Hair loss after 4 weeks

angg66

Hello everyone,
I've been doing chemo (Abraxane) now for 4 weeks. The oncologist told me I will probably lose my hair. Last Sunday my scalp felt sore so I made an appointment with my hairdresser to get a hair cut on Monday. Felt so much better after the haircut. But I have noticed in the last few days that my hair is falling out a lot. It is on my pillowcase, on my clothes & all over my bathroom floor. It is falling into my food when I am eating! So in the last week I have gone from having a full head of very thick hair to a thin layer. I don't want to shave it yet but having hair everywhere is starting to annoy me. I had a good sook about this. I'm not a vain person but losing my hair will ensure everyone knows I'm sick. I hate breast cancer!!!! Ange 

Zoffiel

Yep. It is a shit of a disease.

LMK74

Hair loss started after third treatment with abraxane for me. I shaved it off as I couldn't stand the hair over everything. I didn't mind being bald at all and saw it as something different to experience. I'm coming up seven weeks post chemo and have stubble growing. I couldn't care less what people thought of the bald look.

Afraser

I was on a different therapy but lost my hair two weeks after starting. Like you my hair felt awful (looked OK) before it started falling and my scalp hurt. I got it cut but really short - number 3 clippers - so that I only had to deal with very small bits of hair falling. I slept with a soft cotton cap and literally emptied it out in the morning. Everyone has different ways of dealing with the temporary baldness. I didn't want to be instantly identified by cancer at work (my staff and colleagues all knew but I meet lots of other people) so I wore a wig. I found a good supplier, and a light, easy to manage synthetic wig looked good and made me feel normal. Others don't like them and prefer scarves or to go natural. Often a mixture is a good idea (wigs for some occasions, scarves for others etc). My hair started regrowing while I was still having chemo treatment. Best wishes.

angg66

Thank you ladies for your coomnts. After a weekend of having hair fall out everywhere I've had enough. I've decided tomorrow is the day to cut it very short. I think I will do what you did @Afraser & get a number 3. I took your advice and wore a cotton cap in bed. It was a lot better. There is a wig shop near me so I think i need to visit there tomorrow.
Ange xxx

Afraser

Good luck. Only thing to remember if you are looking at a synthetic wig is when they say don't open an oven wearing it, they mean it! Sudden burst of heat can frizzle the fibres. Otherwise I found mine really good. 

primek

I got it cut to a number 2 as I couldn't handle it falling out. I still wore a cap when cooking though ...didn't want whisker like hair appearing in my cooking.

angg66

I got my husband to cut it off today - he used a number 2. I feel so much better now. But my head is cold! So I'm still wearing a beanie even in the house. The kids reactions were interesting. My 10 year old daughter was very matter of fact about it but my 7 year old son was taken aback a little at first. Luckily he is fine now. He was rubbing my scalp by the end of the night.

Thanks for the advice @Afraser about synthetic wigs. I had an image of my wig going up in flames when I opened the oven. I'm sure the kids would find this amusing... 

The things we do when we have BC...
Ange 

Afraser

Nothing so dramatic, it just looks as if someone has glued all your hair together in a messy bundle. My nearest and dearest attempted to convince me that no-one would notice (no, he is not a style guru!). Just had to buy a new one

jena

Hi @angg66. I soon started loosing my hair also once I started chemo.  Like Primek, I went for the No2 cut as soon as it started falling out.  It's less distressing than dealing with clumps of hair. 

My partner very lovingly cut it for me and has kept me looking neat ever nice.  No stray fluffy bits on my scalp.  

I cried and cried when it first started falling out this time round, not because of vanity.  I wear my hair pretty short anyway.  I cried because I felt marked -  'the cancer patient'.  

As I have always worn hats with short hair, I guess the bald scalp is not blindingly obvious.  I wear hats and caps rather than a wig.  

Did you know that you can borrow wigs?  Contact your local breast care nurse and ask her.  In 2014 I went along to a 'look good feel good' session.  I had to be talked into it because I thought I'd be the only woman there who didn't wear makeup. There were 3 of us and we giggled like kids - I made a good friend that day & I t turned out to be a fun morning. The ladies who ran the session had some sample wigs to try on from the Grafton wig library.  If I remember correctly you can borrow the wigs for free.  If they have a wig library in Grafton, I'm sure there will be one near you somewhere.  

