Hello
I can see a couple of posts and have Google searched but can't find a definitive answer>
I've just had 6 weeks of radical chemoradiation therapy, 5 weeks of radiation (25x days). Only completed 3 of 5 Cisplatin. Then 1 week of Brachytherapy.
Treatment finished end of first week of March, still dealing with the side effects. I'd really like to get my greys covered and - wish list - eyelashes and eyebrows done.
Unfortunately, both hairdressers I know know people/friends of mine and I've not told many people at all I have cancer so I don't feel able to ask them because it's unfair to ask them to keep a secret!
Obviously I'd patch test anyway but I've seen comments online about waiting up to a year?!??! I only had 3 chemo sessions weeks ago. I don't want to go grey!
Seems vain in the scheme of things - especially when so many of you have lost your hair (mine has thinned a little but wasn't expected to drop out) - but I'm desperate to get back to work (freelancer) so need to look presentable.
All thoughts welcome.
Thank you and best wishes to all
Hello Ab104
I understand how you feel.
My chemo was for endometrial cancer and in 2022. I did scalp cooling so kept most of my hair.
The thing I found with chemo is that although you can keep a fair amount of hair- it does still take a while to recover. You are likely to be experiencing some regrowth over the next and that will take some time to settle. I found I had hair of different lengths while it was growing back in. The hair that I kept throughout chemo did become quite coarse and more brittle. It didn't happen straight after chemo though. I did have some breakage.
I also wanted to colour mine. There are some water based hair dyes that are around and I did try one as I thought it would be more gentle however it didn't really take. My own hairdresser who is a friend said it was perhaps better to use what I would normally use- and no bleach. I prepared my hair first with some deep conditioning treatments. The hair regrowth came back curly.
In the meantime I used spray in hair colour and also the hair fibres. Not something that I would normally use but it did help disguise any greys. I did my first proper hair colour in February. My treatment finished October. The colour took ok but I did not leave it on as long as normal.
I did continue to shed hair for a couple of months after chemo ended. I did not do anything with my eye brows and eye lashes. I did actually lose them again but they came back fairly quickly.
I would advise lots of conditioner for the next month and see how your hair settles. One other thing I noticed was breakage if I used any sort of hair spray. I didn't use my hair dryer or straighteners for some time. I also found Childs Farm leave in conditioner really good.
Jane
