Forum Discussion
Eyelashes/brows going, going .....
My eyes have been really sensitive for a few days now which I was hoping was just a reaction to the cold, windy conditions. BUT on closer inspection I am pretty sure that I am losing my eyelashes. My lids are very red and there are definitely less and less hairs there. Everytime I touch my irritated eyes I come away with a few hairs!
Having got through 4 of 6 chemos I was hoping that I was going to escape with eyelashes and brows intact but maybe not. I know this is really minor in the scheme of things but I think this is actually worse than losing the hair on my head because it is not so easy to cover! My eyes are very sensitive at the best of times and I can't imagine putting make-up on to help with the naked eye look. I guess the soreness will settle and maybe I will be able to do it then. I did go to a LGFB workshop so I know what to do. I have never worn much make-up so this will be a bit of something different for me.
The eyebrows are definitely looking on the thin side too!
Oh well, after landing in hospital with neutropenia this week I might just go into hibernation for the next few weeks until I get through that last Chemo.
Can anyone tell me how long it takes for eyebrows/lashes to grow again after chemo finishes?
Sorry to be going on about a minor issue but sometimes it helps to know how long you have to expect to have these side effects.
Deanne xxx
22 Replies
PS I had about 10 strands still standing on my head that did not fall out and continued to grow through chemo. They each had a name :-) And I loved them for not deserting me.
xo
Ah yes, viva la difference on this one between us all! I can report that I was deluded about not having lost my eyelashes and eyebrows on four rounds of AC until my hubby and one of my besties gently pointed out that they were thinner. And yep, on close examination I had mere teeny hair stumps here and there on my eyes, when I'd had very long and thick eyelashes. The eyebrows never recovered from the 80s, and were even thinner.
I don't know when it happend (I only had my last round early March) but by early June I noticed my eyelashes were back with a vengeance, the head on my head had grown back enough to be full coverage and just look like a pixie cut (there went the wig at last yay), and in the past 8 weeks the hair on my head has grown back apace. seriously thick and currently looking decidedly boofy and in need of another hair cut!
My underarm hair took ages to grow back (yay), my leg hairs never fully fell out (typical) and the first thing back? My pubic hair.
Who would have thought hair in the one person could all have such different rates of fall out and growth. The legs killed me. I'd shave the day of chemo and go that's it, won't need to do that again for ages..and well I was still doing it round 4!
Hope yours have a quick growth spurt too (eyebrows and lashes not leg hair!) and that the chemo route gets a little easier for your with every round.
take care.
x
Ah yes, viva la difference on this one between us all! I can report that I was deluded about not having lost my eyelashes and eyebrows on four rounds of AC until my hubby and one of my besties gently pointed out that they were thinner. And yep, on close examination I had mere teeny hair stumps here and there on my eyes, when I'd had very long and thick eyelashes. The eyebrows never recovered from the 80s, and were even thinner.
I don't know when it happend (I only had my last round early March) but by early June I noticed my eyelashes were back with a vengeance, the head on my head had grown back enough to be full coverage and just look like a pixie cut (there went the wig at last yay), and in the past 8 weeks the hair on my head has grown back apace. seriously thick and currently looking decidedly boofy and in need of another hair cut!
My underarm hair took ages to grow back (yay), my leg hairs never fully fell out (typical) and the first thing back? My pubic hair.
Who would have thought hair in the one person could all have such different rates of fall out and growth. The legs killed me. I'd shave the day of chemo and go that's it, won't need to do that again for ages..and well I was still doing it round 4!
Hope yours have a quick growth spurt too (eyebrows and lashes not leg hair!) and that the chemo route gets a little easier for your with every round.
take care.
x
Hey Deanne
Definitely get yourself to the LGFB class and do the works and you will come away feeling like a new women. It is such an uplifting day. I am sure you will luv it.
My hair started to grow back around the time of my last chemo. I have a good head of hair now and have to get it cut regularly. I really luv'd the pixie look as it was growing back but don't seem to be able to get that look back any more.
My eyebrows are a bit thinner than before but I have never had a lot of eyebrows and I don't have to pluck them anymore so that is a bonus. A bit of eyebrow pencil is great and i can shape them to whatever I want.
My eyelashes are back and as thick if not thicker than before.
I did take silica (spelling??) during chemo so not sure if that helped. It is expensive but I felt it was worth it at the time.
No it is not a minor issue as your eyebrows frame your face so you are allowed to be concerned about it.
Enjoy your LGFB class kiddo. You will learn lots.
