Hair regrowth after chemotherapy

Chemotherapy-Induced Hair Loss

In most cases, people who undergochemotherapy lose their hair completely. This is due to specific drugsused in the therapy. Namely, these attack many cells in the body,forcing it to start defending itself against cancer. However, thesedrugs also attack one's hair cells and follicles, making a personlose his/her hair.

Luckily, there are ways of restoringhair growth once hair is lost after a person has undergone chemotherapy. Yet,before we start dealing with this problem, you need to know whichfactors of chemotherapy make a person lose hair in the first place.Therefore, the following lines will deal both with the causes ofhair-loss due to chemotherapy and the possible ways of restoring yourhair afterward.

The Culprit

As it was mentioned above, certaindrugs used in the chemotherapy attack carcinogenic cells in one'sbody, destroying them. However, since these are not intelligentmedications, they also attack other parts of the body, including ourhair cells. This results in a complete hair loss within 15 daysafter the treatment. The hair starts falling out in great chunks,from all over the body, until all of it disappears.

Moreover, once it is gone, our bodyneeds at least 6 weeks in order to fully regrow the lost hair. Thisprocess can be devastating for many people who fight cancer,especially women, since baldness affects their aesthetic appeal more.Also, the new hair, that grows afterward, usually lacks thequality and the color of the previous one, making it even harder forpatients to cope with the change. Nevertheless, all this sacrifice isfor the best of the patients themselves since chemotherapy is thebest possible way of dealing with cancer so far.

How To Regrow Hair After Chemotherapy?

First of all, you may just wait foryour new hair to come out naturally. Nevertheless, you can contributeto the process by taking some of the following steps intoconsideration.

Cryotherapy is one of the possibletreatments against hair-loss during chemotherapy. Basically, thisinvolves placing ice packs on the scalp area, preventing the drugs toaffect the hair. Yet, this can be dangerous, since the cancer itselfmay spread onto the area in this case.

There is also a topically appliedproduct called minoixidil which enables people hair regrowth andprotection during and after chemotherapy. Also, do not forget to begentle with your hair throughout the treatment. Use mild shampoos,make sure you brush and wash with care, using sating pillows andavoiding coloring the hair or exposing it to chemicals of any sort.