How long did it take for your hair to totally fall out?

cindycflynn
cindycflynn Member Posts: 1,132 Member
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
I started chemo on 12/16, and by 12/30 my hair was coming out in handfuls. I decided to have it buzzed to about 1/16" on New Years Day, and expected to be totally bald shortly thereafter.

Well, although I still have what seems like a ton of little short hairs falling off of my scalp every day, I STILL have stubble on my head. I did shave my legs last Saturday as the hair there was also thinning but not totally gone, and so far the hair doesn't seem to be growing back there.

I'm thinking of just going ahead and shaving off what's left of my stubble because it's kind of irritating under my hats and scarves.

Any stories or advise you have about this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Cindy

Comments

  • Cat64
    Cat64 Member Posts: 1,192
    #2
    SisC
    Hello,
    So sorry to hear you have reached this part of treatment. During my journey of hair loss, I never quite lost it to complete baldness. Once it came out drastically, I had it shaved. Then I started using the lint roller thereafter as it still seemed to be "loosening". I was left with patches of baldness & stubble. I would say it is up to you whether or not you want to shave it down to "baldness". I preferred to hang onto whatever I could. I still had to shave my legs because there was a rough sort of feeling there and when I did they were smooth for awhile. Believe it or not, here I am 3 months post-Chemo and it is still the same effect. I'll take that! No hurry on going back to full shaving!
    ♥ SisCat
  • Mama G
    Mama G Member Posts: 762
    #3
    Cat64 said:

    SisC
    Hello,
    So sorry to hear you have reached this part of treatment. During my journey of hair loss, I never quite lost it to complete baldness. Once it came out drastically, I had it shaved. Then I started using the lint roller thereafter as it still seemed to be "loosening". I was left with patches of baldness & stubble. I would say it is up to you whether or not you want to shave it down to "baldness". I preferred to hang onto whatever I could. I still had to shave my legs because there was a rough sort of feeling there and when I did they were smooth for awhile. Believe it or not, here I am 3 months post-Chemo and it is still the same effect. I'll take that! No hurry on going back to full shaving!
    ♥ SisCat

    I never shaved mine
    Kind of felt like the ones that were strong enough to survive needed to be left. They finally all fell out when the new ones pushed them out of the way. My onc said she liked the idea of having a little cushion between your head and the wig.
  • shortscake
    shortscake Member Posts: 228
    #4
    mine
    Mine started coming out in handfuls so i just wanted to have some kind of control i just went and had it buzz.
  • Skeezie
    Skeezie Member Posts: 586 Member
    #5
    shortscake said:

    mine
    Mine started coming out in handfuls so i just wanted to have some kind of control i just went and had it buzz.

    Cindy don't shave it!
    I had mine buzzed and what was left on my head mostly stayed. I feel any hair that's left should be left alone. I'm finished with chemo (Dec 11) and now that hair is over half inch long (a few are about 1 1/2 in. and are sticking up, looks kind cool)and it's a thrill to feel it and be able to see it. Other new hair has startded to grow but is barely there. If you still have hair you can use a lint roller to take away the loose hairs but maybe some may stay. Give it a shot. Any hair is good hair! lol

    Hugs, Judy :-)
  • Sam726
    Sam726 Member Posts: 233
    #6
    Skeezie said:

    Cindy don't shave it!
    I had mine buzzed and what was left on my head mostly stayed. I feel any hair that's left should be left alone. I'm finished with chemo (Dec 11) and now that hair is over half inch long (a few are about 1 1/2 in. and are sticking up, looks kind cool)and it's a thrill to feel it and be able to see it. Other new hair has startded to grow but is barely there. If you still have hair you can use a lint roller to take away the loose hairs but maybe some may stay. Give it a shot. Any hair is good hair! lol

    Hugs, Judy :-)

    All mine didnt fall
    I buzzed mine but didnt totally shave..it never all fell out, it thinned a lot so I had to buzz it or it would have looked terrible. If it is uncomfortable, take a shower and wash with a moisturizing shampoo..I think that helps. Scrub and more will fall out....then put lotion on head when done. Hope this helps..
  • Eil4186
    Eil4186 Member Posts: 949
    #7
    My hair started falling out
    My hair started falling out just before my 2nd treatment (3 weeks). It came out slowly though with hair all over the house. I was constantly swiffering, vacuuming, and shaking things out. Finally I could not take it anymore and we shaved my head.
  • TLynn0102
    TLynn0102 Member Posts: 86
    #8
    Eil4186 said:

    My hair started falling out
    My hair started falling out just before my 2nd treatment (3 weeks). It came out slowly though with hair all over the house. I was constantly swiffering, vacuuming, and shaking things out. Finally I could not take it anymore and we shaved my head.

