Chemotherapy is a treatment that aims to kill cancer cells that are rapidly growing. Unfortunately, chemotherapy drugs also kill the other rapidly growing cells, such as hair cells, which cause hair loss. In this article, we want to walk about how to stop hair loss from chemotherapy.

You may not realize the importance of your hair for your look until you lose it. Most people, both men, and women, who are diagnosed with cancer and undergo chemotherapy treatment, face hair loss. Considering all these, the possibility of hair loss during chemotherapy treatment is high, but not a hundred percent. Also, there is a possibility that your chemotherapy drugs do not cause hair loss. You can consult your doctor to learn about the side effects of your chemotherapy drugs. 

Losing one’s hair at an early age causes much more distress. For this, children who lose their hair from chemotherapy are generally more vulnerable than adults. Their motivations must be high as they are already dealing with a serious disease. Informing them clearly that chemotherapy usually causes temporary hair loss is significant for their psychological health. Their motivations must be high as they are already dealing with a serious disease.

DOES ALL CHEMOTHERAPY TREATMENTS CAUSE HAIR LOSS?

Although one of the side effects of many chemotherapy drugs is hair loss, not all chemotherapy causes hair loss or, you may not lose all your hair. So before consulting your doctor about the issue to get professional help, do not consider hair loss as an inevitable result.

DOES CHEMOTHERAPY ONLY AFFECT HAIR ON OUR HEAD?

Even though chemotherapy affects the hair on the head the most, the hair on other parts of your body is also affected and may fall out. These parts may include eyebrows, eyelashes, the hair on your legs, arms, and armpits. But, then again, whether your hair on other parts of your body is affected depends on your treatment and your body. 

IS HAIR LOSS DUE TO CHEMOTHERAPY PERMANENT?

Luckily, hair loss due to chemotherapy is not a permanent problem but a temporary one. You can expect your hair to grow back after chemotherapy in a couple of months.

WHEN DOES HAIR LOSS OCCUE DURING CHEMOTHERAPY?

Hair loss from chemotherapy usually begins in the second week of the treatment, but it can differ for each person. It may take more than two weeks for your hair to start falling out. The loss can happen slowly and gradually in time, or It can happen very quickly. But, then again, you should not be scared about losing your hair forever. There is a high possibility that your hair will grow back gradually after the chemotherapy treatment. If you want to hide having chemotherapy due to cancer, you can keep your hair short. This will make your hair look denser and healthier. It will also help you prevent people from questioning you, which sometimes demotivate patients, about your disease for some time.

HOW CAN I STOP HAIR LOSS DURING CHEMOTHERAPY?

No treatment or medicine guarantees prevention from hair loss during chemotherapy. However, there are some ways that help you hide your hair loss or at least make your hair look denser. But before choosing a way to hide your hair loss you can try scalp cooling caps to prevent hair loss.

• Scalp cooling caps: Scalp cooling caps are one of the most preferred ways for stopping hair loss during chemotherapy. These caps fit the head of the patient tightly and keep the head cool. During each chemotherapy session, the patient wears this cap for 20-45 minutes. This process may help you prevent your hair loss to some extend during chemotherapy. However, these caps contain a risk of recurring your cancer in your head as it may prevent chemotherapy from curing the cells in your head area. Thus, before using one of these caps, you should definitely consult your doctor. These caps fit the head of the patient tightly and keep the head cool.

WILL MY HAIR GROW BACK AFTER CHEMOTHERAPY?

As we mentioned above, chemotherapy does not necessarily cause permanent hair loss but a temporary one. After six months of successful chemotherapy treatment, the patient’s hair begins to grow back, and the patient gets healthy hair in a year. However, in some cases, because of the effects of drugs used during chemotherapy, the hair may not grow back, or it may not look good. In this case, rather than accepting the bitterness of the situation or start covering your head with wigs, hats, and scarves, you may consider having a hair transplant operation. If you have enough healthy hair follicles in your head after a chemotherapy treatment, a hair transplant operation is possible for you. 

WILL HAVING A HAIR TRANSPLANT OPERATION HELP ME GROW MY HAIR?

Even if you cannot prevent hair loss during the chemotherapy, you can grow your hair back after it. A Hair Transplant operation, during which some of your healthy hair follicles are collected and then applied to the area without hair, can help you grow your hair back. A hair transplant operation requires you to have some healthy hair follicles on your scalp. So, you may not be eligible for a hair transplant operation if you have no hair at all. You can consult our hospital to get the necessary information for a possible hair transplant operation via our website.

WHAT IS A HAIR TRANSPLANT OPERATION?

Basically, during a hair transplant operation, some of the hair from the patient’s head, usually from the back, is collected and transplanted to the area without hair. With a hair transplant operation, the probability of hair growth is very high. 

IMPORTANT DETAILS ABOUT HAIR TRANSPLANT

There are mainly two types of hair transplant operations, FUE (Follicular Hair Extraction) and FUT (Follicular Hair Transplant), both with great success rates. However, FUE is the more common one as it offers you a scar-free experience with a higher success rate thanks to the technique used. 

For more information about both FUE and FUT, you can visit our website, contact us to access free consultation via WhatsApp, E-mail, and video conference.