Hair loss - did you get a wig?

Amy_AnthonyNolan

Hi everyone,

I saw this article on the guardian website that I thought you might find interesting. It’s about one women’s experience of wearing a wig after hair loss.
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/may/09/wigs-essential-dealing-with-cancer

Everyone has very different experiences of hair loss so it has sparked quite a bit of debate in the comments section.

Let me know what you think,
Amy

Dieseldrinker62

Hi Amy,

Being a bloke I guess it's easier to cope with hair loss than it is for a woman. I was surprised how far into my treatment complete hair loss occurred and expected it much earlier, though the white hospital towels did seem to have an increasing amount of hair on the as each days shower was concluded.

When my hair came back it was quite a bit darker and finer than before treatment. Apparently this is quite common , so I'd be interested to know if anyone else had changes to their hair.

Steve

petervee

Amy/Steve

Again a bit like you Steve, I thought I had got away with the hair loss thing but at the time I wasn't bothered anyway, but I remember a Sunday morning about 3 weeks into treatment that there were big clumps of hair on my pillow.

As I say at that point it could have turned green and I don't think I would have really noticed!. However for me I didn't have total loss and it grew back slowly and darker, and yes the texture is finer.

The other funny thing is that it's only my nasal hairs that have not grown back fully, everywhere else appears darker and longer, especially the arms strange isn't it!

Peter

Wen

I lost my hair and at first I was actually kind of relieved I'd been on transplant about a week and a half and having hair but no access to a shower was a nightmare- I knew I was gonna b in for a while and dry shampoo was great but not clean enough for me! When it came to choosing a wig the nhs wig was horrible and the person (who no longer supply's wigs to my hospital) wasn't very helpful with styling and choosing an appropriate wig but I did end up with about 6 wigs- my consultant would joke around with me I was only 20 and on an adult ward and most ppl thought I was a daughter of a patient rather than a patient so we would take off my wig to shock them. Also I remeber once being complemented on my hair cut in tesco I took it off spun it on my finger and told the lady where I brought it from- although I'd never leave the house without it I'd get hot or itchy and so by the end of the day it would be off. However returning to my Uni friends they would never see me without it on.

Jayne

I was slightly concerned about losing my hair, but when it happened I didn't care. It was just another step towards getting well. I did get a wig, but somebody said I looked like Ruby Wax and it put me off it, I never wore it again! I was happier wearing hats, I bought loads! They were very pretty and I quite enjoyed matching outfits, hats and make up! I also taught myself to crochet whilst in hospital (the book was Kids Learn to Crochet.....I was 41 but it explained it in a way I understood!) and made myself a few hats!