Colouring hair after chemo
Colouring hair after chemo I am sure that this has been brought up in the past but wondering if anyone out there has experience of colouring their hair - especially which is completely grey, after chemo and what products did you use. I finished chemo at the end of November 2005 and now have about 1" of hair. I am quite happy to go without my wig at home but do not want to go without it at work until I have some colour other than grey - I Know it it vain -but apart from the hair feeling fat and frumpy after putting on a stone and still have not found the motivation to lose it. Has anyone any tips on which products they have used, which to avoid, and how long after chemo they coloured their hair. Waiting with anticipation Sandra
Message for Humble Hi Humble
I knew I’d seen something about colouring hair after chemo very recently. If you stay in this room and look further down the links posted under ‘Help’ on 28.04.06 there are a few posts on here where you might get some advice.
Best wishes.
BCC Host
Thanks moderator
Hi Sandra Hi Sandra, it’s Kim here (changed my posting name when the site changed).
My hair came back with more silver in it than I would have liked. In the first few months I used the hair colour that lasted about 8-10 washes, the ones with no amonia in them. I also didn’t leave them in for quite as long before rinsing the solution out. I didn’t have any problems except I found mid to dark brown came out almost black. I did have some foils put in at the hairdressers in dec. to try and avoid using hair colour but it wasn’t enough on it’s own to cover the grey. Now I am back to using the permanant type of home colour I just try not to put them on so often.
Know what you mean about the weight problem. I lost weight over diagnosis, surgery and chemo. but put it back on and more while on Tamoxifen (blame it for everything). I forced myself to go back to the gym last week it’s been nearly 2 years since I was last there. I’ve got to force myself again tomorrow or shall I go shopping instead?
I remember going to work without my wig for the first time, I finished chemo. in the december and went without it in the April so about the same timescale as you. I felt very self conscious the first time but after the first day I was fine. I had gone back to work wearing my wig in the January so people had got used to seeing me with quite a bit of ‘hair’ I did think at the time maybe I should have just started back to work not wearing a wig but i was still bald so I wouldn’t have had the guts to do that either.
Just something else I have thought about, I remember I tried one of those wash in wash out tints and that did’nt work at all well it was really patchy and took more than a few washes to get rid of.
Hope this helps, take care Sandra and best wishes to the family.
Kimxx
Hi Kim - great to hear from you and hope life is treating you well. Thanks for your experience of colouring your hair. A work colleague who was going through chemo just before me coloured her hair with henna about 5 months after treatment - which is where I am now and it went a horrible blondie orange and was very patchy - now I am worried about what to use. I am totally grey - a salt and pepper colour - Even though my hair is very short I would now ditch the wig if I could get it a reasonable colour. I am sure I would frighten my work colleagues to death if they saw me grey as I used to colour it auburn and it was long - so a complete change of look altogether. I will look out for one of the ammonia free colours and go for a light brown to begin with - if it does not work will have to keep the wig for a little while longer. Will let you know how I get on Sandra
Colouring Hair Hi Sandra
Just thought you might be interested in my experience with hair colouring. I coloured my hair within 2 weeks of finishing chemo and had no problems at all. Not sure what colour you want to go but I used Herbal Essences No. 44 (red). I had been using this colour for years before the hair loss and couldn’t wait to get back to what I considered to be my normal colour. My hair came back exactly the same way as it was before it went, same texture, thickness, etc., even the gray patches were in exactly the same place. I also put on a lot of weight during treatment and felt old, fat and frumpy, and I’m only 37. My hair was the one thing that I could do quickly that made me feel even just a little like the old me. I am now 5 months post treatment and have started eating sensibly and going to the gym and trying to get the rest of me back. Good luck with whatever you decide and I hope it works for you.
Karen
x
hi… I was just browsing and came to your post…I have been colouring my hair since I was thirteen,so a few years there eh
And when my hair was falling out in handfuls i went down to a number three on the clipper,boy was the grey more obvious now without any colour,yes tipical ‘salt and pepper’ horrible…
well i had my second epi yesterday and am counting the months till its all finished and my hair grows back,I look like the mom in alien nation, lol
Anyway what i was thinking is that you may have more luck if you try going a blonde shade,as you hair is less likely to ‘key’ with the darker tints that are not permanent…
hope this helps
Jax xx