Curly Hair

[Catherine]

My last chemo was 8/23/06 (but who is counting?). Anyway, I have a silly question. My hair came back in gray and curly. It is now about an inch and a half long...have not cut it at all... I had it colored red with blonde highlights and I get a lot of compliments. It was never curly before. Will it stay curly? I am having a lot of fun with my new look. I may dye it purple next time, it is just too much fun and I do not feel like being traditional anymore.

Catherine

[Linda]

Hi Catherine!
Mine came in super super curly, too. I finished chemo 16 months ago and it's now very wavy. One hairdresser told me that the curl usually lasts about 2 years after chemo and that seems to be about what I'm heading for. Actually, I love the amount of curl I have now, but figure it will probably straigten out eventually.
Isn't it great just to have hair!
linda

[MJo]

Isn't it great. I finished chemo in May 06 and my hair came back salt & pepper and curly. I've had it cut four times since then and while it's not as curly as at first, I still get good waves.

[betlen5]

When I lost my hair in 2002 while on A/C it came back really curley. I LOVED it...However, after a few cuts it is now straight as a board. I use to have naturally wavey hair and I would love to have that back. I even tried getting a perm but it would not hold.

So, at this point I am just glad that the other treatments did not cause hair loss. Have fun with it!!! I sure did...

Betty

[Andi]

Mine came back curly and stayed that way for a year, until I started with Navelbine, now I would say it is wavy to semi-straight, but it still has the body (which I needed).

[janet11]

Oh I WANT curly hair!!! My last chemo was Dec 27, and my head is now showing a shadowing of dark..... so my hair is finally growing again. Guess I'm going to have to do a 'curly hair' dance each morning to promote this for me (*smile*).

Janet

[betlen5]

Janet, I will keep my fingers crossed for you ;)

[Mary Anne in TX]

Hi Catherine! I've had lots of smiles thinking of you in first red and then purple hair. Then as I let my imagination run wild, I saw a group picture of many on the board "decked out" in multi color hair and huge smiles!

My hair came back curly and grey/brown too! I'll just enjoy whatever it is at the moment. It seems to change colors every now and then! Weird, but fun! I'm just glad to have hair and not need to wear my hats!

[rinaina]

I finished chemo in July and my hair came in extremely curly, about an inch and a half now, very dark, almost black and a lot of grey. I have had one cut and they tried to color it a beigy blonde but my hair wouldn't take up the color properly so it is more of a mousey brown still with some grey. I am not fond of it at all. The curls are so tight, I can't do a thing with it. When I wake up in the morning I look like Don King! I have tried every hair product they make to try and style and the best I came up with is this Phyto Gel but it doesn't do much except add some shine and tame the "fro". I don't mean to sound ungrateful as I am thrilled to have hair back, but I miss my hair from before chemo which I loved. I really miss my color from before too.

[suzan w]

my hair came back curly too..same color...dirty blonde...and it was thicker than before. the curl did not last...which was OK, it was fun while it lasted! I am so glad to have hair!!! I have a short haircut now...and last month I had it bleached at the hairdressers. Have fun with your 'new' hair!!

[tousled1]

My hair came back poker straight! It always had a nice natural wave to it and was auburn in color. When it first started growing it was all gray and now as it has grown it is brown with just a slight bit of gray. Guess chemo affects hair growth in many different ways.

[Susan McQ]

Mine came back straight also. With quite a bit of gray.

Susan

[Catherine]

Janet11,
I am excited for you and the shadowing that you are now seeing. That is a great start. The curly is really fun. Congratulations on being done with chemo.

All the best, Catherine in Oregon

[sassy]

I had what I referred to as naturally "frizzy", auburn hair before. It came back curly and darker, with only a little grey at the temples which I had before. I love my new hair, wear it much shorter than before when I mostly wore it long.

Here's to hair of any kind!
________
VOLCANO VAPORIZER (http://volcanovaporizer.net/)

[juanita]

Mine came back in very curly. But now after 2 years it is now back to the way it was before. At least for the curls it is. My hair is darker with more patches of gray.

[janet/FL]

My hair came back curly and after I was thru with Herceptin, it really started to grow. Maybe a little more gray, but basically the same color. I have always had naturally wavy thin, blah, hair. I always envied men who just washed their hair and left for work while I had to waste time fixing it.
Well, now, I can just let it dry, brush or finger lift it, and go! I love it and will miss these curls when they go.

[newgg]

So glad to hear from some others that did not have those nice curls. I was really looking forward to that....always had very straight hair. It came back in straight and gum metal grey with a wonderful fuzzy feel !! What a hoot !! Now out of chemo for a bit over 2 years and hair is back to natural color...straight...... but do have one wild patch.....never mind !!
Hugs, Bonnie

[Brenda_D]

I will be happy just have hair again. :)
Right now I have "burnt stubble" that's driving me crazy and I'm fixing to shave as soon as I feel up to it.

[Vanessa]

My hair also came back curly with a lot of gray. I was able to get highlights to hide the gray. Before chemo, my hair had just a little bit of wave to it, which I used to use a straightening iron to get it straight.

[MGordon]

I see NO gray hair in that picture girl!

Lisa lost her hair 3x from chemo (Andromyacine/Cytoxin/Taxol then Navelbine then Gemsar) and once from WBR. Came back different EACH time! Kind like having a super expensive hair dresser but you have no say on the final style! Love it and go with the flow!

