I have a neutral attitude toward hair colouring. Probably because at the age of 22, I have never dyed my hair, and for a minute, it has a very beautiful and natural colour. But it's quite different with my nails. I think a person's hands can say a lot, so it is important, especially for girls, to keep their nails properly. But it's difficult to maintain the presentable appearance of their natural nails; for example, they grow brittle or broken, or every minute is counted, and there is not enough time for yourself. In this case, it is better to extend the gel nails. It is fashionable and practical, and your hands will look neat for a long time. True, again, not everyone can do their nails well. That's why I decided to seriously train in nail tech programs to do good work.
I'm in remission now, and I'm pleased with the opportunity to experiment with my appearance. I lost a lot of hair during the treatment, and a manicure was also an inaccessible pleasure for me. My condition has improved, and I can return to my old addictions. My youngest daughter has enrolled in nail technology courses https://www.nwcollege.edu/programs/nail-technology. At first, she was embarrassed to ask me to be her model. But I was very inspired by this thought! I'm re-learning to be a woman now because a year ago I thought beauty treatments were no longer important. Now I know it's not true.
Have you tried Color Street? www.colorstreet.com/BluDelNails
I am an independent stylist if you have any questions. https://linktr.ee/BluDelNails
I am 13 sessions of radiotherapy in with 2 to go and had my hair coloured last night without thinking about it. I feel fine today (thank goodness, reading this thread) and feel good in myself because the grey has gone! I hadn't read anything about steering clear of hair dyes and logically, the only skin affected on me by treatment is in the area of one breast so as long as no dye goes near to irritate it I wouldn't worry for myself.
Hi
I have no advice to give but your situation is so like mine that I wanted to reply. I also had the tumour removed and lymph nodes but not the breast. It still feels surreal to me even after surgery - like you said - that it’s happening to someone else. It’s strange that isn’t it?
The worst part is the thought of losing my hair. Is that nuts? I’d really like to stay in touch. It would be so nice to keep getting gel nails during chemo if it doesn’t cause more issues.
All the best and good luck
Miriam
Hi,
I kept my gel nails all the way through chemo. I didn't see the advice about darker colours until quite near the end, but my consultant said the same about ladies that keep polish or gel on seem to do better. He didn't really know why, although he suggested that having paid all that money out it might just be sheer bloody mindedness that keeps them on. (He is hilarious like that).
I have cold capped and kept it, so very lucky there. I'm quite keen to get it coloured soon, so if anyone has any ideas how soon after chemo that can be done, I'd be interested to hear.
Nearly two weeks since my last chemo, just starting to feel normal (ish). Don't start radio until June 21st, so feel a bit like I'm on holiday from treatment. Back to work tomorrow. I'm a teacher so looking forwards to chatting with my Y10/11 girls about the best false eyelashes and the best way to keep them on. Theirs always look amazing whereas I feel I've done well if I don't actually look like I've got hairy caterpillars on my eyelids.
To remove gel nails polish properly and painlessly, use tips from this article https://naildesignsjournal.com/how-to-remove-gel-nail-polish/ or just try a search at Wiki. There are always answers to almost any question)
I've kept my gel nails right through chemo and plan to keep them on for radio too. Anything that makes you feel good has to help. No one mentioned dark colours to me though, I've been mainly pink and red.
Hi there
I'm not sure on gel nails myself but I did start to read around cosmetics/ hair colourant ingreidents and found these two sites very useful
https://www.goodguide.com/#/ - you can search a product and understand how toxic/non toxic they are.
https://www.breastcanceruk.org.uk/reduce-your-risk - good advice on reducing risk
I gave up chemical colouring and moved to pure henna based colours - lush do some good ones but Amazon is also a good place to purchase henna colours. They're messier but healthier all round.
Em x
Hi Mumtothree
Glad you are through your op. I went through the same process as you, questioning my previous regime. I decided to stop colouring my hair and using nail varnish while I’m being treated. I looked at some research on whether hair colour can cause cancer. https://academic.oup.com/jnci/article/109/9/djx202/4102324https://academic.oup.com/jnci/article/109/9/djx202/4102324
I’m going through rads at the moment and when I’m through it will get a new haircut and later on some high/low lights but no more hair colouring. As for nail varnish I’ve been researching paraben and SLS free cosmetics. There is a site “beautydespitecancer.co.uk” which offers products developed for cancer patients, including nail varnish.
Best wishes for your treatment and let us know how you get on
F
Hi Goldengirl,
I was also given this advise by my oncologist, he said paint them in a dark colour , there have been no clinical tests but he had observed that the ladies he had treated who painted their nails seemed to keep them during Chemo. I asked why and he was unsure but throught it may keep them out of the light ... perhaps the same with Gel ones ? Just a bit cheaper !
I found that the pamper session each evening was quite theraputic for me, my mum used to do hers at the same time and sometimes friends when they were round. So chatting was good at my nail bar !
Did not share the nail pollish though, was worried about nail infections.
I had 8 sessions of Chemo 4 FEC and 4 Tax and the nails were a bit rough but I did not lose them. The Hair dissapeared but the nails looked good.... !!!
Hugs,
BerthaB
Hi one of the nurses said to me that girls are advised to paint their nails a dark colour , black or dark burgundy when having chemo to try and protect them. Anyone else heard of this. I still don't know enough about it all xx
My layperson's understanding is that Radiotherapy just affects your skin (and tissue etc underneath it) that is actully zapped. It is a local treatment not a systemic treatment like chemo. So I can't see why it should affect your nails or hair, and therefore hair colouring and nail tips shouldn't matter.
If/when you have chemo, you will probably lose your hair so there isn't much/any to colour (and any that is left may be too weak for chemicals and your scalp may be sore when it first falls out). Some chemo drugs make your nails weak, brittle or they may even fall out, so maybe nail tips are not a good idea in this case.
After chemo when your hair starts to grow back, then people often ask when they can start colouring it again. Some websites recommend waiting 6 months, but many people don't want to wait that long. One solution after chemo is to wait a few months and then use temporary (Level 1) hair colour - the stuff that washes out after 6-8 washes. This is usually milder than the more permanent hair dyes.