Crescimento do cabelo após a quimio: um guia prático

Este é um momento de alegria: you’ve done your last round of quimioterapia ou radioterapia 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 crescimento do cabelo após a quimio is likely to be one of those things.

A queda de cabelo is a common efeito colateral of tratamentos contra o câncer, and like most efeito colaterals, 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 cachos pós-quimio).

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

Seu primeiro ano de crescimento capilar após a quimio

As we mentioned, queda de cabelo is a common efeito colateral of tratamentos contra o câncer, whether quimioterapia ou radioterapia. This happens because the idea of ​​tratamentos contra o câncer is to stop the spread of cancerous cells, and one way to do so is to stop all cell growth--including growth in your folículos capilares. This is why so many people experience total or partial hair, eyelash, and eyebrow loss during treatments.

The efeito colaterals of tratamentos contra o câncer don't disappear as soon as you stop treatment--you'll likely experience a few efeito colaterals for a while, but they will disappear over time. And with them gone, your folículos capilares will be reawakened and finally start producing cabelo novo strands. You can expect hair growth to start within a few months after your último tratamento, and you may experience hair changes until a year after your último tratamento.

Fases do crescimento do cabelo após a quimio

Not everyone will experience hair regrowth after quimioterapia 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 último tratamento, expect the penugem fina 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 penugem fina stage around two months after the treatment, so don't worry. Timelines may vary;
• 3 months after the último tratamento, you will start to see cabelo novo growth--actual hair growth, a bit thicker than before. Keep in mind that this cabelo novo 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 último tratamento, embrace the cachos pós-quimio. Wait, what? You never had curls and now you do? Well, your cabelo novo may have a personality of its own in this area. Experiencing curly hair after chemo is a surprising efeito colateral many people don't expect to happen, but it's super common. It's also, mostly, just a phase;
• 12 months after the último tratamento, 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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Como estimular o crescimento do cabelo após a quimio

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 couro cabeludo, which may be feeling a little sensitive, it's also important to take care of your cabelo novo, which may be more fragile and thinner than you are used to. You may have to adapt, but these recommendations can help:

Proteja o couro cabeludo o tempo todo

Your couro cabeludo 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 couro cabeludo is to sleep on silk or satin pillowcases. If you prefer normal pillowcases, you may want to consider a sleeping bonnet or cap.

Hidrate o couro cabeludo

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

Use shampoos suaves

Take care of your couro cabeludo by gently massaging it with a shampoo suave when you shower. The massage will stimulate blood flow, and the shampoo suave will keep your couro cabeludo clean without triggering any allergies.

Abrace seu novo cabelo

As we have seen, it's possible for your hair to take on a new texture or color as it starts to regrow after tratamentos contra o câncer. 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.

Considere suplementos de biotina

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

Use ampolas de cuidado do couro cabeludo

Between suplementos and topical ampolas to support hair growth, the evidence seems to favor ampolas. Ask your médico whether they feel topical ampolas can help care for your couro cabeludo and support healthy hair growth after your tratamentos contra o câncer. Each case is different, and your médico will be able to steer you in the right direction.

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O que evitar ao lidar com o cabelo pós-quimio

Now that you know what you can do to support hair growth after tratamentos contra o câncer, 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 queda de cabelo.

Here are some examples of treatments and styles that are best avoided during your first year of regrowth after tratamentos contra o câncer:

• Tratamentos de alisamento permanente ou relaxamentos;
• Permanente no cabelo;
• Descoloração do cabelo;
• Tinturas permanentes ou semipermanentes;
• Tranças e extensões.

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 tratamentos contra o câncer can seem a little complicated, but if you keep things simple, it'll be manageable. If you have any doubts, just stick to cosméticos aprovados para uso oncológico 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.