I’ve been on Ribociclib for about a year now and I cut my hair short when I was diagnosed with breast cancer in January 2025.
As it turned out, I only needed 15 rounds of radiotherapy (which has left me with crappy nerve damage…)
But WORSE my once silky hair has become like straw!! I thought it would grow back as before, but it’s horrible!! Difficult to style, horrible feeling…
I believe you lot know that, getting this diagnosis and going through all the resultant treatments and appointments is bad enough, but there is something about it affecting our appearance (beyond boob jobs) our skin, our hair, the inability to take our precious HRT, which hurts somehow more…?
Has anyone else’s hair been turned to straw on Ribociclib? Even better, if you have had that reaction, have you found any products which have made it all silky again..? Desperate to know, am feeling ugly and fed up.
Love to you all, you flipping wonderful fighters you m xxx
I am on ribociclib (have been for four cycles) and have definitely noticed changes in my hair but I also think I shedded hair at the shock of diagnosis and mascetomy etc and then because I am on zoladex and letrozole I think there’s more to it than just the ribo. Like you I didn’t need chemo - felt very grateful for that.
And they gave me fab advice. They said that after all these years of treating my hair one way, I now need to treat it in another because it now has different requirements. You can call them and they call you back which I thought was an amazing service.
I now use a Weleda rose hair tonic daily, faith in nature rosemary shampoo, K19 leave in conditioner every other day and a mielle kalhari aloe vera and melon spray. I also use colour wow volumising mousse and do a weekly hair syrup leave in ore wash treatment and whilst my hair is not as thick as it once was, it is in much pre condition treatment and now my feels like my hair again. It just wasn’t responding to my pre cancer shampoo and conditioner because texture had changed so much. It took trial and error and I did make some expensive mistakes wotking out what was right for me. It was worth it though as I feel better and my hairdresser says my hair is in good condtion which it definitely wasn’t a few months ago.
I still get my hair coloured every couple of months at the salon and my hairdresser uses gentle products and really good nourishing treatments. I also make sure I use heat protector spray and low settings when drying and straightening my hair.
Not sure if this helps and the stuff I use might not be right for your hair type but there’s loads of fab products out there and really good advice from hairdressers and the cancer hair care charity.
There is also this podcast from the charity’s founder which I found really helpful.
*Hi!!! So sorry for the tardy reply after your detailed response!!
Wow. You really have gone down the research path! I haven’t heard of half of these products (Weleda aside)
But so interesting that, you have been told to abandon your previous products and start again!!
This totally backs up how I feel about my hair and I have no clue what to do.
I am going to run the list of products you are now using, passed by hairdresser and see which would be appropriate for my hair now.
I have fine hair, but a lot of it and now it is like straw.
I can only thank you for ‘wittering on’ and probably helping loads of women realise that their ‘new’ hair has a chance at life again!!
I will get in touch with that cancer hair lot, it really is a thing.
Cancer the gift that keeps on giving
Stay strong ladies! We have so much to give, so much to live for and the fact that our own bodies are trying to kill us should be a comedy sketch !! You couldn’t make it up!
Huge love to you all and come here to be heard, you are NOT alone
)
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the gift that keeps on giving 
!! You couldn’t make it up! 
