Hiya Sunshine44.  I know exactly how your sister is feeling.  When I had chemo, I lost my waist length blonde hair and it devastated me.  I tried wearing a wig, but to be honest, I found it itchy and really uncomfortable.  I decided to buy myself some hats from Amazon.  They are specifically designed for hair loss from chemo, and there are some really lovely designs.  I also bought myself some satin pillow cases, because my scalp felt very sensitive once my hair had gone. I also bought myself some 'Child's Farm Shampoo' (again from Amazon) because ordinary shampoos can really irritate the scalp when the hair has gone.  Once the chemo had finished, my hair started to grow back.  Withing 5 months, it looked really nice.  I have kept it short because it would take years to grow it again, but I quite like my short 'pixie' hair-do.  I wish your sister good luck. xx

You're welcome Sunshine44.  When my hair started to fall out bit by bit, I asked my nephew to shave it all off for me.  That was better than waiting for it to completely  fall out.  Instead of waiting for the chemo to take the last strands of my hair away, I took charge of the situation and it made me feel more positive.  Once the shock of having no hair had worn off, I became more accepting of my bald status, and I think that the same thing will happen with your sister.  If there is anything else you want to ask me, please feel free to do so.  Good luck, xx

Hi Sunshine, 

I lost my long red hair on the 13th day after my very first chemo which was much quicker than I expected. Everyone said it wouldn't start to fall out until after the second cycle, but no, it caught me by surprise. Like Blue-Girl I decided to bite the bullet and I went to my hairdresser the very next day and got her to remove what was left. For me it was much better than dealing with losing what was left and to be honest I probably had lost about half of my hair that very first day. Different people lose hair at different rates and I lost mine very fast. Just FYI I didn't try the cold cap.

My chemo started in May so I bought myself a couple of sunhats and prettied them up with ribbon and flowers for sitting in the garden - a bald head burns REALLY easily! I also built up quite a collection of pretty headscarves. I buy the large 180cm x90cm ones, cut them in half, fold the half into a triangle and that is large enough to put the fold at the forehead, tie at the back then twist the ends and bring them back to the front to tie in a bow. Hope that makes sense. I donated all the unused halves to my oncology unit for other ladies to have.

I did get a NHS subsidised wig which I bring out on high days and holidays. I'm just more comfortable in my headscarves and they have kinda become my trademark!

Just one word of caution, although Blue-Girl re grew her hair quite quickly, but not everyone is that lucky. I am approaching 3 years post chemo and I have had very little regrowth. Hopefully your sister will be one of the lucky ones whose hair is keen to return but just don't depend on it. Honestly, I was much more upset at losing my eyelashes than I was at losing my hair and eyebrows - I knew I would lose them but for some reason it had not occurred to me that my eyelashes would fall out too. Maybe warn your sister about that.

I guess my main message is that, yes, it is traumatic to lose your "crowning glory" but remember, hair is just cosmetic. I have had many more compliments for my pretty headscarves than I ever had for my hair, random strangers in the supermarket have come up to me to say how much they like them!

I'm sure that when the time comes your sister will cope much better than she thinks she will and she obviously has a lovely, caring sister to support her. Wishing you both all the very best and I'm always here if you want to chat. 

Big hugs, Mog, xx