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KylieG's avatar
KylieG
Member
6 years ago

How long does hair take to fall out?

I'm on my second round of chemo and my hair has started falling out- but just bits and pieces.  In the mean time it looks terrible and I can't style it because my scalp hurts.  I cut it into a short pixie to make the falling out process less awful but now it's all flat and weird looking so I'm keeping it covered.  There is hair all over the place but it's still not falling out full-scale.  I don't feel like I'd be able to shave it either as my scalp feels too sensitive.  What did you ladies do?  (I'm attaching a picture of my recent pixie cut.  I can't get it to look like that now because every time I try moving my hair it hurts and I get a handful of hair, now it looks all squashed and patchy.  Also I don't look as chirpy as that at the moment, my neck has gone kind of fat too).)
  • I actually laid in the bath, and let my wet hand move through my hair and let the hair fall into the water.  I did not have a sore scalp at all.  
  • I did exactly what you did but in the end I got my son to shave my head and my scalp stopped hurting. I did it just before the second round. ( 3 weekly) then I wore turbans and beanies ( winter).
  • I have a wig but leaning towards scarfs for some reason.  I guess cause it’s summer.
  • Can’t help too much in that regard, I hardly wore them, except tied under straw hats (actually made of paper, very soft and hard wearing- still have them!). The scarfs, knotted to the side, were both colourful and fashionable. Otherwise I wore a wig, had two, although I favoured one and wore it nearly all the time (but the other was great when I accidentally frizzed the one I was wearing when opening a hot oven - only down side of synthetic wigs!). Not everyone likes them but I found a wig great - light, no problem to wash/dry, no styling required, and - best of all, as I worked through chemo - no odd looks/explanations/awkwardness when dealing with the general public as I did a lot. What each person chooses is really personal, and most work out pretty quickly what suits them and their life best, for the duration. Best wishes. 
  • Thanks Afraser.  I liked the pixie too, too bad I didn’t get to have it very long!  Today my hair looks like an old man! Aargh!  Anyone got head scarf tips?
  • Hi there
    The sore scalp is normal and it will improve but I felt the same as you - shaving seemed too hard on a sore head. My friendly local hairdresser cut my hair really short (No 3 clippers) once I started getting hairs in my hands. It took some time to completely shed but very short hairs made less mess. At night I took to wearing a sleeping cap, which I found very useful as I could just shake out the hair in the morning. It protected my sensitive scalp too. The pixie cut really suits you. As your hair grows back you can reclaim it! Best wishes.