Hair Loss

Derbygirl
Derbygirl Member Posts: 198
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
On day 14 hair started to fall out. Seems to be falling out from the bottom and not so much from the top. My hair dresser said it usually takes 24 to 72 hours to lose most hair. I have a wig and hat, but I'm not ready to shave head. What is your experience with timing of hair loss?

Comments

  • babebussie
    babebussie Member Posts: 150
    #2
    Hair*****
    With me i shaved my hair off before it started to fall out because it's more traumatizing to watch your hair fall out in clumps and patches than it is to just go ahead and cut it off. Hell it's only hair. You said you have a wig, well, i suggest you put that thing on girl and feel good doing it. Hell if all i had to worry about was my hair then i'd be doing pretty damn good. Your hair will grow back in time so dont worry about that. I have about 20 wigs, all lenghts and colors. My hair has started to grow back a little bit but i love the wigs. I can be a different women every day with a different look. My husband loves it and my co-workers look forward to seeing me every morning cause they like to see what color and style i'll be wearing.
    Be good to yourself and make this process easy. Shave your hair so you wont be sad watching it fall out.

    Hugs and luv,
    Babe
  • Joycelouise
    Joycelouise Member Posts: 482
    #3
    babebussie said:

    Hair*****
    With me i shaved my hair off before it started to fall out because it's more traumatizing to watch your hair fall out in clumps and patches than it is to just go ahead and cut it off. Hell it's only hair. You said you have a wig, well, i suggest you put that thing on girl and feel good doing it. Hell if all i had to worry about was my hair then i'd be doing pretty damn good. Your hair will grow back in time so dont worry about that. I have about 20 wigs, all lenghts and colors. My hair has started to grow back a little bit but i love the wigs. I can be a different women every day with a different look. My husband loves it and my co-workers look forward to seeing me every morning cause they like to see what color and style i'll be wearing.
    Be good to yourself and make this process easy. Shave your hair so you wont be sad watching it fall out.

    Hugs and luv,
    Babe

    Babe, I like to tune into
    Babe, I like to tune into your replies when I see them because you make me feel so good. I want to say it too. The hell with my hair and all of it! Wahoo...I am going to go have a good day. love ya, Joyce
  • mgm42
    mgm42 Member Posts: 491 Member
    #4
    Are we sisters?
    Boy, we became neutrapenic on the 10th day and we started losing our hair on the 14th day. However, on day 15, I asked my husband to buy an electric clippers and to shave my head for me. So, on day 15, I started wearing my caps, scarves and wigs. Truth be told, my head was cold once my hair was gone. But, I heard Robin Robertson on Good Morning America say that she was sorry that she hadn't shaved her head from the beginning. She believed it would have been less traumatic for her than watching it come out in clumps, day by day. So, I followed her suggestion. It wasn't bad at all. It's been almost five months since my last chemo and I went to the Hair Salon today to get the nape of my neck trimmed and a little trim around my ears. I have a short pixie and am glad to be able to go without any head covering. I really didn't like wearing my wigs, even though they were cute. And, I kind of like my new hairdo. Hugs, Marilynn
  • NorcalJ
    NorcalJ Member Posts: 187
    #5
    Hair or no hair
    Everyone told me my head would be less sensitive (tender) after I shaved it---and guess what? They were right! I have a wig but don't wear it---too hot already with hot flashes, and now the hot weather. I wear scarves and occassional hats. Like Babe says, hair is the least of my problems. If you do shave it, have your hairdresser use electric razors ("shears" sound like something you do to sheep), and don't use a safety razor afterwards to make it real smooth because if you get knicked, you can get an infection. My hair is brown and after I got it shaved, it was close enough that I really don't see any stubble or 5 o'clock shadow.
    Bottom line---do what feels right for you!
  • base61ball
    base61ball Member Posts: 125
    #6
    Go for it
    I shaved my head as soon as it started falling out - it was something I had control of and by golly there aren't too many of those for the next few months - just having to do what you are told.

    Finally going to one of the feel good look better classes from ACS on Monday - they show you how to tie scarves etc and you can try all kinds of stuff on.

    I have two wigs and a kerchief - prefer the kerchief when I go out - wigs are hot hot hot for me in summer weather. I like them a lot tho - can change color, style whatever just like the ladies said.

    Its different for everyone - when you are ready you will know it. Hang in there.
  • Derbygirl
    Derbygirl Member Posts: 198
    #7
    base61ball said:

    Go for it
    I shaved my head as soon as it started falling out - it was something I had control of and by golly there aren't too many of those for the next few months - just having to do what you are told.

    Finally going to one of the feel good look better classes from ACS on Monday - they show you how to tie scarves etc and you can try all kinds of stuff on.

    I have two wigs and a kerchief - prefer the kerchief when I go out - wigs are hot hot hot for me in summer weather. I like them a lot tho - can change color, style whatever just like the ladies said.

    Its different for everyone - when you are ready you will know it. Hang in there.

