Your hair will start growing back several weeks after finishing your cancer treatment.
You will need to continue taking good care of it to boost hair regrowth.
YOUR SYMPTOMS
Most of the time, your hair will start growing back about 4 to 6 weeks after finishing your cancer treatments. After the first month, you should already start to see some hair appear, count about ½ inch of growth per month. Keep in mind that hair growth can cause your scalp to itch.
Hair often changes when growing back, especially at the beginning, it is often thicker, frizzier and sometimes grey. Generally, apart from the colour, your hair will go back to normal after several months.
It is the same for your body hair when it starts to grow back, it is more abundant and forms a light fuzz, but no need to panic as it does not last long.
IMPORTANT THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND
Opt for a natural colour:
- Avoid any dyes, perms, straightening or blow dries during the first 6 months. You risk to weaken your hair even more and damage the regrowth.
- If having grey hair is not your thing, you can use natural, organic hair dyes that are free of ammoniac, parabens and resorcinol.
- Do not use any hair dyes while you can still see skin on your head.
- Do not shave your hair, or fuzzy body hair as it will disappear after 6 months.
Massage your skull to eliminate any toxins that may have accumulated:
- Use castor oil to help with regrowth. The texture is quite viscous so you can mix with another oil to make it more fluid (Avocado or Argan oil).
- At night, massage your skull to help boost hair regrowth or your ends to make them stronger and voluminous.
- Leave on overnight. To avoid getting oil on your sheets, place a towel between your head and pillow.
- In the morning, wash your hair normally. As the texture is quite thick, you will need to wash thoroughly to remove all remaining oil.
- Repeat the process 1 or 2 times a week.
- If you prefer to wash your hair at night, we suggest leaving the oil to sit for at least 30 minutes before washing.
Stop any misconceptions:
- During hair regrowth, you can still wear your wig as it lets your scalp breath and does not slowdown hair growth. Same thing for chemo turbans and headscarves.
- Cutting your hair will not speed up your hair growth.
For faster regrowth after cancer treatments:
- Your hair grows on average ½ inch per month after chemo. However, it is at the roots where everything happens, which is why it is important to detoxify the hair follicle before boosting growth with food supplements, stimulating shampoos and fortifying serums.
- Keep your head warm, day and night! The cold contracts the hair follicles and limits growth.
And for lash and brow regrowth?
- Just like your hair, your eyelashes and eyebrows will grow back, but it will take more time. They can sometimes be thin and sparse, but stay patient as they will go back to normal!
- You can put castor oil on a cotton bud and apply every night at the base of your eyelashes and eyebrows.
- For fast, effective regrowth, we recommend the Revitalash products, specially developed to boost lash and brow growth after chemotherapy.