts: 177
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
Good morning ladies. I've been noticing over the past several days that when I shave, I;m not scraping off as much as I used to..... Well Saturday AM I shaved as usual and today (Sunday) my face is as smooth as a baby's butt.
Is this the beginning of loosing my hair?
I had my first chemo [taxotere, carboplatin & herceptin] on 7/14. On 7/21 just herceptin and the same tomorrow. I have my next BIG chemo 8/4.
I know that most of you ladies don't shave your faces but you have more experience with side effects than I do. HELP !!!
Bill S. 56 yr old MAN who HAD BC-- survivor !!!!!!

Comments

  • cabbott
    cabbott Member Posts: 1,039 Member
    #2
    I didn't have chemo, but I sat at a Relay for Life and listened to a woman talk who was a two year survivor. Where hair loss occurs she found to be rather individual. She figured some man who didn't like women had invented chemo, because her hair fell out almost everywhere (head including her eyelashes and eyebrows, arms, armpits, trunk, and rather discrete areas I won't bother to name normally covered by underwear). However the hair on her legs that she was SO looking forward to NOT shaving grew! So enjoy your time off from razor nicks. May not shaving be the worst problem you have! Oh, and if the hair on the top of your head goes, just know that some of us ladies just love the Yul Brenner (sp?) look!
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #3
    Hi Bill, I didn't have the same chemo as you, but I know that my hair started falling out about 3 weeks after first treatment. My body hair started to fall out a bit later than that. I hope you are doing well. Best wishes, Eileen

    Boy, you are an early riser!
  • kbc4869
    kbc4869 Member Posts: 159
    #4
    Hi Bill,

    Yup. I'd say this is the beginning. Hair loss starts occuring about 2 weeks after TX starts, so you're right on schedule.

    While I don't shave my face, this might be of interest: when my hair started growing back after chemo, I noticed that the hair on my face started growing like crazy as well. This hadn't been an issue before. I promptly had it waxed and it did go back to normal within in a couple of months. But it was like my previousy deprived hair folicles just went crazy and every where. Just something to keep in mind later on when you're done with TX and if the hair grows in thicker initially; it will probably slow down after a while.

    In the mean time, one less thing to do, ya know? I didn't miss shaving my legs a bit. And four years later, I still don't have to shave the armpit on the side where I got radiated.

    Hugs,
    Kim
  • chenheart
    chenheart Member Posts: 5,159
    #5
    Yup! Yup! Yup! This is exactly what I wish our health care professionals would tell us when they say we are going to lose our hair! For the record, with your "cocktail", which many of us also had, yes, you will lose hair anywhere ( emphasis on ANYWHERE) you have hair. You said your face is as smooth as a baby's butt? Well, lets just say, Olympic Swimmers will soon be envious of the slickness of your body! LOL

    I don't remember you saying how much hair you have on your head, btw. If you have a head-full--do yourself a favor and shave it off now! Once it starts to fall, there is nothing you can do to prevent it. And sometimes, your scalp will ache terribly...this can be instantly remedied by shaving your scalp. :-( The changes are taking place internally, so no external measures will be of use, sorry to say. But, this too is temporary and your hair will indeed grow back!
  • Bill.S
    Bill.S Member Posts: 177
    #6
    I have most of my hair on my head and also a beard with no moustach (sp)For B.O. reasons I've been shaving my arm pits for years. Onc said that IF I would loose hair it would be several months not several weeks.
    Bill S.
  • mgm42
    mgm42 Member Posts: 491 Member
    #7
    Bill.S said:

    I have most of my hair on my head and also a beard with no moustach (sp)For B.O. reasons I've been shaving my arm pits for years. Onc said that IF I would loose hair it would be several months not several weeks.
    Bill S.

    I was on cytoxan and taxotere and ALL of my hair fell out by day 14 after my first infusion. Approximately 9 weeks after my last infusion, the hair on my head started to grow back as well as the dreaded hair on my legs along with my eyebrows and lashes. So, far that's all that's grown back - and that's okay with me. Good luck, Bill. Marilynn
  • mmontero38
    mmontero38 Member Posts: 1,510
    #8
    Morning to you Bill, and just to give you my input, I lost my head hair 2 weeks after my first infusion. Luckily, I didn't loose my eyelashes or eyebrows but lost my hair everywhere else, and I do mean everywhere. So, in answer to your question, yes, I think this is the beginning of you losing your hair. And honestly, I do like the Bruce Willis look. Good luck to you Bill and keep posting. Hugs, Lili
  • seof
    seof Member Posts: 819 Member
    #9
    Bill,
    I agree that this is probably the beginning of hairloss for you. Hairloss, as with just about everything else, is a unique experience that varies with each individual. Mine started to come out after about 3 weeks and kept coming out slowly (uneven patches, not all over)till I stopped the coctail you are on. Just about the time some of the patches began to fill in, I started on a new coctail and it started coming out again, still in patches. I had cut it all off to about 1/4 in. in prep for the loss to minimize the mess and the shock. I lost hair everywhere, like some of the ladies have said. I did have a bit of itching on the scalp, no burning pain like some. I stopped all chemo Feb. 2007 and hair on legs is back to normal. Underarms and under underwear is slow (radiated area under arm is still bare). Head hair is about 1/2 in all over and back to pre-chemo color and texture (started coming in dirty-grey and baby-soft). Facial hair seems to have gone crazy...so some of us do shave our faces, like you, the hair's just not quite as dark and stiff.

    You may be able to lay down that razor all together soon. My Sister called herself "Mrs. Clean" when she was a survivor. My physique more nearly matches the Pilsbury Doughboy. I have discovered that I like hats, and will probably keep on using them, even after my hair grows back. Part of the "new me". The second part will come after reconstruction.

    Best wishes, seof
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #10
    Although I sure HATED losing my hair it was kind of nice to have something to obsess over that wasn't life threatening. I lost it all except one eyelash and three combovers on the scalp. But, with the taxol, it started growing back before my last infusion and didn't fall out again.
    And you should know that hair or no hair, you are the most handsome man around here! love, Joyce
  • Bill.S
    Bill.S Member Posts: 177
    #11
    It is official !!!! In the shower this morning I gently tugged on different areas of hair and it is all loose and comes out pretty easily. Beard, pubes, head. Guess tomorrow is a trip to the barber shop. ( they are closed Sun and Mon )...Should I opt for bikini waxing ???? or just wait for it to fall out ???
    Bill S

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