It’s all new to you. You have cancer. You prepared yourself as best you could for chemo hair loss. You bought a wig or a few hats and headscarves. You got through the hair loss process, but now what? How do you care for your newly bald head?
I learned a lot from my own experience in chemo treatment for ovarian cancer in 1988, then I learned even more from the cancer patients I saw for the next 25 years in my hairdressing practice.
1. Continue to wash your scalp every day when you shower or bathe. If you don't shower every day, at least run a warm washcloth over your head to remove perspiration and oil.
Your scalp will produce the same amount of sweat and oil whether you have hair or not. Think about how dirty your hair gets in one day. That’s because your hair collects and absorbs all the sweat and oil.
If you allow that perspiration and oil to build up, you could get a type of cradle cap, but that will not be an issue if you wash your head every day.
2. Use your regular shampoo unless it makes your scalp feel dry and tight. If it does, switch to a milder shampoo, such as a professional shampoo for color treated hair.
Do not use bar soap. It’s way too harsh and can irritate your scalp and hair follicles. No need to use conditioner on your head. Conditioner is to soften and detangle your hair.
3. You may read articles that say to use lotion on your head. Please don’t. As I mentioned above, your scalp probably produces plenty of natural oil. If your scalp does get dry, use a facial moisturizer that is free of mineral oil or any petroleum products which are usually found in hand lotion.
If you use hand lotion on your head, it will make your wig or hats and scarves dirtier faster, leading to more frequent washing, and who needs that?
The exception would be if you have radiation on your head. That’s a different story. In that case, use whatever products your radiologist recommends.
4. Let your scalp breathe. Choose soft, breathable fabrics for your head coverings and take them off a few times a day, if you can.
For more information on how to prepare for chemo hair loss, watch my video: Chemotherapy Hair Loss: To Shave or Not to Shave Your Head
Have a question? Send an email to asknicki@hatsscarvesandmore.com and stay tuned for more Chemo Tips.
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Hair loss from COVID usually starts 2 to 3 months after recovering. It can be anywhere from mild to extreme, from 10% of your hair up to 80%.
So, just when you start feeling better and your life is getting back to normal, boom! Your hair begins to fall out.
As most of us know, with any serious illness, stressful life events, surgery or even having a baby, you will likely experience hair loss to some degree. How much and for how long varies depending on the illness or prolonged stress level.
There is a lot of technical information online about COVID hair loss but the gist of it is, when you are seriously ill your body goes into survival mode and all your “juice” goes to your major organs to keep you alive. There is very little left over for the hair.
According to the American Academy of Dermatology Association the hair shedding can last 6 to 9 months. From the searches I’ve done, there isn’t enough data yet to know if hair loss persists if you have Long COVID.
So, what can you do about COVID hair loss?
First of all, it’s highly personal. There is no right or wrong way to deal with COVID hair loss, especially when it comes on fast and hard and unexpectedly. You have no idea if or when it will stop. The unknown is always the hardest place to be.
It’s not easy for any woman to lose her hair. But for some it’s harder than others, especially if you’ve always been known as “the woman with beautiful hair.” It can feel as if you have lost a part of your identity.
It’s temporary and will most likely grow back as your body heals. For the interim, you can wear some cute hats or headscarves. Depending on the length of your hair and how much has fallen out, you may want to cut it short. What is left will lack body and shine anyway.
If I lost 50% of my hair and my scalp was showing through, that’s exactly what I would do: Cut it short and wear hats and headscarves. If you cut it 3-4 inches long you will have some hair to peek out from beneath a hat or headscarf. If it looks too straggly take the plunge and cut it down to an inch or two.
If you have long hair and cutting it short feels too drastic, consider cutting it mid-neck, one length –no layers or razor cuts, so that your hair will look fuller beneath your hat or headscarf.
Please avoid internet hacks and scams. Since COVID related hair loss is now becoming more well known, scams are sure to follow. Don’t waste your money or your hope.
When searching “COVID hair loss” on the internet I came across an article that was titled “5 Natural Ways to Encourage New Growth.” It was complete bull. Putting an egg on your head will not increase the protein in your hair and make it grow faster. And really, who wants to go to bed with red onion juice on their head? Of course, there were a plethora of ads for “miracle hair growth” vitamins. Please pass.
