Myth #2: I will lose ALL my hair.
First things first, you will lose hair. That is unfortunately unavoidable with chemotherapy since the drugs work by targeting rapidly dividing cells of which hair is the second fastest one. This is also a sensitive one and very individualistic because, as with most aspects of chemotherapy, what happens for some may not happen to others but I will say do not lose hope.
Two weeks into chemo I completely lost all body hair (something I was NOT complaining about…goodbye bikini wax!) but I also had what felt like a massive shed from my head. It felt like someone ripped out my soul, it was the darkest part of this journey. Losing my hair was the part of chemotherapy that petrified me the most; so much so I almost pulled out. I was concerned it seemed vein but it’s not. My curly, crazy hair was something I had learnt to love about myself and I couldn’t bare the thought of letting it go. But as you can see in the picture for this post (the one on the right being 4 months into chemotherapy) my overdue luck came in, Paxman came to my rescue and I’ve retained so much hair that my Oncology team joked about taking samples for genetic testing to see why!
But how?
Paxman and OLAPLEX.
Paxman
I will do a separate post on the procedures and tips of Cold capping, but for now I want to say do not lose faith in the cap. It can be a difficult decision to make whether to do it or not as, I will not lie, it hurts like a bitch. You will be asked if you want paracetamol and a light sedative before hand to help with the pain, I personally do not take these but if you feel it helps then 100% do. As a result though, deciding whether its worth putting yourself through the additional discomfort especially if you start to see hair loss coming through is tough.
Shedding will begin between days 14-21 after your first treatment, this was very true to me. I’d lost all body hair but handfuls of hair from my head started coming out and It can feel like your world is crashing down. But I can say it may not continue forever. I did think "‘what is the point it’s clearly not working’ but 7 days after it began to shed, it stopped. I persevered, carried on cold capping and the lack of body hair, eyebrows but so much hair on my head show that even if you do lose some hair, it doesn’t mean that the cold cap isn’t working; without it you would likely be losing more. Again, this is individualistic, some unfortunately do not experience the effects of cold capping and can lose it but, if it starts to fall, don’t lose faith. Keep going and see what happens.
OLAPLEX
I touched a little bit on OLAPLEX in my Chemo Survival Kit post https://www.backsbrainsandboobs.com/blog/chemotherapy-survival-kit but here I’ll dive a little deeper into the ones I use. Keeping the health of your hair is incredibly important in rescuing it from chemotherapy. Not only will the drug effect it but also the cold cap itself can be very drying and damaging to the existing hair so looking after it is key. I’ve never been one to spend that much money on hair care so the price of OLAPLEX did seem pretty steep but I can honestly say it was the best thing I have ever bought. It’s patented formula works by repair the bonds within the hair to protect and strengthen it and it really works. The number system can be a bit confusing so I’ve broken down exactly which ones I use, when I use them and why.
No. 5
OLAPLEX No. 5 is the conditioner. You have to wear conditioner to stop the cold cap freezing to the hair, so I use this instead of the one they provide at the hospital and I truly believe it gives it a treatment at the same time. I will then not wash my hair for 3 days post treatment whilst the drug is circulating in my body and then when I do wash it this is the conditioner I’ll use.
No 3.
OLAPLEX No. 3 is a hair mask and its UNBELIEVABLE. Every time I use it people ask me if I’ve had my hair done… certainly have not! You apply to damp hair and leave it to do its magic before washing it out. I personally leave it in overnight and find this works the best but you can also leave it for as little as 10 minutes. During chemo its important to not over wash your hair but also don’t be scared to clean it as it needs to stay healthy! I wash mine twice a week and both times I’ll use this mask.
No. 6
The No. 6 is a bond smoother and you can use it on damp or dry. I personally put a little bit through my hair and on the ends every night before I go to bed and its amazing at keeping your hair from drying out and, especially with mine, turning frizzy!
Other tips
As well as these a couple of other things I suggest are a silk pillowcase, not using any heat and letting your hair dry naturally and using a wide tooth comb to brush your hair instead.
Hair loss sucks, there is no denying. But don’t lose hope xx
