Hi ladies, just after some advice from ladies who are further along than me on this journey!!! I’m currently having chemo & slowly losing my hair. I’m due to finish my chemo, all been well in june & we have a holiday booked to go on 17th December this year. It will be 5 months since my chemo will have finished & I’m just wondering what my hair is likely to be like after 5 months? As we are goin somewhere hot I really don’t want to take my wig! Any advice as to how long / short my hair is likely to be after 5 months would be very much appreciated. Xx
I think a lot depends on what your hair was like before and the strength of chemo you are having. I know a couple of people whose hair started growing back before the end.
I finished chemo 31 March last year and had no hair whatsoever. I also lost by eyebrows and lashes. Within 4 weeks I had brows and lashes back. By the time I went to Devon for a week in mid July I had had my hair trimmed and had a “proper” Annie Lennox type crop.
I never wore a wig but used scarves and hats. I ditched them completed when I started radiotherapy on 14 May. At that time I had a slight covering which close up you could probably tell was chemo related rather than a short haircut but it was hair so I didn’t care.
One year on I am in that awkward stage, too long to look like a short haircut but not long enough for anythng longer yet. I havn’t decided whether to persevere with the growing out or stick to short. But that’s quite a nice problem to have.
Hope you have a good hol. I’m off to California tomorrow for my first 2 week proper sunbathing and pool holiday since before being diagnosed so totally ecstatic today.
Sam
Hi. I went somewhere hot 5 months after the end of chemo. I had 100% coverage, very short and wavy. I didnt bring my wig and I was fine. That said, it was clearly (at least to me ) chemo hair. When we returned I waited another month or so before having my hair properly trimmed and going wigless to the wider world. One lovely surprise was REALLY enjoying the feeling of the wind in my hair so best of luck to you.
Thank you both so much for your positive comments. I’m havin FEC 75 chemo. Ahhh lucky you off on your holiday tomorrow Ireally ope you have a fantastic time! It’s gives me hope that I won’t have to take my wig with me & at least I will have a covering. My hair does grow quite quickly anyway so hopefully that will help me as well. Once again many thanks ladies. X
Hi there
my hair was thick and grew very fast prior to chemo. After chemo it started coming back patchy with bald areas at the front so I had my friend get the clippers out again and take it right back to the scalp. It was worth it. I then went wigless as soon as I had 1/2 inch of hair.
5 months down the line it looked like had a nice short hair cut and no-one would have known that I’d had chemo. I used a herbal non chemical hair dye to cover the greys.
My hair was dead straight prior to chemo and now is wavy. It’s much thicker now too.
My eyebrows were definitely slower and even now (2.5 years on) I need to fill in a few blanks in the eyebrows and a couple of eyelashes never grew back - I can see that although no-one else would notice.
I would say that my hair grew much more slowly following chemo and has started growing at usual speed in the last few months. It was also much drier post chemo and that has gradually changed too.
I decided to keep my hair short for a while when it grew back so I could keep having the first drier hair cut out. Now it’s a bob and back to its original shine.
take care, hope the chemo goes okay and look forward to that holiday.
elinda x
Hi - just as another guide for you. I finished chemo in the early January. By early May I was happy to ditch the wig and wear a hat as my hair grew back at the back and sides more quickly than on top. By mid-June I felt I had good enough coverage to go out without a hat and by the August my hair had grown enough to be styled and coloured at the hairdressers.
If you’re not having a taxane-based chemo drug you might be lucky and keep your eyebrows and eyelashes (I lost all mine after having Docetaxel but they grew back quickly, within weeks).
Best of luck with all this.
Hi Knoxy I finished my chemo at the end of November 2011, hair was coming back but patchy. I shaved my head for the last time on January 1st 2012 which is just over 10 weeks ago. I have a really good covering of hair although it is short! My hairdresser said that by May it should be long enough to style. So that would be 20 weeks from bald to style!
Oh, and my eyelashes and eyebrows deserted me along with every other hair on my body - but they are back - longer than ever, which is great for the eyelashes department!
Hi knoxybabes , my pic shows exactly what my hair is like 5 months after chemo .I had my last chemo on oct 27th .This is me now .My hair has come back very wavy i had used my ghds on my hair.Wouldnt recommend it but i went out and hadn’t been out in ages.I used a herbitint colour on it as it was very grey and at 43 wasn’t impressed.
I went without my wig by the end of jan as it was my sons 18th. I am going to have my hair dyed properly on thursday so fingers crossed it will go ok .Good luck with the rest of your treatment xx