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Advice please, hair loss with Chemotherapy treatment

(37 Posts)
HelterSkelter1 Sun 08-Jun-25 22:43:26

It will depend on the type of chemo drug whether you lose all of your hair or it thins. My hair thinned and became very much like Brilllo, but is now, 2 years in remission, back to normal. Other people with my cancer but on different chemo treatment as there are 60 different types of my blood cancer, lost all their hair. Most of those people said they had their hair cut short before treatment started and then had it shaved off which was less distressing than it falling out, made them feel in control and was more comfortable. They then chose beanie hats, scarves, turbans or wigs. Some hats come with false fringes. All say that once treatment finishes the hair grows back quite quickly. Sometimes curly for a while.
Whichever cancer you have will have a support line and they will be able to help with lots of advice. Macmillan wil be very helpful as well. Good luck with your treatmentX

swampy1961 Sun 08-Jun-25 22:36:51

It depends on the chemo you are having. Have you been offered the cold cap? If not, maybe have a shorter hairstyle and see how you go.
If you have been offered a wig prescription/voucher I would still go for a wig fitting as the actual loss of hair can be pretty upsetting. Otherwise, there are some lovely scarves and hats out there which you can have lots of fun with.
One of the girls in our group had loads of wigs even ones from seaside joke shops - she made a big thing of the multi- coloured fake hair that was around.

dragonfly46 Sun 08-Jun-25 22:19:16

I had my head shaved before I started chemo as they told me at the hospital I would lose it. I used to have lovely curly hair all shades of grey. 5 years on it is thin, dead straight and blond.
When having treatment I got lovely hats from the House of Christine and I bought a very good wig for special occasions.

RedRidingHood Sun 08-Jun-25 22:06:53

Also, hair loss continued after chemo ended. My eyebrows and every scrap of body hair. It was paclitaxel

RedRidingHood Sun 08-Jun-25 22:05:26

I had my hair cropped before I started chemo.
Once it started coming out in handfuls and all over the pillow I shaved it.
I did buy scarves but hated that "chemo scarf" look
I bought a lot of hats from Amazon and eBay. Google "chemo hats".
You get a wig on the NHS and it's worth getting one even if you don't wear it all the time because they are very realistic and occasionally you just want to go somewhere without it being obvious that you are a chemo patient.

Debbi58 Sun 08-Jun-25 21:45:00

My Mum lost all her hair due to chemotherapy, even her eyebrows. She had her head shaved and wore wigs initially. Her own hair did grow back very quickly though, unfortunately she's facing a different cancer now and has started a different chemotherapy treatment, apparently, she won't lose her hair this time . The wigs are much better quality this days . Good luck with your treatment

Whiff Sun 08-Jun-25 21:34:59

jeanie my husband's chemo made him lose his sense of taste and became impotent. But he didn't lose his hair ,or suffered any other side effects .

I would find out what sort of chemo it is. Until my husband had it I didn't realise there where different types and strengths. I just thought there was one chemo .

Retread Sun 08-Jun-25 20:56:37

When she had chemo, a friend was put in touch with a local charity where she was shown all different ways to tie scarves. She loved wearing a silk scarf with a long tie over her shoulder, the knot to one side.

She didn't lose all her hair either. And she had lovely complementary treatments at the same charity, reflexology, Reiki and so on.

Good luck!

AmberGran Sun 08-Jun-25 20:38:48

DH completed chemo a month ago and had no side affects at all. He doesn't have a lot of hair but it didn't seem any thinner after the chemo. I see lots of ladies around the hospital wearing turbans. A topper may be an option for you if you do lose hair, not as hot as a full wig.

Deedaa Sun 08-Jun-25 19:34:13

A friend of mine has always had thin hair and, over the last few years the front half of her head has become completely bald. If we are going out anywhere special she has a couple of nice wigs, but most of the time she wears a very light scarf/turban. She has assorted patterns and colours and they all look very attractive and they aren't too hot.

BlueBelle Sun 08-Jun-25 19:25:00

You may not lose your hair Jeanie my young friend has had two lots of strong chemo for stage 4 and although her hair is a bit thinner she hasn’t lost a lot and she’s had a good fairly short cut so looks good

jeanie99 Sun 08-Jun-25 18:55:27

I am not asking about the treatment just how people coped with hair loss.
I have long hair should I have it cut short before the treatment. What sort of head covering did you have and did it work for you.
I don't want to use a wig I'm sure it would be too hot.
I would very much appreciate any advice on this topic.