hi
i’m going to see the oncolagist next week for 1st appointment after surgery to discuss results but my surgeon has told me will probable need chemo.Has anyone had sucess with cold cap , i have very dark hair and wondered about “roots” can you use any natural products like henna to mask the dreaded grey, i know it seems silly with everything else going on, but dont really want to loose hair as i’ve always worn it long. i’d be gratefull to hear of anyones experience good or bad.
thanks
Terri
Hi Terri,
When i went to see my onc, he suggested using cold cap as my hair was really thick, however he did advise me to get it cut…you can see from my pic it was quite long, so i had it cut to a short bob.
The cold cap is horrible for first ten minutes but after that it is certainly doable, i have had no headaches with it.
The chemo nurse soaks my hair with water and then covers it with conditioner about a half hour before they start to administer the chemo. I had to leave it on for 2 hours afte chemo finished. During the 3rd week after chemo it did start to shed a lot but it was unnoticable to everyone but me! So on my second chemo as the nurse was putting the water on she suggested leaving it on for 3 hours instead of two, and i have to say it has really slowed down the shedding.
I go for number 3 on Friday and my hair looks good so i am happy with the cold cap , whilst i realise it puts extra time on your hospital visit i kinda thought that the 3 hours multiplied by 6 visits was only 18 hours out of my life and for me to keep my hair i thought was worth it! I wash it about 3 times a week and have to confess to straightening it if i have somewhere special to go although this is frowned upon!! My bad!!
Good luck with your treatment if you want to ask anything else feel free
Best wishes Sal x
I was told it didn’t work for everybody and unfortunately I was one of them, my hair still fell out…but good luck and I hope you are an exception to the rule…
My experience was similar to Sal’s (and I am also a Sal :-)). Half an hour before, 2hrs after for the first couple, and then 3hrs after for the rest. I too had my hair cut into a short bob before chemo as I was advised it would make it less traumatic if/when it fell out (I don’t know if it would!) but also so it was less work. Apparently the cold cap works better if you can avoid too much washing and styling, so I did try not to do anything to my hair unless I was going out, although I did naughtily dry and straighten it a few times!
My hair did thin but my loved ones assured me it was not noticable. My oncologist reckoned you could lose up to 50% of your hair before it was noticable to other people. It looked thin around my parting but I just wore wide hairbands and you couldn’t tell. Now I have finished chemo and the hair that I did lose is growing back, I have a slightly mohecan effect as I have spiky hair about an inch long at my parting! So I still wear the hairbands to flatten it down and it looks quite normal!
I definitely think it is worth a try, like Salcha I found it uncomfortable but not unbearable for the first ten minutes or so, then I went numb. I thought it was definitely worth it, I have still looked and felt like “me” through the whole process. It is not silly not to want to lose your hair. It may still happen, as Glossy says it doesn’t work for everyone but I’m glad I gave it a chance. The discomfort and extra time was definitely worth it for me. Good luck with everything xx love Sal xx
Hello, I didn’t try the cold cap. I lost most but not quite all of my hair, so shaved the rest. The hair that remained stopped growing though, so I imagine roots don’t become a problem. Perhaps those who did use the cold cap can confirm or otherwise.
Hope it works for you.
Stella xx
Hi Sal
Am also a Sally - Anne ! Just got a question for you, i also have lost it along my parting and some at back of neck where i dont think cold cap was tight enough on my first session, but hair on top covers it well, was just wondering how long it took to start growing back in the places where you lost it.
Love Sal x
I used the cold cap and it worked really well - there was another thread on this just recently that might be worth reading. I had my hair cropped really short so roots weren’t a problem - it was all grey, although I must say I quite liked it, although I have coloured it now it’s longer.
finty x
I used the paxman cc, too, although I lost most of my hair I used it throught on my almost bare head as paxman said it can help with regrowth. Success depends on many factors, correct timing &application, type of chemo, apparently, liver function, too. I emailed paxman as I was so disappointed, but I am happy with my rate of regrowth . I finished fec/tax last July. My profile pic was taken last Monday.
Hi I have thought about this as had the cold cap for the first time yesterday and have very dark hair with some greys. I have read you can use certain veg based products but be careful with henna as some still containg ammonia/peroxide. My roots are not too bad and I was thinking of maybe touching up with mascara, but may be a bit crusty!In the late 80s you could but special hair mascara, I think I had it in purple lol I may investigate if it is still available but in more natural colours! Vanessa xx
Sal, I had 4xEC and 4xTax. All the hair loss that I did experience happened during EC. I didn’t lose any further during tax and I actually think was starting to grow back by the end of tax. I finished in October and definitely had plenty of re-growth by Christmas. Hope this gives you some hope!
Foxylondon, there is this on amazon, I wonder if that would be any good for you to try? amazon.co.uk/Hair-Mascara-Unisex-Dark-Brown/dp/B001AXP46Q
Sallieannie, thanks for the link, I will definitely give it a go, especially in the early days when the roots aren’t too bad!
Hi ladies - yes the cold cap is a little uncomfortable at first but so is everything else that goes with the territory. I had my third FEC yesterday and whilst I have thinned very much on top and it is grey where I have not been able to colour it, I do still have quite a lot of hair and can manage to wear scarves with fringe showing and round the back and bottom. Having said all this I do lose a lot of hair daily - but I did have thick hair to start with so this is obviously an advantage. I like all your comments that TAX is kinder to the hair as that is my next lot of tretment. I have got a wig which is a replica of a recent style and when I wear it everyone thinks I have just been to the hairdressers. I also know there are some shocking ones out there! Perserve with cold cap if you are lucky enough to be offered it but I have to say I nearly did not bother yesterday. I do get headaches from it. Adi x
Thanks for your reply Sal, i have just got 6 EC (just…she says ! )
have my 3rd tomorrow so guess my hair is gonna take a bit of a battering, but have lost hardly any the last two days , the best thing is i still feel like me!
Did have a chuckle at the eighties hair mascara thing i had loads of different colours!
Love Sal x
Hi. I’ve had EC no 3 a week ago and have used the cold cap everytime. Half an hour before treatment and then 2 hours after. I only wash my hair once a week (really bad I know)and don’t brush it at all in between washes as thats what the leaflet said. When I do wash it I put loads of conditoner on and comb it through with a wide tooth comb as I find its very knotty otherwise. Touch wood, so far, my hair is still here. I have very thick, coarse hair anyway. It has thinned at the bottom where the cap dosen’t reach. I find about 2-3 days after my chemo its on my pillow and all round the house but then it seems to calm down.