Hair Loss during and after chemotherapy is one of the side effects of cancer treatments. Not only you don’t feel well, but also you see all those changes in your body and you are not able to control them. It is really a testing time for those patients physically and emotionally.
Not all chemo treatments cause hair loss, but some do, depending on the cancer and medications needed for treatments.
Most of the time, few weeks after chemo treatment the hair follicles come back to life and the hair slowly starts growing back. Hair may have different texture and/or even different color. Sometimes it is thick and coarse, but sometimes it comes back thin and very fine.
Some doctors recommend Scalp Cooling Cup to minimize the hair loss. During the chemo appointment scalp is cooled down to reduce and control the blood flow to the top layer of the skin on the scalp. During that time they hope to have less delivery thru the blood vessels to the hair follicles. This may work for some forms of cancer treatments, but not for all chemo induced hair loss. During the chemo process the skin on the scalp becomes very sensitive and caution should be taken not to irritate the skin further.
After all the chemotherapy is done and new hair is starting to grow, discuss with your oncologist the possibility of using Minoxidil (Rogaine), for stronger hair growth.
Because chemo effects all cells in your body, we advise that you wait a year to let your body heal and your hair start growing naturally to reassess hair loss and possibility of adding SMP to camouflage hair loss. Also, please discuss that with your oncologist and get a clearance for Scalp Micropigmentation.