Love and Light
Mel

[carolynaltiere]

I have been on several different chemos for 2 years. I had a lot of hair so I never lost it all, when I stoped my drugs for a month my hair became thicker and verry verry curly, I was so excited to have such easy hair to deal with. It only lasted about 2 months for me now my hair is just wavy like it used to be. Everyone is different hope you keep your happy curles. carolyn A

[Malena]

Look at my hair here in the pic! No curly , but really without a form! They are like wool! I had long long hair before! But I like also my new look, I look more "lady"!

[Chelee]

I see many ended up with curly hair after chemo. I was totally shocked when my hair came back curly. I have *always* had very thin fine hair. Super straight and blonde. Now its hilarious to me. Its on the thicker side and very curly & wavy. This is the first time in my life its like a wash and wear type of hair. It seems to do its own thing. lol I'm just not use to it. In fact I still use my wig most the time. I am so use to long, straight blonde hair. But the wig is so HOT to wear its time to see let a hair dresser cut & style it for me...clean it up a bit. It is kind of fun to have something totally different after all these years. I never thought I would see the day I had any wave or curl in my hair...just unreal. Its just now long enough to cover my ears. :)

Chelee

[rinaina]

just went for my second haircut and color yesterday and had a better outcome color wise this time. still not as blonde as it use to be but it is getting there. was able to get a few highlights in the areas that were a bit longer...yeah! my curls are so tight. i can't do anything as far as styling other then a little styling gel and then just let it be. never looks the same twice. my stylist blew it dry straight but it was more work than what it is worth. actually like the way it looks curly better, but I still look forward to when my hair returns to how it use to be....at least I hope it will return to that. I too still use the wig for special occasions but I agree, they are too hot and now I have to wear a cap to contain my hair before I put the wig on so it isn't as comfortable and that adds to the heat retention as well. I still maintain that the hair thing was one of the most difficult parts of all of this for me next to how sick I was from chemo. To better hair days ahead for all!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bev]

Went from Halle Barry to Don King this past year. Started out with long, fine straight hair before BC. The curls are very cute, just don't know what to do with them. I get compliments on the curls. I never received compliments on my straight hair.

My curls don't look like they are going to give up any time soon, unless they colapse from their own weight. My hair isn't getting longer it's just getting bigger.

I'm debating between keeping it cut short or letting it grow long and wild. BB

[rinaina]

I can so relate with everything you wrote. I refer to myself in the morning as Don King! My curls too are so tight and can't tell if my hair is growing, it just gets fuller with curls.

[janet/FL]

The darn thing about these curls is just when they start growing out and you start to like them and see how easy it is to take care of--they--and all the body and some of the thick hair--just dissapear! At least that is happening to me right now! Give me back the body and the curls! It was just--wash and brush out--I loved it! But this only seems to last a few months. Did anyone have it last longer?
Janet/FL

[betlen5]

Janet, mine lasted about the same amount of time....DARN IT!! I loved curley hair. However, I started letting my hair grow longer instead of keeping it short in fear that I might loose it again. (It's only hair) It is know getting the body, waves and some curls back in it...Weird huh....

There may still be hope for those of us who liked the body the curles gave us..

Take care Janet..AND EVERYONE ELSE HERE((((((HUGS))))))

[rinaina]

Mine is still curly after 2-2 1/2 inches of growth and it has gotten even curlier as it has grown. Curls are soooo tight that I can't imagine how it will go back to the slightly wavy hair I once had. It is, however, very easy to take care of as you stated.

[Val Pfeiffer]

My hair also was much more gray when it grew back (I finished chemo in June 2005). It is still much curlier than before, however the little bit of gray hair I had prior to chemo was more course and curly than my other hair, so I attribute my still-curly hair to the fact that my hair has a much higher concentration of the courser, curlier gray hair. And I don't color, but I lighten to what was my natural color. People tell me that they would love to have my hair (they wouldn't want to pay the same price though :-)

I had body before, but I love my hair even more now -- except for keeping up with roots! And one of these days I will post a new picture--my hiar is now almost to my shoulders--none of you would recognize me!

Val

[rinaina]

Wow, it took this long to get to your shoulders? Does herceptin slow down the growth of hair at all? I didn't realize just how slowly your hair grows from when it starts to come back to when it finally is about shoulder length. So your hair is still curly?

[Val Pfeiffer]

I had haircuts along the way, so no, I don't think my hair grows more slowly than before--it grows at a rate of about 1/2" to 3/4" per month. I change my hairstyles frequently :-)

[IRENE FROM TAMPA]

and each time has been different. The first time it came back curly and thick. My hair was normally baby fine and wavy. It was that way for three years and then I lost it again to recurrence -

The second time it came back thin and straight.

This last time while on the Tykerb/Xeloda trial it is coming back about 2 inches now with some curl again but the texture is like down fuzz. If you have every seen a baby chick before its full feathers come out- they have like fuzzy down, that is how mine feels.

I cant wait until it grows out, but what I really miss the most is my shoes. My feet are pretty dried and cracked from this treatment and I can't wear my heals, which I miss my cute shoes. Oh well, I can LIVE with that.

Now to get the hair back in shape.

Take care everyone...... it's fun just comparing our stories. Makes me feel better.

[Steph]

Mine too was very curly when it came back. Stayed curly for about 1 1/2 years but after a few cuts it just went away and is now straight. It is darker than it was before. I loved it when it was curly... have fun with it and if it changes again have fun with that too.:)Steph

[betlen5]

Irene, I am on the Xeloda/Tykerb and I have finished my first round (14 days) of Xeloda. When did you start loosing your hair with these drugs?

Betty