Hi everyone. Hope you are all keeping well. Just a quick question which some of you might be able to answer for me. How long does it usually take for your hair to start growing back following chemo? I didnt have chemo first time round so this is new to me. I had my last chemo on 9th December and have just a tiny bit of stubble. I read hair grows half an inch per month so am probably getting a bit impatient to see something happening.
Hello Miller,
I’m having my first chemo too (not due to finish until early May), but I’d be curious to know what others have experienced. I’m on Abraxane and it’s also made my nails go yellow, like I smoke 40 roll ups a day! yuk…
Julia x
Hi Miller
An important tip I was given was to keep getting your hair trimmed regularly (or I suppose a shaver set to 1 or 2 if it’s just stubble) because your hair doesn’t grow like normal hair following chemo - mine was very soft like baby hair. Many people find their hair grows back quite curly initially and mine had very tight curls which I couldn’t do anything with. Regular cutting will encourage it to grow more normally and quicker. The second time mine fell out it grew to about 3 inches in 10 months, but that was with frequent trims. The first time around it took about 18 months to straighten out and get to shoulder length but I didn’t get it cut as often and wished I had, with hindsight.
Hope that helps.
X
Thanks for that. I will bear it in mind. As it is at the moment there is very little to shave off at the moment.
I am currently on holiday in Thailand and although I wear my wig each night as we go out it inevitably finishes up in my handbag. Because I am away with a group of friends I am becoming more confident about being seen bald so who knows when I get home I might make ratty (my wig) redundant. Good luck with your chemo Julia x
Thanks Kay， I have started on letrozole as well. I have noticed more growth over the last few days and can actually feel it on the back of my head. So hopefully won’t be long x
Hi
I have lost my hair twice with chemo, first time round with epirubicin, second time round with docetaxel. My hair is thin, limp, and very slow growing - naturally. I remember the first time it started to grow I went to my closest friends house and said ‘I have something I need to show you’, I took her into the kitchen and whipped off my wig. I only had the slightest covering, but I had hair. We both cried, it took me a while to stop her stroking my head! I wore scarfs and hats, but always my wig (well I called it my ‘new hair’, it was much nicer than my own to look at lol) when I went out, at the very start I decided that I was always going to wear my new hair when I went out. Second time round I sometimes wore my scarf or hat, but mainly my wig, for me it just gave me that little bit more confidence and that feeling of being me. On both occasions it took about 4 months for my hair to grow through to give me a fairly good covering to feel confident that I had a could go out feeling that I had hair. As I said my hair is slow to grow, and on both occasions it was winter time, so hair is a little slower to grow, also it was blinking cold out there!
xxx
Just looking back at this thread and had to smile. The week after writing it my hair started to grow. Last night I went to our local club without my wig. I only have about 1/2 inch of hair but its all mine. Still kept ratty (my wig) in my handbag in case I chickened out but didnt need it. So glad I did this as I will now feel happy to go out without the wig from now on xx
Well done Miller …you have now showcased your new hairdo and no going back now !!
I think I felt much like you after my chemo too.
It’s all about confidence and burying wiggy now to the wig farm in the sky !!
Hugs xxx
Well done Miller you’ve done it, although its short, as you say it’s all yours. Brilliant news I’m delighted for you, brings a happy tear to my eye.
Take care xxx
Thanks ladies xx