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Chemotherapy Hair Loss
Prevention
What You Can Do About Chemotherapy Hair Loss Prevention
If you are undergoing radiation treatment,
chemotherapy hair loss prevention
may not seem to be your biggest concern, but it is certainly a viable one.
After all, if you’re already sick and not feeling well, you don’t like
having your appearance go under such a drastic change as well.
Unfortunately, you may have to use hair replacement products such as a wig after your
chemotherapy is completed to temporarily cover up your bald head.
The good news is that there are plenty of hair replacement options to choose
from, many of which are safe to use until your own hair grows back. That’s
the other good news – after you complete chemotherapy your own hair will
grow in again. But it will be thinner and finer, like a baby’s hair. To
prevent excessive balding (or at least minimize it), talk to your doctor
about ways and products to prevent as much hair loss as possible during your
chemotherapy. Since the hair can begin falling out within a week of starting
treatment, it is best to talk to your doctor about
preventing hair loss well before
your treatments start.
Wear a "Cold Cap" During Therapy
Because chemotherapy attacks fast-growing cells, it tends to attack hair
follicles, which is why you end up with hair loss. Many cancer centers now
offer some options to prevent or at least minimize this, including wearing a
“cold cap” that restricts blood flow to the scalp to prevent most of the
drugs from reaching and attacking the hair follicles. Its effectiveness in
even partial baldness prevention varies from 10%-85%, depending on the drugs
being used, and not everyone can tolerate it, so talk to your doctor. If it
doesn’t work for you, mention to your doctor that you want to look into
replacement products after your treatments are complete. He will be able to
guide you in choosing an appropriate option.
Different Color/Texture After Re-Growth
One final surprise when you lose your hair to chemotherapy – it can grow
back a different color or texture! So if you try out different products for
replacing your lost hair, don’t blame them if your formerly curly hair grows
in straight or vice versa. The reasons aren’t clear, but if you can’t
prevent the loss of most of your hair, it often grows out over the months
looking much different than its former appearance.
Return from Chemotherapy Hair Loss
Prevention
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