Forum Discussion
How do I know when to let it grow?
When diagnosed, I had lovely long hair. Two weeks after my first AC treatment, my scalp hurt so much I got a pixie cut to relieve the weight/sensitivity. A few days later, what was left fell out in large patches. To spare myself feeling traumatised when the rest fell out, I shaved it off.
What surprised me was to feel some stubble in the days after. I didn't expect to have some hair that didn't fall out at all, because such a large volume had fallen out before I shaved. I thought that it would all fall out over a few weeks, but it didn't (despite a smooth body).
Fast forward four months (three months of AC and two rounds of Taxol), and first I noticed chin whiskers the other day. Then downy hair on my arms. Then more pubic hair (though it is still patchy). It is hard to tell how patchy my scalp is, I continued to shave it to avoid the patchiness - I thought I would wait until it was obvious all my hair was growing again to stop.
Given that I still have 10 Taxol left, I am curious - am I likely to have more hair loss as the Taxol treatment progresses, or now that I am having some hair regrowth, is the hair loss over?
How did you all know when to let your scalp hair grow, was it patchy at first then filled in?
Any advice/insight is welcome!
What surprised me was to feel some stubble in the days after. I didn't expect to have some hair that didn't fall out at all, because such a large volume had fallen out before I shaved. I thought that it would all fall out over a few weeks, but it didn't (despite a smooth body).
Fast forward four months (three months of AC and two rounds of Taxol), and first I noticed chin whiskers the other day. Then downy hair on my arms. Then more pubic hair (though it is still patchy). It is hard to tell how patchy my scalp is, I continued to shave it to avoid the patchiness - I thought I would wait until it was obvious all my hair was growing again to stop.
Given that I still have 10 Taxol left, I am curious - am I likely to have more hair loss as the Taxol treatment progresses, or now that I am having some hair regrowth, is the hair loss over?
How did you all know when to let your scalp hair grow, was it patchy at first then filled in?
Any advice/insight is welcome!
16 Replies
- I agree with your friends!! And with @June1952. You do look a lot younger 👌🏻
- Thanks @FLClover. This was my dress for my son's wedding. My friends tell me I look younger with my short hair @June1952. I plan to keep it short for now. I think we just all do what we want with our hair post treatment. There are no rules as to what works other than do whatever works for you.
- The short hair makes you look a lot younger - and quite cheeky !
My hairdresser says he will give me $50 and tell me to go to another hairdresser if I ever mention colouring my salt and pepper hair (more salt than pepper these days). - I love what you’re wearing in the pre photo @Cath62, very pretty 😊. Your new hair looks amazing, suits you a lot 👌🏻
- Hi, pre bc i had super curly red hair then the chemo and I shaved it. Now its black and white, short and I like it so I am keeping it that way for now. I don't have a plan to colour it. Here's an after treatment, during treatment and pre bc photos.
- @MicheleR I saw the pink tint 😁. I love it. I have a pink tint too 😊.And omg, that’s fantastic!! Good work!! 👏🏻👏🏻👌🏻. I hope you feel very proud of yourself 😃. I hope for the same things 🤞🤞♥️
- @FLClover. Thanx. Its hard to tell from photo but i have a subtle pink rinse through that @Locksley sent me! Im goingvin the Mothers Day Classic on Sunday. Have raised over $1000 for the national breast cancer research foundation with help of family and friends. I hope rhey can make treatment better for everyone! Maybe there will be a day in the future where hair loss isnt a thing, where we all achieve more certainty over our futures...
- Hi @jtee great to hear you are getting through chemo. This is going to be long because I want cheer you on! Losing our hair is tough, but then come the first sprouts - it’s almost like a little signal that a new phase is beginning.
Watching and waiting for my hair to sprout became a pastime for me, forget watching paint dry! My hair was definitely growing back by week 7 of taxol. At first I thought I was imagining it, but once it started, it kept growing. My nurses said that it often happens. When I left hospital after my surgery in June last year, which was 6 weeks after my last chemo, I stopped wearing my wig/caps as I felt I had enough soft regrowth to look a bit rock chick. I didn’t have much but hey, I was just happy to see it coming back.
I had about 4 eyebrow hairs that held on until the end of chemo and I think I even had a couple of lashes, but then they gave up. I hope you are having better luck than me with brows and lashes. The good news is, they came back too and pretty quickly. I just let everything grow, but I also used a couple of products to try to speed up the process. Oh yes, even those pesky chin hairs came back exactly how they were before. You would think after everything, we could have a win in that department!
My sister-in-law is a hairdresser so she is great for advice. She suggested just giving my scalp a gentle massage just to stimulate the circulation. She only trimmed the back of my hair as I was getting a mullet - think Joe Dirt - so I just get it trimmed while I wait for the top to catch up. When it first started growing, it was really grey - I am 54 - so not really a surprise as I was going grey before my DX. However, my hair is now pretty much the same colour as it was before - dark underneath with grey hair coming through. Oh, and I got the curls too, but they have now started to settle down.
You will most likely get the fine peachy fuzz and maybe you could just let that grow and trim off any uneven bits. I totally recommend doing whatever you want and whatever makes you feel good. I even got a really mild semipermanent colour quite early and it was fine - mind you I did have the attitude of - what’s the worst that can happen? I am now one week off exactly of finishing chemo 1 year ago. My hair is back, I have had foils, I have played around with a pink toner to give it a pink colour and I am back using all the appliances to tame it.
You are going to have your hair back, it may pass through a few phases, but it will be back. Invest in some funky clips and headbands - you will be using them in no time! Mx - Looking very fresh and healthy there @MicheleR. Your new hair looks awesome 😊
- @MicheleR Thanks so much for your response, and for the gorgeous photos, they are inspiring, and help me believe I will have hair again someday. I love the ears! :)