Lots of love, Mich xoxo
- My oncologist was surprised I lost my eyelashes while on the 4 AC i also lost arm hair when on the 4 taxol. Eyebrows and eyelashes grew back. Although my mo came back even quicker and bushier. I no longer need to pluck my eyebrows - they just grew back "ready plucked". Since chemo pit me through menopause at 50, i guess that explains the mo. my head hair which always was fine and slow growing now 7 years on still is fine and even more slow growing and will never be long again. So much so that the oncologist remarked during my Herceptin treatment, that he had never had a patient with such slow growing head hair! I am rather pleased that my once bushy black arms remain hairless. Ditto for under left arm which Also doesn't need deodorant. Downside is that also has lymphoedema. Each of us is different and things that seem so important become less so when we see others with worse side effects or complications than ourselves. Try to take one day at a time and remember to focus on the hill on the horizon of when all treatment is finally over. Then the rollercoaster ride of diagnosis, treatment issues will be in the past and you can see your new normal
- My oncologist was surprised I lost my eyelashes while on the 4 AC i also lost arm hair when on the 4 taxol. Eyebrows and eyelashes grew back. Although my mo came back even quicker and bushier. I no longer need to pluck my eyebrows - they just grew back "ready plucked". Since chemo pit me through menopause at 50, i guess that explains the mo. my head hair which always was fine and slow growing now 7 years on still is fine and even more slow growing and will never be long again. So much so that the oncologist remarked during my Herceptin treatment, that he had never had a patient with such slow growing head hair! I am rather pleased that my once bushy black arms remain hairless. Ditto for under left arm which Also doesn't need deodorant. Downside is that also has lymphoedema. Each of us is different and things that seem so important become less so when we see others with worse side effects or complications than ourselves. Try to take one day at a time and remember to focus on the hill on the horizon of when all treatment is finally over. Then the rollercoaster ride of diagnosis, treatment issues will be in the past and you can see your new normal
- Hi Deanne Losing your eyebrows and eyelashes is not a minor thing at all. I really struggled with that, more so than losing my head hair. And it happened to me twice!! Lost it all after 4 rounds of FEC, then it all grew back through rads, then all fell out again through taxol. My hair grows really quickly but eyelashes seem to have a mind of their own. Only really back to semi normal now 12 months on. Losing your eyebrows & eyelashes, to me, really screamed to the world "I have cancer" and I really hated that. So my advice is if you're good at pencilling eyebrows than do it everyday to feel good. I really sucked at that so I didn't bother. Wear lots of eyeliner once your eyes settle down, and always wear sunglasses.. Keeps any irritants out that previously were stopped by lashes.. They will grow back. Kat xx
- Hi Deanne Losing your eyebrows and eyelashes is not a minor thing at all. I really struggled with that, more so than losing my head hair. And it happened to me twice!! Lost it all after 4 rounds of FEC, then it all grew back through rads, then all fell out again through taxol. My hair grows really quickly but eyelashes seem to have a mind of their own. Only really back to semi normal now 12 months on. Losing your eyebrows & eyelashes, to me, really screamed to the world "I have cancer" and I really hated that. So my advice is if you're good at pencilling eyebrows than do it everyday to feel good. I really sucked at that so I didn't bother. Wear lots of eyeliner once your eyes settle down, and always wear sunglasses.. Keeps any irritants out that previously were stopped by lashes.. They will grow back. Kat xx
Sorry to hear you've been in hospital.I did the 4 day isolation gig with my first chemo round - not fun at all.My eyelashes/eyebrows fell out,grew back tnen fell out again! So it seemed ages before they came back and it was about 6mths for my head hair to get to a buzz cut-definitely a long haul for me.Even 3 years on,my eyelashes are just stubble but my eyebrows are ok,just never have to pluck em.I hope you are one of the lucky ones who can grow hair quickly. And it is not a minor issue cos you have to get around still looking like a"cancer patient"for ages,long after treatment has finished.I had my first short hair cut,colour and style about 8 months after chemo and I had my brows and lashes back a few months before that. Look on me as your worst/slowest case scenario and you'll be pleasantly surprised if you get it all back sooner! Tonya xx
Hi Deanne, sounds like you've been having a rough time of it lately. I was just like you, thought I was going to escape losing lashes/brows, but then they dropped. And like you I found it unsettling not just in terms of appearance but as a functional problem, especially in cold weather. My eyes would stream, my nose would run (no nostril hairs, I guess--who knew they did so much work?). As you say, it's minor in the scheme of things, but still...
To the point: everyone's different (la la la, I got a bit tired of hearing that, even though it is true). For me the regrowth on my head was really quick (my hair started growing back even before I'd finished chemo -- 8 rounds); but agonisingly slow for eyelashes. Seriously, I reckon they're about nearly normal just now, and I finished chemo 18 months ago. So you could be in for a long haul. I did the false eyelashes thing just once, for a party, and it looked great. Apart from that I just told myself it's a 'look' like any other, and just tried to wear it well. (I'm pretty delusional to start with, so that worked ok for me.) Other times I thought, well I've exchanged hair loss (etc. etc.) for my life, and that helped me maintain perspective.
Go well,
Heather
