Hair regrowth and texture after treatment finished!

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Hi I have completed all my treatment 4 sessions of chemotherapy and 25 lots of radiotherapy, I lost my hair during chemotherapy.  My hair is growing back, however my hair has come in curly at the back and wavy on top and at the sides, and all grey (I expected the grey, being 61 and after years of dyeing it)!

I was wondering if anyone has had their hair regrowth and after time their hair has gone back to how it was.  My hair was not curly, slightly wavy, but straight more than anything.  I realise that your hair regrowth can take awhile and to change even longer.

I know the most important thing is that the chemotherapy worked to kill any cancer cells, but just wondered if anyone would let me know of their experience.

Thanks

Ange

  • Hi Ange

    I did scalp cooling but still lost hair and had regrowth of all different lengths as it started coming in. 

    It came back coarser than usual and I had some curls and waves. The curls and waves began to drop as my hair got longer. I would say there were changes after around 6 months to the texture but the chemo curls/waves took longer. (12 months)  I used a lot of leave in children's hair conditioner and that helped. 

    From around 18 months post chemo my hair looked much more like it did before- just shorter. At 2 years post treatment it is pretty much what it was- perhaps a slight wave. 

    Jane

           

    Macmillan Support Line - 0808 808 00 00, 7 days a week between 8am-8pm

  • Hi Jane

    Thanks for that, I’ve only got about 5 months regrowth, so I’ve got awhile to go before it may start looking like it was.

    I’m m only using shampoo, Faith in Nature as it’s gentle and doesn’t have some of the strong chemicals in like other shampoos.  Did you use a children’s conditioner, what brand is it?

    Thanks

    Ange

  • Childs Farm- leave in conditioner- I got from tescos but I believe it is available elsewhere. They do a range of different organic shampoos and conditioners. 

    For shampoo I tried different ones- anything that is gentle and moisturising worked for me. When it started to get a bit longer I used shampoo for curly hair as it seemed to give a bit more control. 

    I also found dry shampoo between washes helped. 

    I found letting my hair dry naturally and sort of scrunching my hair with my hands helped any curly bits be more manageable. If I tried to brush them down or tame them with hairspray or gel etc- I was fighting a losing battle

           

    Macmillan Support Line - 0808 808 00 00, 7 days a week between 8am-8pm

  • Hi Jane, I've completed my chemo two months ago and my hair is growing back. However, I heard that it's a good idea to shave the first hair that appear cause they grow back stronger (my hair currently is really soft, like on a baby's head). Have you shaved yours after the initial regrowth? Thanks for the answer!

  • No, I did not shave my hair. I used the cooling cap so my hair was all different lengths and textures. My new regrowth was a bit fluffy for a while but soon settled. I didn't have any breakage from the new regrowth.  I just used lots of leave in conditioner and had regular hair cuts. My hairdresser trimmed away any damaged hair and styled it back to how it was previously, bit by bit. It probably took around a year to lose the damaged hair and for the texture and chemo curls to go. 

           

    Macmillan Support Line - 0808 808 00 00, 7 days a week between 8am-8pm