Your new hair might have a different texture or color. It might be curlier than it was before, or it could be gray until the cells that control the pigment in your hair begin functioning again.
Your hair can grow back an entirely different colour. Your perfectly beautiful brunette mop might grow back grey and vice versa. It's not uncommon to become a redhead after chemo when you were a brunette before.
In time, the color and texture of your hair will likely return to its pre-chemo state (if you remember what that is), but until then, special care is required. 1 Let's take a look at what you can expect not only with your hair, but your emotions during hair loss and regrowth.
Hair usually starts to regrow within 4–6 weeks after finishing treatment, but it may be different in texture and color than before. After 12 months, hair should be long enough to brush and style.
This is due to the loss or change of pigment and may result in hair that is white, gray, or another color that is different from your natural hair. Expect a change in hair texture. Your hair may initially be curly, coarse, or even fine like baby hair. Often, it is very curly, hence the name "chemo curls."
Most chemotherapy side effects go away in time, but some can linger and require monitoring or treatment. Possible long-term side effects of chemo include damage to your heart and peripheral neuropathy, in which damaged nerves can cause pain, weakness or numbness in the extremities – arms, hands, legs and feet.
You can ask your hairdresser to suggest henna dyes or vegetable based dyes for you. These are gentler on the hair than the other types of hair colouring. So hair specialists think it is safe to use them.
It generally takes about 48 to 72 hours for your body to break down and/or get rid of most chemo drugs. But it's important to know that each chemo drug is excreted or passed through the body a bit differently.
Chemo curls are generally not permanent and should reduce with time. Other changes to the color and texture of the hair should also go away as the drugs leave the body after treatment. In the meantime, gentle care and styling can make managing the hair much more straightforward.
As your body starts to recalibrate after chemotherapy, your hair will likely return to its usual texture and color within months to a year. The pattern of hair loss and regrowth is different for every person going through chemotherapy, and may be related to age, treatment tolerance and personal health history.
You can expect to regrow your hair three to six months after your treatment ends, though your hair may temporarily be a different shade or texture.
Consider trying minoxidil (generic Rogaine®)
Minoxidil (generic Rogaine®) is an FDA-approved topical treatment for hair loss. While it's typically used to treat male pattern baldness, it's been studied as a remedy for chemotherapy-induced alopecia as well.
When your strand turns gray or white, the pigment cells in that follicle have already died. 1 "In other words, plucking a gray hair will only get you a new gray hair in its place," says Gillen, so any plucking is pretty much pointless. You're simply delaying the inevitable.
Eyebrows will usually start to grow back after treatment finishes, but they may grow back thinner or patchier. They tend to grow back slower than head hair and in rare cases they don't grow back at all.
Short, planned delays in chemotherapy for good-risk GCT patients (less than or equal to 7 days per cycle) appear to be acceptable since they may prevent serious toxicity in this curable patient population. Delays of longer than 7 days are strongly discouraged except in extraordinary life-threatening circumstances.
Chemotherapy can also cause changes to the bacteria in the gut. When bacteria become out of alignment, a person may experience abdominal pain, bloating, and gas. Often, chemo belly will go away on its own when treatments conclude.
Head hair usually goes first, followed by hair from other areas of the body. But again, everyone responds differently, so it could be sooner or later, depending on the individual. Is there any way of preventing or minimizing hair loss caused by cancer treatment? No, not really.
Pat on concealer to hide reddish or dark areas. Then apply a warm tone foundation, blending into your neck for a natural look. Use a powder blush for long lasting color, applying blush upwards from cheek to hair line. Use left-over powder on the brush to give a glow to your forehead and chin.
Most people say that initially following chemotherapy treatment their new hair growth does seem different then before treatment. It can take a while for new hair to fully regenerate and so the first hairs can often be finer and a different texture then before.
Chemotherapy and radiation therapy may cause changes in the lining of the mouth and the salivary glands, which make saliva. This can upset the healthy balance of bacteria. These changes may lead to mouth sores, infections, and tooth decay.
Chemotherapy drugs target cancer cells which stop or slow their growth. A person undergoing chemotherapy should avoid eating undercooked or raw food, interacting with actively infectious people, overexerting themselves, and consuming too much alcohol.