I had my last chemotherapy treatment on 12 Oct 2007 and my hair still hasn’t grown to anything near to a normal head of hair. It’s woefully thin and short, and makes me look like a survivor from a concentration camp. My ears stick out - they’re not exactly small - and I just hate what I see in the mirror every morning before I put my wig on. It’s really upsetting me and, though mostly I try not to dwell on it and tell myself to be patient (and that I’m very lucky to be finished treatment and feeling so well otherwise), I get very teary over it. In fact, just typing this has put me close to tears.
Anyway. I was watching ‘How to look good naked’ the other day, and a woman was having hair extensions fitted. I suddenly wondered whether this was a possible solution for me. Has anyone else considered them or, even better, tried them?
I think you have to be quite careful with hair extensions on account of the way they have to be bonded onto your natural hair. If you are not careful you can end up with them pulling clumps of it out due to the weight. Apparently that was why Victoria Beckham had to get rid of them - when the World Cup was on there were loads of photos of her in the paper where she had bald patches on her scalp. I had my last chemo at the end of June 2007 and when I uncovered it at the start of the October it was like a crew cut. It has only really started looking decent since about January of this year and is still quite thin around the temples. I’ve also noticed there are small patches of bare scalp underneath. I get the ends taken off mines every 4 weeks and this seems to stimulate the growth. I also use salon hair products (my hair is silver now) and finishing products like wax to make it look textured. I don’t think I would consider extensions unless your hair is very strong and healthy - I’ve nearly lost the chemo curl now and I had to get my hairdresser to give me a leave in product as it was very dry and horrid on the ends.
I think it would be better for your hair if you could just hang in there a bit longer. I was very lucky in that I was never bothered by being bald, and for me the return of my hair was like a big adventure.
Thanks, Cherub. Sounds like I should avoid hair extensions and just try to be patient. Like you, I was pretty gung-ho about my hair loss during chemotherapy - at the time, it seemed the least of my problems - but now that everything is over, I just want to get back to normal and put the entire horrid experience behind me. Yet every time I look in the mirror, I see the past - it’s a stark and ugly reminder of what I’ve been through, and what still lingers as a threat to happiness and, ultimately, my survival.
Have you tried Brewer’s Yeast tablets (available from health shops)…one of our ladies on here had NO hair growth for a very long time after chemo and thought she was destined to be bald forever, but she started taking this supplement and her hair has started to grow at last.
Her board name is Pineapple, and I think her post was entitled You’ll Never Guess What!
A friend of mine had beautiful hair down to her waist, but had it cut really short so that she could wear the cap during chemo to try and keep the hair (she was told shorter hair was less likely to fall out than long). She wants her long hair back again and went to a specialist extension shop to ask, they told her it would probably pull her hair out as it would still be very weak due to the chemo. Bearing in mind by saying this, they are turning down £500, and lets be honest shops don’t usually turn down money, goes to show how certain they were of their facts. So I would say avoid at all costs.
I can totally understand what your saying, as I am waiting for a lump to be checked, and the one thing that scares me is having chemo and loosing my hair.
I considered hair extensions as so fed up with a boys hair style!!! But when I looked into it they cost a fortune and you have to have them re done so oftem which is more money, Ive got used to my hair now but if were you I would go out and get another wig so you could change your hair style or colour, invest in lots of different scalfs of different colours and patterns and get lots of hats too the weaher is still a bit cold so you wouldnt be too hot? Just try to make this awful experience a positive thing and get lots of head accerories cos you wouldnt normally if you still had your hair! Also maybe experient more with make up and wear more than what you usually do to take your eye away from your hair, I did that and now wear alot more make up than I ever used and it does make you feel a bit better.
Good luck and I really hope your hair grows back soon.
I finished my chemo and rads in Feb last year. My hair started growing properly in about May. By July it was about an inch long but in the most hideous tight old lady curls. So while I was on holiday in Spain, 4 nice Morrocan ladies gave me a whole head of plaited hair extensions. They lasted until September. I had bought more hair extensions on the internet- actually I got dreadlock extensions- and had these fitted by a a free lance hairdresser. These were stitched in and lasted until December. If you buy your own extensions on the internet, it works out a lot cheaper. If you have a hairdresser who is used to working on Afro Caribbean hair, you could find that they have a lot more options for fitting extensions.
Hi Yvonne - i have been bald because of taxatere for just over 2 years !!! so i know how you feel.
I saw my onc on Mon and she was so suprised to see my hair growing. Please try brewers yeast, (they started to work after only about 2 or 3 weeks) they are working a treat and i feel brilliant, loads of energy and sleeping great after being stuck on sleeping pills for 2 years.
The experts and makers of tax told me last year my hair would never return and although i have along way to go before i can go scarfless i have a covering all over my scalp, it just needs to thicken some more, i am now really hopefull that i will be scarfless in afew months time.
I have asked our nurse’s advice on whether it is a good idea to take Brewer’s yeast while on chemotherapy. She says that she had not seen any research which proves that this works. Also there is a chance that it could adversely interact with some drugs so it is best to check with you oncologist before taking brewer’s yeast, or indeed any compound which hasn’t been prescribed by your medical team.