My Chemo Hair Care Regimen

February 26, 2022

My chemo hair care regiment was a little brutal. Five months of using reverse osmosis filtered water felt cold on my head but I got used to it. I went into to cold capping my head with little expectation of actually keeping my hair but remained positive each day with the vision that I would still have my hair when I completed treatment.

During diagnosis, I was having my best hair days! Here I am hanging out in Houston between appointments. I have the best colorist in Dallas! Shout out to Billy at Pin Salon Dallas!

After doing some quick research, I learned that women with fine short hair seem to have more success cold capping and decided to go in and cut it to chin length. I wept a little in the chair telling my colorist I didn’t know when I’d be back and he did not disappoint. I was absolutely in love with the golden highlighting that framed my face and the shorter hairstyle! I told Billy to make me feel like a lioness. Mission accomplished!

Chemo Hair Regimen

So, I’ve already written about how we cold-capped, and that is not this post again. This post is about hair washing days which occurred about every 3-4 days or when my scalp got incredibly sore, and I do mean it hurt. I did 6 cycles of TCHP every 3 weeks.

Oh, how grateful I was for the days I could wash my hair!! It felt so good!! The initial blast of cool water was tough but once I got past the first pour I was fine. I filled 3 containers of water, about 5 quarts total, to wash and rinse my hair. To keep the chemo from building up on my scalp as I sweat it out, I used DP Hue apple cider vinegar rinse which was amazing on my hair. I had no idea I should have been using this regularly just to keep it clean and get rid of all the products we use! I had some great curly hair days too with my new short do. Also, I was not super gentle with my hair while washing it. It hurt and got itchy and I used the pads of my fingers to rub my scalp gently but firmly. So yes, every 3-4 days I would wash it and if it got really sore, I washed it and rubbed it and it felt so much better. I think it’s important not to comb your hair while it is wet either because it pulls out so much easier when wet. I used a microfiber cloth towel to gently wrap my hair in after showering and then just let it air dry.

While caring for your hair during chemo treatments, I learned everything should be free of parabens, silicons, sulfates, and basically harsh chemicals that damage the hair. My other shampoo and conditioner of choice were Pureology which I never really used but a few times until AFTER my treatments. During treatments, it is suggested that you gently brush your hair and do not style it. No heat styling at all. 95% of the time, I combed my hair with my fingers. I had a wet brush that I used to occasionally actually brush my hair. Plus, it felt SOOOO good on my scalp.

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Ultimately, my hair thinned quite a bit after my 6th and final chemotherapy treatment. I never really experienced shedding until after that final treatment. The chemotherapy drugs accumulate in your body no matter how much water you intake but I was lucky that the only real bald spot I had was on the left side near my face, likely because I’m a side sleeper and that was the only side I could sleep on comfortably because of my mediport.

I was very cognizant of how my hair shed prior to being diagnosed with cancer and going through treatment. Frankly, I complained about how thin it used to feel. Man, I didn’t know how good I had it! It’s a shame we can’t enjoy ourselves in the now, isn’t it? Because I knew my hair patterns, I never became overly concerned at seeing my hair’s natural shedding pattern. I never had any expectations of keeping my hair either, and I don’t think I ever envisioned myself without it. Once I got past day 21, I knew I was doing well with the capping and continued to live in the mindset that my hair wasn’t going anywhere. Midway through, I did begin to lose my eyebrows and eyelashes. The eyebrow post is another story!! I must have spent at least $500 on make-up for eyebrows and lashes. I’m not good at make-up. LOL.

So, the recommendations for hair care AFTER chemotheraphy are to continue with the same gentle regimen for at least 6 months–no heat styling, no hair coloring, no bleaching. While I think that is a nice guideline, I just couldn’t stand to look at myself any longer with my grown-out roots and grey hair. I asked and researched online in my chemo cold capping community how long other women had waited to cut, color and style their hair looking for hope and found it. While some did wait until 6 months, there were plenty of women who had tried their luck after they noticed shedding had stopped. My first goal post-final chemo was to just take a regular shower without taking 5 quarts of cold filtered water with me. Successfully done about 2 weeks post final chemo. My hair had quit shedding. My scalp was still feeling a little sore but I was desperate to get rid of my grey.

My grey hair crept in real fast post chemo and my youngest seemed to love it, but alas, I did not. I was dying to color my hair by this time as the grey made me feel more bald because you couldn’t see the finer hairs growing back. By the way, two weeks after, my bald spot had already filled back in and faster regrowth is also attributed to cold capping. Below, was the first time I used my flat iron on my hair, just to see how it would look. I felt a little better but still very self-conscious.

At this point, I was all in to color my hair. I was about 11 weeks post final chemo and I was actually thinking about getting hair extensions. I actually did not make an appointment with my regular colorist because after asking, I knew the hair dyes were not as gentle as I had hoped and I didn’t think they did extensions either. So, I made an appointment to go to a small salon after much discussion with the hairstylists to get my hair cut and colored and then we would decide if my hair could handle more. I’m warning you, I look terrible without makeup and my hair made me feel like the Lord of the Rings character, Gollum; but afterward, my haircut and color made me look and feel SO much better. We did not do a ton of highlights, as we didn’t want to shock my hair follicles too much, but getting rid of that grey hair and that cut was everything! We skipped trying extensions.

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I did also do several Olaplex hair conditioning treatments (no. 0 + no. 3) aside from trying the rice water which is unbelievably amazing for your hair leaving it shiny and healthy!

I am taking about 10,000 mcg of Biotin daily for hair regrowth and my eyebrows and lashes are almost back! Today I am almost 15 weeks out from my last treatment and feeling optimistic about making a return to my old physical self as possible. Drinking your weight in ounces of water is key to overcoming side effects and keeping your skin and hair hydrated.

That’s the story of how I saved my hair. My oncologist has asked me several times if I would recommend cold capping to other women undergoing treatment and the answer is without a doubt, YES! It’s important to give hope in a time of pure anxiety, depression, and struggle. It’s also important that you just go with the flow and have no expectations either way. I was prepared at any time to shave my head, but I didn’t have to and I’m grateful for the sense of normalcy that capping helped me to maintain. There is nothing you can do but try and then rejoice in the goodness of that hope and success.