hair

Hi Ladies

I know just what you mean regarding the CURLS.....I had natural curly hair before chemo. my niece who is a hairdresser came and shaved it off for me after my first round of chemo.  I just didn't wont the falling out all over the place thing happening, It is now 1 year since I finished my treatment and just today I rang my niece and asked her about some colour.  I hardly had any grey hairs before B/C but it has grown back curly and very salt and pepper with pure white at the side, I am keeping it really short and find it so much easier to look after especially with my very hot flushes I can go and wet my head to cool down.  Anyway I have booked in to have some foils put through it in a couple of weeks as I feel the salt and pepper makes me look rather dowdy...plus I think I need a bit of a lift and hoping this will help. You know if your hair looks good you feel good...Inga

Hi Ladies

I know just what you mean regarding the CURLS.....I had natural curly hair before chemo. my niece who is a hairdresser came and shaved it off for me after my first round of chemo.  I just didn't wont the falling out all over the place thing happening, It is now 1 year since I finished my treatment and just today I rang my niece and asked her about some colour.  I hardly had any grey hairs before B/C but it has grown back curly and very salt and pepper with pure white at the side, I am keeping it really short and find it so much easier to look after especially with my very hot flushes I can go and wet my head to cool down.  Anyway I have booked in to have some foils put through it in a couple of weeks as I feel the salt and pepper makes me look rather dowdy...plus I think I need a bit of a lift and hoping this will help. You know if your hair looks good you feel good...Inga

I have always had long hair - wavy but not curly.  It was my "trademark".  The thought of losing it the first time I had bc was horrendous.  I was only 50 and was not married to my partner then.  My daughters begged me to have chemo - they would buy me the best wig ever!!!.  Anyway the odds weren't enough for me to have chemo and I didn't medically need it so I kept my hair.  This time I "lined up" for chemo without a second throught.  I amazed myself at how calm I was about losing my hair.  My elder daughter bought me a lovely "ear length" wig which was lovely. (I had gradually cut my hair to this length prior to radiation)  When I tarted chemo (yes I had radiation first) my husband shaved my head.  I really embraced the baldness even though it was a bit scary walking passed the mirror.  I spent a fortune on hat, berets etc and "decorated them with lovely bands etc.  I was noted for my headwear.  Do you look good in hats??  Whilst on the cruise, you could wear a hat all day and no one would know the difference.  At night you could wear a nice wide band and decorate it up with clips etc.  Have fun with it.  If your hair is long enough, there is no reason you can't get a colour.  There are plenty of organic products out there.  I have been colouring my hair for so long I am not sure if there were more greys or not.  My husband wants my hair to grow a lot longer but I like it short now and so do all my family and friends.  Gosh it is so much easier and so much less expensive to look after as well.  When I told my husband that I wanted to have a haircut, he asked how much it would cost.  How would I know?  Never had to get a short haircut for about 35 years!!!!  Thoroughly enjoy your holiday - you deserve it. Don't forget to tell us all about it. XLeonie

Now my hair has grown back it is almost all white feels soft and fleecy and curly.

I havent heard when you can or whether you cannot colour it. I figure do what feels right for you - we have been through enough. Personally at this stage I am over all the hospital trips after just having finished 6 weeks of radiation, so no interest in starting a ritual of hairdresser trips. apart from the ludicrous cost. So I will not be putting any colour in (chemical or organic). Being summer and having hot flushes I think I will keep it short so now I am due for a cut. Clippers and number 4 I think.

We are all so different - so I say you decide =)

All the very best. Maria333

HI ladies

I was distressed about my hair also. After much testing, research and chatting to others, my hairdresser used foils so that the colour never actually touched my scalp. She put heaps and heaps of really fine ones in and the hair dye was encapsulated within the foil package. She used three different colours to cover/enhance the grey - light blonde, gold and caramel. (I was naturally 'dirty blonde' before I began messing with it!)

It looked SOOO good that I now have the same treatment all the time. I don't get that straight line of contrast when it grows out - and around the ears that is a very good thing. My hair is almost white there.

Each treatment she concentrates most foils on a different area, eg around the sides, around the crown, at the nape. It has been the best transition from permanently dyed hair to (in time) natural looking aging.  People tell me how 'well' I look - so it must be working! :)

Good luck with the new look!

Jenny

HI LEONIE, MY HAIR HAS BEEN GROWING SINCE AROUND OCTOBER AFTER I FINISHED 3 ROUNDS OF FEC. THE OTHER 3 ROUNDS DIDNT EFFECT MY HAIR.IT IS GREY, THICK AND CURLY. I HAD CURLY HAIR BEFORE CHEMO AND HATED IT. I DIDNT SHAVE MY HEAD BEFORE CHEMO MY DAUGHTER CUT IT REALLY SHORT AND IT JUST FELL OUT IN THE SHOWER. I HATE BEING GREY I WEAR MY WIG STILL UNTIL IT GROWS AND I CAN PUT A GOOD COLOUR IN IT. I HAVE NEVER HAD REALLY SHORT HAIR BEFORE. HOW ABOUT YOU DID YOU HAVE CURLY HAIR AND DO YOU THINK THE GREY IS MORE THAN NORMAL. GOOD TO HEAR FROM YOU LEONIE. MY HUSBAND AND I ARE GOING ON A CRUISE TO THE SOUTH PACIFIC ON THE 22JANUARY FOR 12DAYS LEAVING SYDNEY. I AM FROM ADELAIDE.  THE HAIR THING IS WORRING ME.  XXXX JENNY.

Just had another thought.  My first lot of regrowth was total white fluff.  I was advised to shave this off  as it is so full of chemicals. iI made my new hair come through really thick and healthy.  I am about to have my first haircut as my curls are so thick and unruly.  This is seven months after chemo.  I am hoping that the curl might ping off a bit once I have the cut. XLeonie

I hadn't read about any time restrictions until after I'd already done it. I had mine done using a natural organic dye at my hairdressers two months after finishing chemo. My hairdresser did the research and found one without ammonia. No ill effects and at least I wasn't an ugly salt and pepper grey.

I never had any trouble with my scalp throughout chemo, in contrast to others on this forum. I wonder was this because I had my head shaved the day before I started chemo, while I was still healthy, so there was nothing there to eventually fall out. 

With love

Joy K

Hi, I use no ammonia hair colour now, colour..mid brown.

It seems to last, and is not too harsh on my hair. In the not too distant future, I plan to let hair be white and wear bright colours.

All the best, Kathy.