Hair Regrowth after Breast Cancer Treatment in females
Breast cancer is not very common in India as compared to other cancers. Although, the hair loss it yields as a result is mentally disturbing for every woman. The regrowth of hair can be overwhelming but it follows some timeline, to get back on track. It isn't a matter of one or two days, it may take up to one year to get the right growth.
Let's learn through this article the timeline, products, and the hair regrowth ways to be prepared forehand in advance.
Multicenter Survey; 'Results on Hair Loss Percentage'
- The overall response rate was 81.5% I.e., 1511 out of 1853 responded to the survey.
- Almost 99.9% of the folks faced hair loss after chemotherapy.
- Scalp hair regrowth happened in 98% of the patients.
- Wigs were used by almost 84% of the patients which further decreased to 47% in the tenure of 1 year and 15.2% after the tenure of 2 years of chemotherapy session.
- The hair growth from scalp recovery rate was almost around <30% across the 4% patients after the successful completion of 2 years post-chemotherapy. This number remained constant even after 5 years.
Timeline for Hair regrowth after breast cancer treatment
The hair regrowth timeline generally varies for different people. On average, the stated timeline is -
- In the initial Two - Three Weeks, it's the time for the growth of very tiny, low quantity hairs.
- In the initial One-Two Months, you will witness some improvement in the thickness and quantity of hair growth.
- In the initial Two - Three Months, you will see that an inch of hair has already grown.
- In the initial Six Months, that one inch of hair has now grown up to two to three inches covering your baldness. On this timeline, people who earlier had the extremely short hairstyle can try going back to that.
- In the initial 1 Year, the growth of hairs will be long enough to go in public allowing it to brush and adopt some sort of hairstyling.
PLOS, 2019 Study Breast Cancer Highlights on Hair Growth
- Almost 89% of the respondents revealed that after chemo, their hairs regrew within an average timeline of 3.3 months.
- A minor set of patients said that after stopping the chemotherapy treatment completely, their hairs did not grow till starting 6 months.
- In the case of 13% of the respondents, hair regrowth was initiated even in the last days of the chemotherapy session end.
How to regrow my hair after breast cancer treatment?
- Massage your hairs with Essential Hair Oils like rosemary, coconut oil, lavender, peppermint oil, onion oil, ylang-ylang, and bergamot for 10 minutes using your fingertips daily to promote hair growth sooner.
- Exercise and do Yoga Frequently to ensure that you are fit enough to fight your physical and mental stress. Moreover, do some of the hair growth exercises from roots. Also, take vitamin D from the sunlight to strengthen your hair growth.
- Intake a healthy and balanced diet rich in vitamins, minerals, calcium, protein, and natural immune boosters.
- Onion Hair Care Kit is the best source of hair growth. Take some recommended kits from your specialist for hair growth and stoppage of the falling of the grown hairs.
- Switch to Herbal Hair Products for the healthy hair scalp.
- Wash your hair only two times a week thoroughly with cold or lukewarm water. Avoid heating on your hairs at any cost, as it will make your hairs thin.
- Go for the Scalp Cooling technique to reduce the overall reach of the chemotherapy medications to the hair follicles. It does this by narrowing down the blood vessels just below the hair scalp skin. It follows the principle that - lesser the chemotherapy medicine on the hair follicles, the fewer chances are there of hair thinning and it's falling out of the skin.
- Use Muslin Cloth instead of the Turkey Cloth to dry your hair.
- Avoid different hairstyles for some time and do not remove the hair tangles when they are wet. Use a broad soft brush to gently comb your hair.
- Avoid hair dryers, hair colors, chemicals, smoothening, rebonding, straighteners, heated rollers on your hairs, as they will make your hair thin and weak.
- Cover your head with a turban, hat, scarf while going out to avoid UV rays.
- Take omega 3 & omega 6 fatty acids. They work well in encouraging hair growth.
After Breast Cancer Recovery; Hair Growth Products
- Enhance the hair shaft growth phases.
- It's a stimulant having the capability to be used with Minoxidil and others.
- Consists of the copper peptides minimizing the hair follicle sleeping phase.
- Promotes Hair thickening and strengthening as it matures.
- Accelerate the hair follicles.
- Facilitate hair growth.
- Lower down the excess hair loss.
- Enhance the blood flow in the scalp.
- Advanced level cold caps are provided to patients while the chemotherapy is going on.
- Hinders the route of chemotherapy drugs from reaching the cells of the hair follicle.
- As per the data given by BreastCancer.org, - 'Usage of the cold caps proved to be effective only in the case of 50 to 65% of women.'
- Antifungal Shampoo
- Removes all the blockages.
- Clears the toxins caused in the hair follicles.
- Destroys the hormonal growth that creates a hurdle in routing the nutrients to the hair follicles.
Hair Texture & Appearance after Regrowth
The regrowth of the hairs after completing the chemotherapy period will be very thin and rough. It may cause multiple complications for women who want to style up their hairs. The regrowth generally takes some time and it's so slow in some of the cases, that from far, other people might end up perceiving you as bald.
In addition to this, the length and the fluffiness of the hairs might also vary in multiple cases. You may end up having a completely different set of hairs after chemo.
Moreover, the hair texture and color may also vary which may come to track after one or two years.
According to one of the study papers on Hair Texture by PLOS -
- In the case of 63% of the participants, the hairs grew curlier or in the shape of waves.
- In the case of 25% of the respondents, the hair texture remains the same as their original hairs.
- In the case of 53% of the participants, the hair color showed no changes. It remained the same as their original hairs.
- In the case of 38% of the respondents, the hair color of the regrew hairs was either grey, white, or light whitish black.
- In the case of 58% of the participants, the growth of the hairs was thinner.
- In the case of 32% of the respondents, the hair didn't become thin, it was the same as their original fluffiness.
Key Takeaways
Hair loss because of breast cancer is the most breathtaking symptom. With the pain inside, you are forced to face the outside trauma too, doubly deteriorating the mental health! The hair regrowth post-chemotherapy shall vary as compared to your original hairs in terms of its texture and color - you need to bear this fact! With certain medicines like biotin, omega, and proper adhering to the consulted specialist advice, you will be able to get your hair back sooner.
References
https://www.healthline.com/health/breast-cancer/hair-regrowth-after-chemo#The-takeaway