Share your experiences with cold capping, socks and mitts & chemo

I didn't use a cold cap. I lost my hair due to Taxol. It came back the best hair I ever had. So nice and curly. After my first couple of haircuts it was gone, but I'm so glad I experienced wonderful hair in my lifetime! I went through chemo at 79-80. I'm now 82 and showing no sighs of new tumors. A very nice wig worn when I was bald ,was a complete waste of time and money.

I lost my hair from chemo nearly 3 years ago. It came back jut to my shoulders as it looked when i was a child. Re and curly.
In April of this year, i lost it again due to MDS and chemo. This time the loss of long red hair of 40 years was walked through. At just to the top of my shoulders I let it go. I still have a good wig from my first time, but this time after going to a zoom class on wigs, I realized i was not getting a new one. Beanie caps are what i will wear.
Find in your heart what YOU want.

Thank you for all the wonderful comments.
Kathy

It will likely depend on the type of chemo you’re having. I did weekly taxol for 12 weeks with the cold cap and it worked well. I lost probably 20 percent of my hair, but it wasn’t noticeable. After I was done, the hair I lost grew back quickly and actually much fuller than before. I definitely have nicer hair now than before I got breast cancer!

I used paxman for my cold capping experience. Cold capping doesn’t stop your hair from falling out so much as it protects the follicles so that it grows back faster. I lost probably two thirds of my hair. I did not wear my wig, but I had obvious thinning. I wore hats and combed my hair over to hide my huge bald spot.

After going through it, I understand why some women choose not to use cold caps. The constant fear of losing the rest of my hair caused so much anxiety and I never felt in control of what was happening. Cold capping can also extend the time of your treatments by several hours and some cancer centers only allow certain brands of cold caps. The maintenance and prep time is also something to consider.

There are organizations who will help pay for paxman. After I completed treatments and followed through with the paper work, I was reimbursed almost all of the money I put down.

I attached a photo my hair a couple of weeks after finishing chemo. Prior to chemo I had long thick curly hair. It grew back and almost back to normal now, 2 years later.

@kathy15 and others, please also see this related discussion:
- Chemo cold cap, socks and mitts: Share your experiences
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/chemo-cold-cap/

How painful is cold capping?

I hate the cold, so I am wondering if I will be able to tolerate cold capping. Chemo starts next week. Also, I wonder what my hair will look like since I won't be able to color it. So, if the cold capping does work and I am able to keep my hair, will it still look bad since I won't be able to color it?

Hi, I finished 3 mos. ago, used Dignicap for 9 chemo treatments. For me it was really cold for the first maybe 10 mins then it was fine. Bring a blanket and wear warm clothes. Lost no hair at all until about 6 weeks after finishing, still shedding quite a bit, lost maybe 30% of my hair so far, not really noticable unless you go looking. Yes the worst part is no color, no hair products, no blow dry and my hair looks awful. I wear it in a low loose ponytail. I'm a super private person and didn't want everyone to now what was happening to me. So I think now people just think "oh my gosh she has really let herslf go" haha. To me it was worth it EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT.

I too don't like the cold. I lasted 30 minutes of the 3 hours I would have worn the cap. I went bald and three months or so later, my hair started to grow back.

Yes, it's cold for about 10 minutes and then you get used to it. You cannot dye your hair or wash it more than once a week. I followed the instructions and only lost about 20% of my hair. I was very happy with the results. As far as how you look during treatment, I just spritzed water in my hair to freshen it up during the week.