    3rd Treatment
    Mine came out after the third treatment. Had the hubby give me a buzz cut which he thought was just wrong in itself, but after the first swipe he was okay with it because I was laughing. Didn't want to make things worse. About a week later it came out in the shower, in clumps and for some reason it hurt. My oncologist could not explain that. I used a really good conditioner on the little I had left throughout the treatment and it kept my scalp nice and I did not experience any problems. My aunt did not have any of her hair fall out during chemo, guess I didn't get that gene! The best was when it started to grow back, it felt like a baby's hair all soft and smooth.
  • Rague
    Rague Member Posts: 3,653 Member
    #9
    Mine started coming out in
    Mine started coming out in clumps/handfulls about day 12 and by day 16 there were probably only about 300 hairs left so Son used the clippers on it for me. That was on A/C. Then when I started Taxol after surgery about 2/3 of what was left came out so there is stil a few of the short hairs left after 11 doses of Taxol (last one next Thursday). About 1/2 of eyebrows and lashes came out on A/C and the rest left on Taxol. All other hair was gone on A/C.
  • cindycflynn
    cindycflynn Member Posts: 1,132 Member
    #10
    Thanks for all your replies!
    I have been shampooing it and trying to shake out as much as I can each day, but now it's just in that in-between stage where it looks really ugly without anything on my head - spotty and scraggly, plus it's just uncomfortable when anything touches the hair that still is there.

    Half of me feels like it will just feel and look better if I shave it, and half of me feels like I may regret it because my head will not have any protection and I'll just be stuck with a totally bare head until my hair starts growing back in.

    I guess I'll hang in as long as I can stand it, but I may just get frustrated and decide to be done with it.

    I haven't actually minded the hair falling out as much as I thought I would. I'm kind of OK with how I look without any hair, but I don't like the scraggly look - I feel like it makes me look sick, which I don't like, plus I don't like the fact that my hair still hurts to touch. I'm used to my hair being nice and soft and now it just feels like a sparse, short scrub brush.

    I really appreciate everyone sharing your input and stories. Glad to know I'm not alone in this adventure!

    Cindy
  • MyTurnNow
    MyTurnNow Member Posts: 2,686 Member
    #11
    cindycflynn said:

    Thanks for all your replies!
    I have been shampooing it and trying to shake out as much as I can each day, but now it's just in that in-between stage where it looks really ugly without anything on my head - spotty and scraggly, plus it's just uncomfortable when anything touches the hair that still is there.

    Half of me feels like it will just feel and look better if I shave it, and half of me feels like I may regret it because my head will not have any protection and I'll just be stuck with a totally bare head until my hair starts growing back in.

    I guess I'll hang in as long as I can stand it, but I may just get frustrated and decide to be done with it.

    I haven't actually minded the hair falling out as much as I thought I would. I'm kind of OK with how I look without any hair, but I don't like the scraggly look - I feel like it makes me look sick, which I don't like, plus I don't like the fact that my hair still hurts to touch. I'm used to my hair being nice and soft and now it just feels like a sparse, short scrub brush.

    I really appreciate everyone sharing your input and stories. Glad to know I'm not alone in this adventure!

    Cindy

    Cindy, you are on the same
    Cindy, you are on the same chemo cocktail I was on and my hair loss was almost identical to yours. What I did when it got to the scraggly look was to buzz it all again. At least then it was all the same length. I have been done with chemo since 10/15 and my hair is coming back in nicely. It's about 3/4 of an inch long. I still wear my scarves to work but go without when I'm home. That's really nothing new, I've done that the entire time. I guess the bottom line is to do whatever is most comfortable to you. Best of luck!!
  • jnl
    jnl Member Posts: 3,869 Member
    #12
    cindycflynn said:

    Thanks for all your replies!
    I have been shampooing it and trying to shake out as much as I can each day, but now it's just in that in-between stage where it looks really ugly without anything on my head - spotty and scraggly, plus it's just uncomfortable when anything touches the hair that still is there.

    Half of me feels like it will just feel and look better if I shave it, and half of me feels like I may regret it because my head will not have any protection and I'll just be stuck with a totally bare head until my hair starts growing back in.

    I guess I'll hang in as long as I can stand it, but I may just get frustrated and decide to be done with it.

    I haven't actually minded the hair falling out as much as I thought I would. I'm kind of OK with how I look without any hair, but I don't like the scraggly look - I feel like it makes me look sick, which I don't like, plus I don't like the fact that my hair still hurts to touch. I'm used to my hair being nice and soft and now it just feels like a sparse, short scrub brush.

    I really appreciate everyone sharing your input and stories. Glad to know I'm not alone in this adventure!

    Cindy

    You are never alone Cindy.
    You are never alone Cindy. You always have us!

    Hugs, Leeza

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