Find out from your treatment team when you can expect your hair to start falling out, and how much of it you should expect to lose. Not all cancer treatments lead to hair loss.
Depending on the chemotherapy, you will notice hair loss 7 to 21 days after the first treatment. You may lose only a little hair, but it is also possible that all your hair will fall out. The hair loss is slow in some patients, and rapid in others. The texture and colour of your hair may also change slightly.
The hair loss often affects not only the hair on your head, but also beard and body hair, as well as eyelashes and eyebrows. With certain chemotherapies, supercooling of the scalp may reduce the hair loss.
Chemotherapy does not damage the roots of the hair. The hair grows back 2 to 4 weeks after the end of the therapy.
Radiotherapy damages the roots of the hair according to the dose. However, the hair loss is confined to the irradiated parts of the body.
Mild hair loss
A hypersensitive scalp may be a warning sign of the hair loss
Loss of the hair on your head
Loss of beard hair, eyelashes and/or eyebrows
Loss of hair under your arms and on your body
Loss of pubic hair
The change in your appearance from the hair loss bothers you a great deal
If you are planning to have a completely shaved head and want to shave it yourself, use a hair clipper for short haircuts, so that you do not injure your scalp.
If you have partial hair loss: perms, colouring and tinting dry the hair out further and are therefore not recommended.
Protect yourself from the sun by wearing a head covering. A nicely tied headscarf, a cap or a hat may suit you.
If you lose your eyelashes, wear sunglasses to protect your eyes from dust and light.
False eyelashes and permanent makeup are not recommended during the treatment period, as these can further irritate your eyes.
You can attend the course “Look Good ...Feel Better” free of charge. You will.
• You are completely at a loss
«Look Good...Feel Better»
is a two-hour free workshop on skin care, beauty and makeup offered to female cancer patients by professional beauty consultants.
You can find the dates of the next course here:
www.lgfb.ch, contact@lgfb.ch,Tel. +41 (0)43 243 03 35
Courses on the topic “Tying a headscarf”
You can protect your scalp from the cold and sun with a headscarf. Individual advice on headscarves is offered. Ask at the hospital or the surgery. You can also download instructions for tying a headscarf from the internet with the search terms “Leben wie zuvor - Gut betucht” (“Live as you always have - well covered”).
Further information on this topic