Hi all, I found out I am starting chemo in 2-3 weeks. I am going to cold cap but appreciate that might not work. I have quite long, thick curly hair and I think I should cut it shorter to make it more manageable - because its so thick and curly it gets tangled really easy and everything I have read has said about being gentle with the hair and wide tooth combs etc - thats not exactly easy with my hair type!
Anyone been through something similar? I thought I would go for a curly pixie cut as I think my daughter will struggle with the hair loss so at least its a gradual process if it does, and means I can hopefully take better care of the hair if it does thin instead of fully go.
Its all so hard - I may get to the point I just shave it to get control back but I am definitely not there yet
I had very long wavy hair, cold capped & most fell out so i shaved & felt better.
I joined the paxman facebook group & someone recommended not to blow dry your hair but to scrunch it with some sort of gel product. DO NOT do this. My waves tangled together & came out in large clumps.
Paxman works for a lot of people so dont shave off straight away. See how it goes & how you feel.
Tips for coldcapping: turn up with damp hair with leave in conditioner, have a soft material headband to act as a barrier between the ice & your forehead. Take a paracetamol before you arrive.
Hey @rubytuesday I’m likely to be having chemo too and like you have long thick curly hair. My plan is to give it a good cut (needs it anyway regardless of whether I lose it or not ) to maybe shoulder length before I start to hopefully take some of the pressure of it and hope for the best that cold capping works!!
I don’t feel like I could shave my head at the minute but maybe if I end up clinging to straggles of hair I’ll feel different!
My worry has been the tangles too, I read silk pillow cases help or some people wear soft bonnet/scarves at night.
I too - had this debate (I ironically had hair down to my (.)(.)’s … ) & would recommend shortening if you can. My hair was such a huge part of my identity that mentally I really couldn’t handle shaving it but of course we are all different.
I cold capped through 8 rounds & did lose a lot (almost all) but pushed on as I understand that it’s meant to help with the regrowth too. Make sure you get a good fit too. I am 6 months out & now have this…
My chemo was years ago. I had long beautiful hair that was one of my favorite features. I knew my own personality so the idea of cold capping was out. I didn’t want to work so hard to keep it if there was a high percentage of losing it anyway. I had enough disappointments already. My daughter was 9 at the time and I had my hair professionally cut into a cut style and donated it to locks of love.
Once my short style started to fall out, I had my daughter help shave my head and finish it off. I already had a couple of wigs. One was long, brown and had highlights very similar to my own hair and the other was a blonde shoulder length halo wig with detachable bangs. The way I looked at it was I would make the experience as positive as I could for all of us. The wigs were fun, my daughter felt like she was part of helping and in the end it all grew back. I had many hairstyles along the way, but went back to my long locks.
Watching this with interest - I have shoulder length blonde v curly ,read tangly ,hair and it’s definitely my most “Me” feature however I also know I will not cold cap. Think I will short bob and then embrace the baldness. Looking for the glimmer in this situation I will probably be bald in summer not winter!
Me,too, had it all chopped off. Chemo is unpleasant enough without a freezing head and extra time in the chair. Like you I didn’t want the worry of keeping checking to see if it was falling out. I bought wigs which a hairdresser cut to shape for me and they made me feel human although it does work out expensive. You can wash them but they really only looked okay for a few weeks so I would buy 3 at a time and have them all cut. My hair grew back quickly and is now as long and thick as it used to be. Only change is that it is less wavy which quite honestly suits me fine. So, courage ladies, normal service will be resumed if you go for the chop.
One thing I’d like to raise is how offensive I find the adverts Brave the Shave or whatever that some organisations use for funding. Having your head shaved when you are in the grip of a savage disease is bad enough without reducing the act to a joke or a dare. No woman wants to lose her hair and it is a depressing side effect of life saving treatment. Healthy women shaving their heads helps no-one and, in my view, is invading the territory of cancer sufferers. Please, just ask people to donate rather than requiring them to mutilate themselves.
Thanks all, that’s really good to hear. And thanks for the tips. I am booked in on Friday for a pixie curly cut and trying to see the positives - I would never have been brave enough to go short in the past in case it didn’t suit me - maybe it will and I will also save a fortune on curly hair products!
I am anticipating indifference from the tween - when I cut a fringe in a few years ago, as soon as she picked her up from school she looked at me and said don’t like it. She may be a bit nicer this time round
I am going to cold cap and see how it goes, worse case scenario is it all falls out but it’s not forever. Maybe I will suit a band head. Or find out I have a weird shaped head!
