post tx hair - when it grows back

[YuK]

Question to all you post-tx'rs.  I still have a few months to go (to 48 wks) and the hair loss has slowed.  But, what remains is dry and a fried look - I hate it.  Do you think I should cut my current frzzy hair short at the end of tx so the healthy hair will grow in?  Did anyone have this problem with the hair that remained?

[charm27]

I lost so much hair during my 55 weeks...I never cut it there wasnt much too cut. Even the hepatolgist said my hair loss was bad. I finished tx 12-12-08. And ALL my hair returned by June 09. I got my first haircut 4-1-09~
I waited for most of my hair to grow back in before cutting it again..

It all comes back!
Much peace
CHARM

[newleaf09]

I was late to start any serious hair loss and lost handfulls the last week and for at least a month after EOT.  At 7 weeks EOT I'm still losing but not in handfuls.

4 weeks ago I finally cut my below shoulder length hair to below chin length beacuse it only looked at all normal on the day I washed it (about 1 day a week) and I could see through it the rest of the days.  I mostly put it up now since thinness is not noticeable to others when up (though it's the world's skinniest ponytail).  My mother loves it up ('why don't you get that hair out of your face' for 50 years now!).

Shop the conditioner aisle and go for the anti-frizz, deep conditioning stuff to tame the dry frizz.  I'm hoping to follow Charm's pattern and be all grown back by 6 or 7 mos. EOT.

[lapis]

My hair is short anyway.  By EOT it was so fuzzy-looking, as if I'd stuck my finger in a socket!!  Hair loss was mostly visible in front and on top, though my hairdresser found a spot on the back where more hair was lost (weird, huh?).  

By about 8 wks post there was such a noticeable difference, hair filling back in, but the fuzzy look was still a problem so I got it trimmed again.

I found some Rosemary Hair Oil (by Weleda).  I usually (still) put some hair gel in my hand and a 1/2 tsp or so of the hair oil, mix that together and rub it on my damp hair.  As it dries, the gel gives it some body and the oil makes it less fuzzy.

At 14 wks post, my hair actually looks normal to me again, but the fuzzy look is still apparent until I "do something" to it.  Yes, it all comes back, and I have a feeling my hair may be thicker than before tx.

[Marcia2202]

Hmmm... I still haven't figured out what to do. I have about 30% left, but fortunately it fell out evenly. I have it tied back. Mynice curly hair has gone completely straight on the top. That is the weirdest part of it. I really have no clue what to do with it, so I keep it in a pony tail.

[nygirl7]

It'll grow back so nice and healthy that you aren't going to want to have the dried frizz hanging on the bottom.  Why not cut it a bit at a time maybe so it's not too drastic to you but it gets rid of it, like Lapis?. My hair is now longer than it's been in years and I am only 2 1/2 years post, lost about 75-80% and it's at last 12 - 14" inches past my shoulders now.  Which makes sense because hair grows usually about 1/2" a month.

Of course, I started bleaching it again and I wash it every day so it's not nearly as healthy as it was but when it grew back  it was brand new virgin beautiful hair. Unfortunately it grew back sort of black black black and it was too dark for me and I looked like a vampire.  If I could have left it alone it would probably be so much longer and healthier.

I get it cut quite often but I work in corporate for the son of the owner of one of the biggest beauty companies in the world so I get it cut for free..........otherwise I'd probably be hacking it off myself as I have no patience!

[meakea]

I have experienced a lot of hair loss during my TX.  I'm at week 46 tonight and I've had to wear a wig for the past 2 months.  I finally gave myself a chemo shave down to about 1/4" because my hair was so uneven and thin and was not growing at all.  I thought that once I cut it all down it would start to grow out but, NOPE, it hasn't grown a bit since I cut it 6 weeks ago.  I imagine it won't grow until after treatment is done.

I'm not disappointed that I shaved my hair down because it looked so awful with the receding hairline back to my ears and the uneven spots and dry and suddenly gray but I am disappointed that it hasn't even grown a spec in 6 weeks.  All in due time I guess.  In the mean time, I look pretty cool with my spiffy wig.  :)

[epiphiny]

I had lots of hair loss also, and I found a lot of it the other day when I cleaned out my vacuum cleaner!!!

But since stopping tx it has started romping back in.  Looks a bit weird cos there's a lot growing through but the ends are still all thin.  I'm not going to cut it til it thickens up even more so I just wear hats and ponytails etc.  Took a few weeks for the new growth to become really obvious.

At the moment I'm still not coloring it so it's shiny healthy hair but I can hear the highlights calling me.....

[rita863]

I lost alot of hair and if you look at my pics it was at my shoulder right before treatment.  When I started to loose it so much I just cut it all off, and now it thicker and healthier than ever and I still keep it short, it much easier!!


Peace
rita

[AnotherJourney]

I treated for 12 weeks and then stopped as I was a slow responder. Right at about the time I stopped my hair loss started and lasted for about 6 weeks. I too had curly hair and it seems like the gray hair and the straight hair was all that stuck in my head. Now at about 14 weeks post tx, i finally have what I call "hair nublets" growing in. A ton of short hair about a half to 3/4 inches. Like NY the new growth also seems darker.  

[alagirl]

I cut my hair into a rather unfortunate Katie Holmes like do' at the beginning of tx because I figured it would fall out.  About a third of it did fall out, but I ended up cutting the rest later (it's long again now) because what I had left was so fried.  The hairdresser who did that was a good friend from high school who knew what was up with me, and he said the only other girl with hair damaged in that way that he had seen was another hcv treater.  Difficult to explain how it was now, but dry and fried and yet gummy all at the same time.  It was just... gross.

[YuK]

Well, it sounds like I have a lot in common with many of you.  My hair was below my shoulders, thick and curly/wavy.  Now lapis & alagirl are describing me, dry and fried.  I have it all, thin, skinny ponytail, or like I stuck my finger in a socket. I've never seen hair like this, if you can call it hair!

But, like Alagirl, I was considering doing the katie holmes look but I was afraid it would just stick up at least now I can tie it back in that skinny ponytail (short ponytail).

Maybe I will just leave it alone and NYGirl just wait until it starts growing again then cut the fried stuff off.

I've seen Chemo patients with straight hair pre-tx, start growing curly hair post-tx.  I wonder what happens to the pre-tx curly type hair?

[lalapple]

mine stopped coming out so badly during last few weeks of tx.  but now i'm post tx 2 mo and i feel like it's falling out a little more.  
i had mine layered before i started tx, and after tx, it looks like someone tore my hair off at the ends so i got it fixed evened it out.