How painful is cold capping?

Posted by kedisaacs @kedisaacs, Sep 19 9:47am

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?

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bbhere | @bbhere | Sep 20 9:47am

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.

maggieb892 | @maggieb892 | Sep 20 5:57pm

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.

cjs123172 | @cjs123172 | Sep 21 6:28am

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.