Hair Growth after Chemo

One of the things that I Googled the most once I was done with chemo was how fast hair grows back. As someone who needs to have a plan mapped out ahead of me, and who desperately missed her hair, I wanted to see a timeline of when I’d be at each each stage of the hair growth process.

I was able to find a couple of images or videos of hair growth, but not as much as I had hoped to find.

In this day and age, selfies make charting this process relatively easy, so I decided to snap (terrible) photos along the way so that I could share for others who were as curious and impatient as I am. Keep in mind, for the first three of my six rounds, I used cold caps, which may have helped with hair growth post-chemo, and everyone's hair grows differently.

As a starting place, the first photo is what I looked like a month after chemo. Two months after chemo, little strong healthy hairs started to sprout. I had almost forgotten what normal hair felt and looked like! By month three and four, I had enough growth that my scalp was hidden, and full, thick hair started to grow to the point that I could (sort of!) run my fingers through it. It was by month four post chemo that I decided to forego the wig, because I simply couldn't stand it anymore, and bare my uber short pixie.

One month post chemo. Two months post chemo. Three months post chemo. Four months post chemo.

Five months after chemo, I was finished with radiation, and dark healthy hair was coming in. Six months out, chemo curls started to grow and the hair in the back started growing much faster than the rest. Therefore, by month seven after chemo my hair had grown enough that I needed my first actual haircut to give it some life and shape (and get rid of the dreaded mullet).

Five months post chemo. Six months post chemo. Seven months post chemo, before pre haircut. Seven months post chemo, post first haircut!

Into the summer, by month eight, I was digging the chemo curl pixie and played around with hair color for some variety. Probably my favorite stage was around month nine or 10. It was great for summer, easy to style and I always felt polished and chic. I was also showered with lots of compliments and questions from strangers about where I got my great haircut. By 11 months after chemo, my hair was long enough in the front to straighten if I wanted a different look.

Eight months post chemo, lightening up a bit. Nine months post chemo and pastel pink! Ten months post chemo and blonde. Eleven months post chemo.

After four haircuts with my fabulous hairdresser, Jayme, continuing to trim up the back each time so the top could start to catch up, I was in the awkward just-have-to-wait-and-grow-it-out stage...and stayed there for a while. Impatient as I am, I began thinking about and researching hair extensions as a way to cheat past growing out the hair around my ears and face. Right after blow drying, there was still some good texture, but the cute, fun chemo curls were gone, replaced by poof. After straightening, the look is smoother, but I was not feeling like myself. Coupling the menopause with a hairdo I feel is more fitting for a 60 year old woman, I was starting to feel like... a 60 year old woman.

Growth and style one year after chemo, right after blow drying.

One year after chemo, after straightening. This was the extent of different style options at this length.

After a consult with Katie, a stylist who has experience with extensions, I decided to go for it. We just did them on the sides, to help with the awkward growth, faking an inverted bob. No, it is not cheap. Yes, it is tedious and somewhat uncomfortable having them put in. Yes, it gets a little tricky washing and drying and combing, but being able to fast forward several months of hair growth over night is the boost I needed for my self-esteem right now. It is subtle enough and natural-looking that people looked at me the next day and commented on how my hair was growing! I feel more my age and more like myself.

BEFORE extensions.

AFTER extensions! Tremendous, but natural-looking hair "growth" in a matter of hours!! Styled by curling.

Styled by pinning front back.

Styled by straightening.

It may seem vain, but anyone who has been through breast cancer (and, I would assume, other cancers as well) knows the toll it takes on you physically. It feels like you're living in someone else's body, and that starts to take a toll on you mentally after a while.

A part of survival and moving on is wanting your old self back, and any time you're able to retrieve some of those pieces, it's a win.

#survivorship #breastcancer #hairloss #hairgrowth #hairextensions #postchemo