Hair loss during chemotherapy is also known as chemotherapy-induced alopecia or CIA. There is not much you can do to prevent hair loss during chemotherapy, however there is scalp hypothermia (cooling of the scalp). Cold restricts blood flow. When you cool your scalp, you temporarily decrease blood flow to that area. This reduces the amount of chemo that gets to your hair follicle cells. There is a “cold cap” you can wear on your head during chemotherapy that cools the cells to resist chemo from going to those hair follicles, however you have to be very diligent about wearing it before/during/and even after chemotherapy. From what I have heard from people who have used the cold caps, they sometimes don’t even work after all that! I just remember how cold I used to be during treatments when wearing the cold mitts and booties, so I can’t imagine wearing one on my head also! However, this is really the only option to PREVENT hair loss during treatment.
I decided not to go that route and if you are like me and are so lucky to have all of your hair fall out during chemotherapy, I have some tips and tricks for you for growing it back out. Things that I used:
- Castor oil
- Biotin oil
- Babe lash
- Head massage
I used castor oil on my head and eye brows, but you have to be careful to put it ONLY where you want hair growth because that shit WORKS. It’s very thick and greasy so I only used this when I was completely bald or had just tid bits of hair. I also supplemented the biotin oil on my head when my hair started to grow back because it spread through my hair a little better than the castor oil. Babe lash is what I used on my eyelashes. I applied every day until my eyelashes started to grow back and then I started to apply every other day … then eventually switched to just weekly until they were back in full force (I still use this product because it’s amazing). I also used head massage to stimulate the hair follicles for regrowth. Luckily my mom was with me helping me recover from surgery at the time my hair was growing back so she would massage my head using a wire head massager and not only does it help with hair regrowth but it feels GOOD.
These things listed are easy and relatively cheap. You don’t need all the fancy things, just start with something simple and give it some time. In the meantime, they make hats and wigs for a reason… because there is A LOT of awkward stages in between.
Mandafit 