Thats a great idea, have got a few options! Going away for the night after to a nice spa hotel and have told my boyfriend he needs to say positive things about my hair!
Hello all
I had super long hair and I was worried about the shock factor of going from long to potentially bald. I was also worried about having long uncontrollable hair for my operation haha so I had it cut into a messy bob after I was diagnosed. To mix things up I had an undercut on one side. Its only subtle but it made it fun and it’s like a small window into what it will feel like shorter
Same as everyone I would never have been brave enough before this but I needed to unattach from my hair and this definitely helped.
If I have chemo I plan on going as short as possible, a short pixie cut. I watched my mum try to hold on to her bob and it was really upsetting for her. If she had shaved it I think it would have been easier.
She cold capped so didnt lose it all but it really thinned out.
I know hair is important to us ladies but I tell myself regularly it will grow back so I’m going to try and have fun with it x
@foxgem Yes! I agree re staged approach to reducing hair cut/volume. Ooh, but an undercut sounds fun and I would never have tried it in normal times. If I have to do the chemo I plan to do the same. My vanity has always hoped my large curly hair will offset my ample curvy hips. I guess I will have to become more shiny and triangular…..and maintain my sarcasm and dark sense of humour through this “journey to health”!
Absolutely! Ive got a feeling your dark sense of humour will thrive haha we cant get much darker here at times haha
We just have to remember its not forever, its just for now
@foxgem is it wrong that I have also brought and wear a sweary T-shirt when feeling particularly low which says f​:laughing: Cancer, it also has Daisy flowers on so I love the contrast, and one with the middle finger up for my naughty boob. Dark sarcasm and swearing may get me through…
I chopped and I like it!! I thought I would be more emotional but the hairdresser was amazing and used to do the look better feel great courses for Maggies so knew all the right things to say. And my daughter says I look like eleven from stranger things in season 2 which I am taking as a compliment!
And we just spent the night/day at a spa hotel and it’s liberating to not have wet hair dripping down my back!
I started chemo last October & just finished 10 days ago- yay! I have a hairdresser friend who went through BC a few years back & cold capped. Since then she became an ambassador for Paxman & introduced me to it when I was diagnosed. She cut my hair just passed shoulder length hair to more of a long bob before I started. Recommended shampoo/ conditioner (KMS) & told me to wash my hair every few days. She fitted me for a cold cap & went through the whole process so I would know if the nurses were putting it on me right (they were) Although after a few weeks of EC it started to fall out & thin, once I moved on to Docetaxel it started growing back! It’s short but it’s really starting to thicken up now. I’ve now started using a serum from UK Hair & the shampoo/ conditioner from there too. Not sure if it’s coincidence but seems to help too. Still have eyebrows but lashes are thin & a bit sparse. For me, I think it was worth it & as someone else said, cold capping protects regrowth so anything to help that along quicker!
It’s not easy, it’s freezing & restrictive if you want to go to the loo so need to be unplugged & makes your treatment longer but I say it is so worth a go. Good luck x
Hi @sybil79 Thanks very much for this - it’s great to hear a positive cold capping story. I’m only one session in but found it tolerable. I’ll do anything I can to save some hair I’d read to only wash my hair once a week but I don’t like it feeling unclean. Although leaving it to dry naturally is a real pain (I have long thick hair). Was washing every few days ok for you? And can I ask, did you buy any hats / head coverings that you particularly liked for when it thinned? I’m after any tips to get my hair through the next few months
It’s really annoying not washing her like you normally would. Maybe every other day if you want to but be extra gentle with it.
I got a little turban thing off Amazon which I think was only about £6/7? I also got a wig on the NHS. My hospital reffered me to a wig place nearby & then you pay the prescription charge of around £80 roughly. Just helps with my confidence whilst out & about. I really miss my old hair & I struggled at first but now I can see it thickening up etc I feel better. I’m actually going for a little trim later this afternoon!
Just try to stick with it. Even if it all falls out (but let’s hope not!) It will protect your regrowth later on. Xx
) to maybe shoulder length before I start to hopefully take some of the pressure of it and hope for the best that cold capping works!!
I’d read to only wash my hair once a week but I don’t like it feeling unclean. Although leaving it to dry naturally is a real pain (I have long thick hair). Was washing every few days ok for you? And can I ask, did you buy any hats / head coverings that you particularly liked for when it thinned? I’m after any tips to get my hair through the next few months 