I do, however, highly recommend that you see a naturopath. COVID-19 is a devastating virus. They can recommend protocols, foods and supplements that will help restore your body and with that, encourage new hair growth. Restoring your health will come from the inside, from giving your body the nutrition it needs to heal.
You should start to see new growth in 3 to 4 months after the hair loss stops. Don’t be surprised if it comes in wavy. At first it will be light and wispy, just like baby hair. No worries. After those first couple of inches are trimmed off, your hair will most likely be the same as before, with maybe a few more grey hairs to commemorate your recovery.
As a hairdresser, my advice is, when you have enough new growth to cover your head and have a cute, short haircut, say goodbye to the old hair and start fresh with a new look.
And above all, be grateful you survived and recovered.
By Nicki Serquinia Owner/ Designer / CEO Hats, Scarves & More
Nicki Serquinia was recently interviewed on KXLY New Now, an ABC affiliate, about COVID hair loss and what Hats, Scarves & More is doing to help women experiencing medical hair loss. You can watch the interview here.
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Not all chemotherapy drugs cause hair loss, but the ones that do are fairly predictable. If your doctor has told you to expect hair loss, this is what usually happens:
One and a half weeks after your first treatment, your scalp may become tender. Some people don't feel this at all, and for others their scalp becomes quite sore. This is normal and goes away after the hair loss is complete.
Hair loss begins about two weeks to the day after your first treatment and takes 3-7 days. I promise you, you will not lose your hair before two weeks, and you will not wake up one morning bald without warning.
You can generally wear your hair normally for the first few days, but by the third or fourth day (after the two week mark) you'll be ready to comb out what's left and cut it short, if you haven't already.
Whether or not to cut your hair before you begin treatment is a matter of personal preference. For some women, having their hair cut into a shorter style helps them get used to it, and it's less traumatic when the hair begins to fall.
For others, particularly if you love your hair, cutting it any sooner than you have to is more traumatic. Either way, you'll definitely want to have it cut short once hair loss begins.
100 hairs that are two inches long are much easier to deal with than 100 hairs that are 6 or 10 inches long. Also keep in mind that even before your hair begins to fall out, it will probably look dull and lose body.
In my 25 years as a hairdresser helping cancer patients through this process, here are my best recommendations:
When your scalp becomes tender is a great time to cut your hair short, down to about 2 inches. Don't shave it yet. I'll explain more later. Cutting your hair short at this point will greatly relive the tenderness.
Three to five days after the two week mark, your hair loss will really pick up speed and you'll be tired of dealing with it. At this point you want to encourage the hair to come out.
Gently comb out your hair. Then shampoo and rinse. A lot more will come out. Apply your regular conditioner and comb through your hair with the conditioner in. This puts just enough tension on your hair to gently coax it from the follicle. This will probably remove about 80% of your hair and it will not hurt.
Rinse out the conditioner, dry your hair and now you are ready to clip it down. It's very important that you do not clip it all the way to the scalp. Please use a #2 attachment.
If you clip it all the way to the scalp, those little whiskers will get caught in the follicle. They will detach from the papilla, the bulb that feeds the hair, but be stuck in the follicle. This will be like a splinter or ingrown hair and you will get tiny red bumps or sores. This is not good and can be totally avoided if you use an attachment and leave a little bit of hair.
Okay, so you've clipped your hair with a #2 attachment. Now take one of those masking tape lint rollers and roll it over your head. You will be amazed at how much more hair comes out. Use the lint roller several times a day to get the rest of it out. Your head will feel so much better. When the hair follicle is inflamed even the weight of a couple inches of hair can be uncomfortable.
Continue to wash your scalp with a mild shampoo (not bar soap) every day, even after you've lost your hair. Your oil glands will put out the same amount of oil whether you have hair or not, and this will keep your wig, hats and scarves cleaner.
]]>The best way to measure your head is to use a measuring tape and measure around your hairline, starting at the forehead, around the ears, nape of the neck and back up again.
When you come to your ears, measure next to your head, not over the ears. A small adult head measures 20.5”-21.5”, medium is 22”-23” and a large head size is 23”-24”, occasionally 25”.
If your hairline grows extra low in the back, measure where you would want a hat or turban to sit. You might want to measure several times to see if you get the same result.
Usually, children around 9 or 10 years of age can wear small adult sizes. Our hat and headscarf descriptions include head sizes based on this way of measuring.
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