    Hair is history
    I could no longer stand hair dropping on clothes and itchy on my neck so I went to my hairdresser yesterday (9/13) and she shaved my head. She's one of the Look Good Feel Great certified people and she's been helping me through this process for a couple of weeks with wig selection, haircuts and now shaving. Thank goodness for her! Left her shop with a wig on and continued a normal day. Didn't sleep well because scalp or turban was bothering me. Hairdresser recommended a massaging oil by Neutrogena. Any other suggestions? Thanks for your replies - they pushed me over the edge to do the best thing!
  • sylva
    sylva Member Posts: 80
    #8
    Good for you!!
    Congrats to you, you took control!!! That was my feeling when my hair started to fall. I couldn't control the hair falling, but I could control WHEN it was going to fall. I also went to a Look good feel better session, and is a BLESSING FROM THE SKY. I like to use wigs when I go out, and scarves and hats inside the house or in the backyard and when I walk the dog. The hair is growing now, it started before the last chemo treatment, and is being growing strong.
    The hair is important for us, but the most important is to do what keeps us alive!! And it will grow. Hugs to you.
  • chenheart
    chenheart Member Posts: 5,159
    #9
    Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow
    All of our experiences are very much the same~ time-table included. I realized ( sadly) that the chemo destroys from the Inside Out, so no amount of TLC will stop the progression once it starts. And, many of us, myself included, had such tender scalps during the intial hair loss. Marilyn descibed it aptly in another posting as the feeling of wearing a tight pony tail for too many hours, and the ache our scalp has when we FINALLY take it out! As soon as you shave :-( your head, the ache disappears.

    As for not being ready to shave your head...who is? It is not a fashion statement, a militant stance against the war, a signal that we are Olympic swimmers, a socio-economic identifier, a gender-bending announcement, or any of the myriad reasons we might personally CHOSE to shave our heads~ in this case it is a public announcement that we are battling CANCER! As altruistic as many of us have become, it is one of the most difficult parts of the journey. Though our hair does grow back, and we will rejoice with you in that as well, this part is not the easiest.

    Oh...and in case you don't know, ANYPLACE you now have hair, and yes! I mean anyplace~ you won't. I never put that 2 and 2 together, and wow! was I ever suprised!

    We are with you, sister!

    Hugs,
    Claudia
  • ladybug22
    ladybug22 Member Posts: 646
    #10
    i went i n bathroom one day
    i went i n bathroom one day and shaved my head my self.It came back and i love my heir. when i was home i didnt wear a wig. they are hot. derbgirl where u come up with that name.
  • kew
    kew Member Posts: 24
    #11
    More of the same
    I had my hairdresser come to my house on day 10 after my first chemo. The thought of being in the shower and bringing my hand away from my head with clumps of hair on it made me physically ill!

    I dreaded shaving it so much, but actually felt just relief when it was over. It was one thing I had control over.

    My husband says he can't remember what I looked like with hair and he was so sweet about kissing my little bald head and rubbing it in the evenings. I never got that enamored of it, but just had to rest in the fact that it will grow back.

    Scarves were so much more comfortable ethan wigs. I hit the menopause wall 2 weeks after chemo started and have had many, many hot flashes. Wigs are so hot and itchy. I made myself 7 of them and bought probably as many. There are websites that teach you to tie them creatively.

    I'm 2-1/2 months post chemo and have probably 3/4 inch of hair. This last week I made the step and gave up my scarves. And the response from others has been so nice.

    You'll get through this. It'll take about as long as a pregnancy for all the treatments. A year from now it should be just a memory in your rearview mirror.
  • Derbygirl
    Derbygirl Member Posts: 198
    #12
    ladybug22 said:

    i went i n bathroom one day
    i went i n bathroom one day and shaved my head my self.It came back and i love my heir. when i was home i didnt wear a wig. they are hot. derbgirl where u come up with that name.

    Name
    Kentucky Derby is one of my favorite places to visit each year on the first Saturday in May...thus the name Derbygirl.
  • jamiesue1
    jamiesue1 Member Posts: 21
    #13
    hair loss
    I was told my hair would start falling out 14 days after my first chemo session. I decided to have a HAIR TODAY, GONE TOMORROW party with 14 girlfiends. We shaved my head but not till after we tried different looks like mohawks, etc. I did this because I didn't want to find clumps in my bed every morning. I hate the feel of wigs so I wear turbans or nothing. I'm told I have a perfectly shaped head. Yeah!
  • Huguette
    Huguette Member Posts: 1
    #14
    hair loss
    Well today was the day I went bald! The hair was coming out in huge clumps so I had my husband shave it all and I took pictures with my new wig, with a sleeping cap, wihtout hair (and one without hair and without TEETH (I would scare away the Halloween spirit) which I sent to all my family and friends!! lol I think the hair loss is all in the attitude! I will have fun with this for sure and will await anxiously to see what happens when it grows back. I had beautiful silver hair and hope to get back the same but will enjoy whatever comes along. I rather be bald than dead any day! Good luck to you.

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