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Any advice for faster hair growth after chemo?
I finished six cycles of chemo for ovarian cancer at the end of May. My hair started growing before end of treatment but it is all white. I am 67. Is this normal? Also, I welcome any ideas on natural ways to help the hair grow faster.
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sprpatterson, chemotherapy damages the melanin cells and can change the color which usually returns to normal after a year plus. The drugs also damage the hair follicles and can change texture. My cousin's curly hair became straight. After 18 months the hair became curly again.
I haven't tried any of this but biotin and vitamin d might help. You are probably already careful about getting enough protein. Massaging your scalp would increase blood flow and should help, maybe imperceptibly.
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2 ReactionsI’ve been on methotrexate for years. (I have Dermatomyositis). Since I’ve been on this med my hair which was so straight, I was ask if I ironed it, to wavy. I keep it very short now which makes it look thicker. I take biotin daily and was told I could use Rogain for men but have not.
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1 ReactionWhen I’ve lost my hair it always grows back curly! My hair is naturally straight. The white hair grows back fastest, then the darker strands grow back for me. I call it salt and pepper.
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2 ReactionsI have gone dye-free, short hair, and air-dry. It is so freeing! But alas, the density is not what it was since treatment. My thyroid and ferritin levels were checked, but all are in the normal range. Biotin and rosemary shampoos have done nothing and I’m considering Rogaine, but haven’t just yet.
Happy to be alive, the hair is secondary.
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4 Reactions@ffr Thank you for your reply.
@jenelleseaman Thank you!
@mdm5 Thank you for your reply!
@gently Thank you for your advice and reply.
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1 ReactionI used rogaine for women as my hair was growing in. It came out straight as it should be in the same ugly color. It was before I lost my hair. I had no idea what my hair looked like before chemotherapy because I had colored it since I was 14 years old. Good decision because my natural color is ugly
I used rogaine for 4 months. I bought a 6-month supply but my hair was doing really well and I felt it was not no longer needed
@denisestlouie What treatment did you receive and are you still receiving it? I ask because my hair looks awful. I'm on Enhertu (forever, it looks like), and while my hair is slowly growing in, it is fine and frizzy, and I have a receding hairline now.