Embrace your new sharp look   If a wig is your thing, be sure to get one that looks great   Why not also lash out and  buy yourself a number of cool hats and caps for summer 

I wish you all the very best care. May your treatment regime be easy on you and outstandingly successful   

angg66

Hi @jena. Thanks for your response. I am going to a Look good feel better session next Monday. I'm like you I don't usually wear makeup unless it is a special occasion like a wedding. I'm not that good at applying makeup either. But I'm looking forward to having some fun. I went shopping yesterday & bought some beanies & scarves to wear too. Goid luck with your treatment xxx Ange 

Unicornkisses

I found the thing I used most from the LGFB workshop was how to draw on eyebrows and do eyeliner so it looked as though I had eyelashes.
I lost all my eyebrows and eyelashes, as well as all my hair.
Just putting on eyebrows and eyeliner and a dash of lipstick made all the difference.

It was a very enjoyable day with lovely supportive people.

melclarity

@angg66 yes it's underestimated how cold your head gets, I did chemo from Aug-Dec so it was really cool at night. I wore Beanies always at home and different types to bed, mainly polar fleece for bed, worked the best. I've always been into makeup LOL, but learnt the hard way when my eyelashes fell out and I was getting ready to go to an infusion. The week before I put on falsies to look "ok" for me. Ummm nope they actually won't go on or is very difficult without eyelashes to rest on. Pffft...had a MAJOR meltdown, my teenage kids have never seen anything like it. It was because the whole thing was out of my control and I was so upset and angry...good news is though, I wear eye liner on the top lids and when I put it on, you  cannot tell you don't have eye lashes so was a massive trick to have learned  

viking1

@angg66 I appreciate and empathise with your distress...we are all so different re hair. Nearly on my third round of chemo now and still have some spikes after a number one shave. You kept yours for a long time, my hair was falling out in clumps after 14 days! I still wash my spikes with QV Ego shampoo. It came in a pack with the dry skin soap free body wash as a freebie! God's little joke! I recommend both for stopping dry skin. The shampoo is free of nasties and helps with the mild skin shedding I'm getting up top. If my scalp got very flaky I'd try something else like Caroline's Cream...you can google it if you get flakes. Or something else ... chemist has heaps of natural products for bub's heads or people with other head problems. Moogoo is one I think but my dad uses Caroline's cream on his bald head for flakes and it covers a wealth of probs.  I must add that I do love my spikes! I feel so liberated and love showering and washing them.  This is from someone who hates short hair on herself and my hair was below my shoulders before chemo. Then I bobbed it, then went to a super hairdresser in Perth and had a number two. She washed it and more fell out so we did the number one. I took a cake along and had a coffee to celebrate this next step in style!  Now I find I have become a beanie fanatic.  It is a good excuses to buy berets, beanies etc! And I never wore hats in my life! I also got a voucher of $160.00 from the hospital/gov to spend at the Wig library which also covers turbans, scarves etc. You should be able to get this too. I am going to go for cotton turbans etc in Summer as at the moment I have my beanie on, do some exercise, sweat, take it off, then back on again! My head is having menopause! So remember that in summer you may want something cooler. At night I wear one as find my head is cold.  Best of luck, and I promise you that further down the line you are going to think that your hair was the last of your probs ... not that I expect you to have probs but your whole life and diet and self care changes so much ... plus constant appointments ... that you will forget your hair and probably be focusing on something like gastro-intestinal health and the immune system ... my hobby horse at present. Sorry this is long! Best of luck!

Hello5678

Hi @viking1 could you tell me how you got your $160 voucher from the hospital/govt? I’ve had one session of AC chemo and gearing up for number 2 next week. From what various posts/discussions have said, I’m anticipating my hair will start falling out in the next couple of weeks (I give it a tug every morning to check!) and have had a pixie cut so it’s not so noticeable to start with. Thanks. 

viking1

@Hello5678 Hi, I got my voucher from my Breast Nurse.  I imagine the system is the same in each state? I'm in WA.  Good luck with your chemo.  I started radiation yesterday.  Don't be surprised if your head gets really sore when your hair falls out.  I found in summer the boho beanies in bamboo are nice and cool.  My hair has grown to about 2cm now.  It is a pit patchy but at least it's growing. My eyebrows and eyelashes were the last to go and eyebrows just starting to come back. My hair isn't coming back curly sadly! Very gray and dark, my natural dark. I am thinking I will only use non permanent rinses now ... or when it gets longer...try some pastel colours maybe! I bought some sparkles for when it's longer and a spray glitter.  When I get home I take my beanie off...it's just too hot here to keep it on! I don't think I could be bothered with a wig heat wise. I am loving being able to wash my hair daily ... 1min!  Have a successful chemo...I think you just need to do baby steps and you will get through.  Be kind to yourself.  I did online shopping to stay away from germs. xxx thinking of you