After chemo supplements -Nioxin hair growth?

Hello and congratulations on finishing your chemo treatments.  Now that is worth celebrating.  I don’t know much about hair growth but  the hair grows about 0.2 to 0.7 inches according to a Google search.  I think if you eat healthy fruits, veggies etc that may be the key to growing back your hair.  I also have read that unless you are deficient in biotin it isn’t a good treatment.  It can also interfere with certain blood test results.  I am not trying to discourage you but you can check with your oncologist and see if it is a good idea to supplement or just let your body get back in synch.  I watch Dr Dray on YouTube and she is a dermatologist and has some good ones on hair growth etc.  

Barbara

I too was advised to avoid anything beyond a healthy diet, vitamin D and if I really wanted to, a standard multivitamin tablet. Nothing high dose. or singled out. The hair will grow slowly for the first 6 months to a year but will be really soft. It then speeds up. I don't think any supplements or shampoos make a difference beyond lining someone else's pocket generously! My hair is about 3 inches at 8 months, and chemo friends have told me it takes approx 2 years to get to a bob length all over. The nails have to completely outgrow the discolouration and general damage from chemo and can remain fragile for a year or two. I just use hand cream, and massage my cuticles. I file and don't cut my nails. I also use nail strengthener and polish as they are fragile and a bit prone to breaking even 8 months on. My finger nails are almost back to normal now with no brown or white discolouration. Annoyingly the toe nail growth is slower than finger nails under normal circumstances, so the chemo is still growing out of them. But to be honest, I am just glad to have some hair, and my toe nails look pretty good painted!

I just eat well, exercise to help with fatigue and to reduce recurrence risk and try not to use things on my body that are scented as it dries out my skin. All in all I feel pretty good now. Oh, and I do exercises for the tightness from my radiotherapy too.

Congratulations Fiddlesticks, what a milestone, I have my last chemo next week. I am on the Paclitaxol and my hair has already started growing, like yours I have the Sinead O'Connor look. I have been using the Regaine for women mouse which I think is great, not sure if it has made a difference but I think it has. I will have to wait 8 wks before I can have it dyed, which is the hardest bit. I have also been using the Castor oil! Good Luck !

PS I never stopped eating Sushi?

Personally, I would avoid Nioxin as it has SLSs in it, which really dry your hair out. I was using natural shampoos and conditions before chemo (as near as natural as you can manage - no parabens, SLS etc) and I've stuck with that post-chemo and my hair is in really great condition. I didn't have my first hair cut until about 15 months after chemo ended and the hairdresser remarked how surprised she was that it was in such good condition. No dry ends, no split ends. I just wanted a tidy up so that the sides could catch up with the back but she barely needed to take anything off the length of the sides as it didn't need it.

I'm a big convert to SLS & paraben free. I use Curlsmith products exclusively now, but there are plenty of other great brands on the market at reasonable prices. 

You can find nioxin at a good price at https://www.bcgel.co.uk

Hi fiddlesticks 

I used nioxin shampoo and conditioner no2 I think . On advice from hairdresser used it after getting hair cut pixie style prior to chemo . 
I kept hair longer than expected on EC and shaved head towards chemo . 
rest of advice was not to touch hair as often as we all do lol but only wash when necessary and then very small amount of shampoo massaged into scalp ( not rubbed into hair ) one shampoo ,rinse then small amount conditioner into scalp rinse and pat dry . Leave to dry naturally avoiding use of hairdryer or heated products . 
I also used Aqueous cream on scalp when it was at shave length to moisturise folicles 
I went into lockdown in March 2020 with a fuzz and needed a haircut in July when allowed out to control chemo curls 

Hi. I waited until I started my radiotherapy about two months post chemo and asked my oncologist about biotin. He was quite happy. I have also been using faith in nature shampoo and conditioner. 

This is my hair three months down the line.