Wzrost włosów po chemioterapii: praktyczny przewodnik

To radosny moment: you’ve done your last round of chemioterapii lub radioterapii and your cancer treatment is officially over. Congratulations on overcoming such a strenuous period in your life! Pop the non-alcoholic champagne, gather your friends and family, and enjoy your life--you have much to look forward to, and wzrost włosów po chemioterapii is likely to be one of those things.

Wypadanie włosów is a common efekt uboczny of leczenia onkologicznego, and like most efekt ubocznys, it usually goes away in time. Now that you've wrapped up treatment, your hair will start to grow again. Some parts of this process will be more or less expected (you'll have short hair for a long time), and others may be a little surprising (like the loki po chemioterapii).

To help you through the changes of this coming year, we've prepared a short guide to help you take care of your nowe włosy:

Pierwszy rok wzrostu włosów po chemioterapii

As we mentioned, wypadanie włosów is a common efekt uboczny of leczenia onkologicznego, whether chemioterapii lub radioterapii. This happens because the idea of ​​leczenia onkologicznego is to stop the spread of cancerous cells, and one way to do so is to stop all cell growth--including growth in your mieszki włosowe. This is why so many people experience total or partial hair, eyelash, and eyebrow loss during treatments.

The efekt ubocznys of leczenia onkologicznego don't disappear as soon as you stop treatment--you'll likely experience a few efekt ubocznys for a while, but they will disappear over time. And with them gone, your mieszki włosowe will be reawakened and finally start producing nowe włosy strands. You can expect hair growth to start within a few months after your ostatnie leczenie, and you may experience hair changes until a year after your ostatnie leczenie.

Etapy wzrostu włosów po chemioterapii

Not everyone will experience hair regrowth after chemioterapii in the same way, as the process depends on the cancer treatment itself, your genetics and many other variables. The following timeline is simply a rough estimate of when and what hair changes you can expect:

• A couple of weeks after the ostatnie leczenie, expect the delikatny meszek stage. Calling it hair may be an overstatement at this point, but it's hair growth nonetheless, and it brings great news: change is underway! Some people will only get to the delikatny meszek stage around two months after the treatment, so don't worry. Timelines may vary;
• 3 months after the ostatnie leczenie, you will start to see nowe włosy growth--actual hair growth, a bit thicker than before. Keep in mind that this nowe włosy may be very different from the hair you used to have: it may be thinner, or even of a different color. It's not particularly strange for hair at this stage to be white or gray, or even a shade or two darker or lighter than its original color. The pigment production is not up to speed yet, so don't worry too much about color changes, as they will probably be temporary. Take this time to explore new looks and hairstyles, including those pixie cuts you never dared to wear before;
• 6 months after the ostatnie leczenie, embrace the loki po chemioterapii. Wait, what? You never had curls and now you do? Well, your nowe włosy may have a personality of its own in this area. Experiencing curly hair after chemo is a surprising efekt uboczny many people don't expect to happen, but it's super common. It's also, mostly, just a phase;
• 12 months after the ostatnie leczenie, your hair will start to resemble your pre-chemo hair. The color should have stabilized by now, as well as the thickness and texture.

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Jak wspierać wzrost włosów po chemioterapii

Now that your hair is growing again, it's worth looking into what you can do to lend a helping hand. Just as it is important to take care of your skóra głowy, which may be feeling a little sensitive, it's also important to take care of your nowe włosy, which may be more fragile and thinner than you are used to. You may have to adapt, but these recommendations can help:

Zawsze chroń skórę głowy

Your skóra głowy is the skin from which hair grows. If it's not healthy and protected, it will be harder for your hair to be healthy. One thing you can do to soothe your skóra głowy is to sleep on silk or satin pillowcases. If you prefer normal pillowcases, you may want to consider a sleeping bonnet or cap.

Nawilżaj skórę głowy

In the early days of your hair regrowth journey, when you've got no hair or just a little bit of delikatny meszek, treat your skóra głowy as pure skin and moisturize it. Choose gentle formulas that keep your skin protected and are easy to use.

Używaj delikatnych szamponów

Take care of your skóra głowy by gently massaging it with a delikatny szampon when you shower. The massage will stimulate blood flow, and the delikatny szampon will keep your skóra głowy clean without triggering any allergies.

Zaakceptuj swoje nowe włosy

As we have seen, it's possible for your hair to take on a new texture or color as it starts to regrow after leczenia onkologicznego. It may be hard to deal with these changes--why can't things just be normal?--, but they should only last around a year. Embrace your new temporary hair, and learn to style it in new and fun ways, using gentle styling products.

Rozważ suplementy z biotyną

We'll make it clear: the evidence supporting biotin suplementy is still very dodgy. However, many lekarzas have experienced good results in their practice and, based on this anecdotal evidence, continue to recommend biotin suplementy to support hair growth during the post-chemo period. It may be worth asking your lekarza how they feel about these suplementy, and whether they may be useful to you.

Stosuj ampułki do pielęgnacji skóry głowy

Between suplementy and topical ampułki to support hair growth, the evidence seems to favor ampułki. Ask your lekarza whether they feel topical ampułki can help care for your skóra głowy and support healthy hair growth after your leczenia onkologicznego. Each case is different, and your lekarza will be able to steer you in the right direction.

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Czego unikać przy włosach po chemioterapii

Now that you know what you can do to support hair growth after leczenia onkologicznego, it may be worth looking into what you should avoid.

All things considered, anything that is harsh or permanent should be avoided in the first year--think chemical treatments, hair coloring, and so on. On a more everyday basis, hair styles that keep the hair pulled back should also be avoided, due to a risk of traction wypadanie włosów.

Here are some examples of treatments and styles that are best avoided during your first year of regrowth after leczenia onkologicznego:

• Trwałe prostowanie lub relaxery;
• Trwała ondulacja;
• Rozjaśnianie włosów;
• Trwałe lub półtrwałe farby do włosów;
• Warkocze i przedłużanie.

There will be time to explore all these treatments once your hair has grown back--but for this first year, it's best to treat it gently and give it the best possible conditions to grow healthy and strong.

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Taking care of your hair--and skin--after leczenia onkologicznego can seem a little complicated, but if you keep things simple, it'll be manageable. If you have any doubts, just stick to kosmetyków zatwierdzonych do pielęgnacji onkologicznej in the first year post-treatment. As you begin to ease back into your lifestyle, you can stick with these tried-and-tested essentials (they're as gentle as can be!), or start experimenting with other cosmetics that you find more appealing.