Should I give my wispy bits a No 1?

Hi Baldies!

My hair started growing back whilst I was being TAXed but it seems to have got stuck with lots of bald patches, stubble and some wispy bits that are clearly growing (all, to my horror varying shades of grey!).

Should I have a No 1 hair cut to try to encourage it all to start growing evenly? I am using caffeine shampoo and Activ F tonic.

Any suggestions gratefully received!

DaisyGirl xx

Hi DaisyGirl
I got terribly wispy bits, like baby hair really, as during TAX my hair started to grow back. My OH used the clippers on me twice to even things up post chemo. I think it did help my hair grow. Had my last tax on 21 Oct and went without hat first week in Jan.
It’s hard because you don’t want to take off whatever hair you have managed to grow. I used normal shampoo.
Nikki x

Hi Daisygirl

Yes, I think that’s a good idea and what I did. My hair then grew back very thickly (much more so than before) and evenly. I had dead straight hair before chemo, not so much as a kink in it and now it definitely wavy.

I didn’t worry about special shampoos either. Hope it grows back quickly for you. take care, Elinda x

Your hair grows from follicles in your scalp, so cutting what you can see has no effect on growth. On the other hand, you might prefer to get rid of the wispy bits until you get more even regrowth. I went through that stage while it was still cold enough that I was covering up most of the time, so I left the wisps alone.

A lot of the first regrowth has no pigment, so what is coming through now is not necessarily what it will be later. Something I have noticed is that my darker regrowth appears darker than usual, because my hair fades quite a lot in sun and light. By the time it returns to its normal length, if I decide on that, it should also return to its normal colour–admittedly with a lot of grey these days.

It’s very much up to you whether you think it would look better as it is or cut short, so I’m not going to say what YOU should do, just what I did.

During chemo I frequently shaved my scalp with a Bic in the shower, as I just wanted to keep it tidy. My thinking was that assorted wispy patches and bald patches would make me look even sicker than a totally bald scalp would, and might be a bit easier to cope with mentally. I stopped shaving my head when the bristles on my chin started growing again, just before FEC5, so I hoped that the hair on my head would be thinking the same thing. Might have been a bit over-optimistic as now nearly 4 weeks after my last FEC it’s all very delicate and drops out in a slight breeze. Mine is very dark so it’s pretty obvious that it’s rather patchy, but at least I don’t have any long straggly bits, it’s all no longer than 1.5cm, with the bits that are falling out being the shorter bits - what’s that all about? But it’s reasonably tidy, so I’m glad I did shave during chemo.

I’m with Choccie on this and am keeping on top of the ‘shave’. It just feels tidier and less ‘sick’. I also had a good bit of info from the sister at my last chemo (FEC 3)who said, what I should do at the very end of chemo was let my stubble grow for 3-4 weeks from last one then shave completely again because the regrowth during that period is still damaged and the follicles need to recover. Then after that last shave let it grow. It obviously prolongs the baldness by a few weeks but she says v. worth it.

Wandyx

Wandy - thanks for that info.

Just this morning,I shaved my entire head. I have been looking like Gollum since most of my hair came out about 17 days after my first chemo. I had left the straggly bits, hoping that the rest would fall out naturally (I had visions of a much better, more even growth later when it restarted) after the following chemos. 6 days, post first Tax (and after 3 FEC) it was still hanging on for grim death, and I had had enough of it. The worst thing is, I was so surprised at how cold my head is - even those few whispy bitsmust have been keeping in some warmth!

Anyway, the shave isn’t very even, either, so no doubt I will have to have another go.

ChoccieMuffin - how did you not cut yourself using a Bic razor?

Fran.

Not a clue! Actually, I did manage to cut my ear, but I rather liked the van Gogh look - blood pouring down my neck… Seriously though, that was only once because the girls had been shaving their legs and the razor was blunt. The rest of the time it’s no different from shaving armpits. And no, I’ve never cut my armpits either!

CM - I’m impressed. You don’t want to come and do my head, do you?

Edited to add: Completely beside the point - I have just noticed the time on this post - it’s acutally 12.47 now, literally just after posting my last comment - has the clock on the site not been changed for the hour? Never noticed before!

Thanks everyone, I think I am going to go for it! I have a lady electric shaver, would it be OK to use this, don’t think I trust myself with a Bic razor!

DaisyGirl xx

An electric lady razor is what I used when it reached the point of hair patches rather than bald patches. I had to go over everything twice, and I was a suede head rather than a skin head, but if you are going for neatness, then that should be adequate.

I’m going to let mine grow for a while now, and then get a good trim to remove any remaining weak ends. Initially I had a few longer wisps which had hung on or started growing earlier, but most of those have fallen out by now in any case.