Hair Growth Update - August

The end of next month will mark a whole year since I took the last of my hair off, after it started to fall out. For now, my hair isn't that different from my last hair post, I think it is slowly straightening out as it gets longer, but it is going to take a while and I don't think it will naturally be as straight as it was pre-cancer, without the help of a straightening iron.

It has reached a length now where I can get the top half into a little ponytail, which keeps it off my face, or the bottom half into a ponytail, but it doesn't all go into one ponytail... yet!

I'm still using Lee Stafford's 'Hair Growth' shampoo, treatment pot and conditioner which is the 'For Hair that never Grows past a certain length' range. 

Next September hair update (next month) will be my last hair update, as it will have been a year since the last of my hair was taken off. ♥

AUSSIE 3 Minute Miracle - Deep Treatment

'There's more to life than hair, but it's a good place to start!'

Last week I posted about the hair products I am using at the moment whilst my hair is growing back, which you can read about *here!* So I thought why not do a post about the products I used on my hair whilst I was in hospital. These products were from the brand AUSSIE who also have a lovely little philosophy, 'There's more to life than hair, but it's a good place to start!' Which is very true!

When I was first diagnosed, I was told that there was a very slim chance of my hair falling out completely, they reckoned that all it would do was get a lot thinner, (which for someone who had a thick amount of hair) I felt as comfortable as you could be with the thought of your hair thinning at 20 years old! I wasn't overly worried about it. However, I have a knack of making a mess/ being a bit ditsy with most things that I do! Haha! Washing my hair with a picc line in my arm turned out to be one of those things. No matter how much cling film I had wrapped round my arm, washing my hair in the shower I always managed to get some water under the cling film with my line. SO. In came Super Mummy! Haha! My Mum and Dad came in to hospital to visit me every day when I was in there, so every couple of days my Mum would wash my hair for me... which turned out to be a lot trickier than you'd think! She'd don a plastic apron, roll up her trousers, roll up her sleeves, kick off her shoes and arm herself with AUSSIE Colour Mate Shampoo and AUSSIE 3 Minute Miracle Deep Treatment. Then i'd stand with my head bent under the shower head whilst she washed my hair for me, (often switching the temperature of the water from hot to cold and laughing at my reaction.) It started off with the shampoo, AUSSIE say, "This juicy formula, oozing of the fruity stuff, comes to the rescue of coloured tresses making sure hues stay bright and hair comes alive." ...and you know what? They're right! My hair had been dyed blonde months before I went into hospital, so my roots had started to grow out, my hair was damaged from being bleached and, I have to admit, didn't look in very good condition. Because this AUSSIE shampoo is aimed at coloured hair, even after the first use my hair was much softer and looked just that little bit shinier, the shampoo itself also lathered up really nicely and it smelt wonderfully fruity too! Then, came the real 'star of the show' the AUSSIE 3 Minute Miracle - Deep Treatment, again, this 3 minute miracle bottle was aimed at coloured hair and was by far my favourite out of the two! Simply massage it into your hair/ scalp applying it like it were an ordinary shampoo/ conditioner, then leave it on for 3 minutes, rinse it off and TA-DAA! Lovely, silky smooth hair and the colour also looked that bit brighter and less straw like, (lets face it, nobody likes looking like a scarecrow.)

My Mum went through several bottles of both the shampoo and deep treatment on my hair before it decided to fall out... unfortunate, but hey, it happened. It was however in a much better condition after using just these products (notice no conditioner) and I even plaited a bit of my hair and kept it... still nice and soft even when it's not attached to your head! Ha!
So there you have it! I would thoroughly recommend these products to everyone, whether you're going through treatment, or if you're just looking for a nice little health kick for your hair! They definitely nourish and care for your hair, plus they smell nice and fruity and the 3 Minute Miracle - Deep Treatment is a bottle full of heaven for your hair!

You can purcahse AUSSIE hair products from Boots *here* and if you want to check out more details on these products or other products in the AUSSIE brand, you can have a wander over to their website which you can find *here!*

Lee Stafford - Hair Growth Treatment

'If the earth's not nourished you'll never grow BEAutiful flowers.'

This is the quirky little quote that greets you on Lee Stafford's 'Hair Growth Treatment' products and I love it! It's true though, if your hair isn't nourished with the right products and diet it's not going to grow to it's full potential length.

My hair started falling out after my third dose of chemo and I eventually decided to take it all off at the end of September. Since then it has been growing back and THE ONLY product I have used on it has been Lee's Hair Growth shampoo, conditioner and treatment (which you use in between the shampoo and conditioner.) It's like using any shampoo or conditioner, except for the treatment in between. Lather up your shampoo, rinse it off and then, using an egg sized scoop of product from the treatment pot, massage from roots to ends, leave on for 5 minutes and then rinse off! Lastly whack in your conditioner and rinse out and TADAA! Not only do you smell like berries and loveliness, (I have to say once you smell these products, no other product can beat them!) You WILL also notice a difference in your hair! My hair feels really soft and silky (despite there not being that much) and I have noticed a difference!
Now don't get me wrong, this is the first time i've ever been bald before, so I have no experience up until now, or no idea how fast hair should grow, but after using this product for about 3 months (as my hair didn't grow back straight away) I think it's grown really well and it is ALL down to these products! Once you use them, you'll never want to go back and I would 100% recommend giving them a try! I for one shall continue to use these products until my hair has returned to it's pre-cancer length!

Below left: Taken on the 25th September 2013 when I took my remaining hair off.
Below right: Taken on the 13th January 2014!

               

You can purchase Lee's Hair Growth shampoo, conditioner and treatment at Boots stores and you can have a wander over to Lee's site where you can browse through his other hair product collections too! http://www.leestafford.com/en/

I hope you find them as effective and as wonderful as I have! THE BEST products I have ever used!

THE ONLY WIG SHOP YOU'LL WANT TO GO TO!

So you may be thinking, WHY HAS THIS CRAZY GIRL WRITTEN HER POST TITLE IN CAPITALS?! This is because, there is no other way I can get across to you, how ABSOLUTELY AMAZING this wig shop is and how INCREDIBLY LOVELY Phoebe was, who sorted me out! Look at it like this, if your head was a strawberry.. this place is your cream!

Trendco. Trendco Hair Supplies is a chain of salons located in London, Hove, Birmingham, Manchester and Nottingham and are one of the UK's largest suppliers of wigs and hairpieces (human hair and synthetic.) I went to the salon in Hove as it was the one closest to me and was seen by one of the stylists there called Phoebe. Phoebe is an absolute gem and a complete credit to the salon! Walking into the salon, there are loads of wigs on display heads, ranging from bobs, to shoulder length, straight to curly, some have bangs and some don't and all of these wigs come in an array of colours and tones.

Phoebe sat me down on a chair in front of a mirror (like you'd find at a hairdressers) and asked me what kind of style I was looking for and if I had a certain colour in mind. To be honest I was completely overwhelmed by the display of wigs on show and all the different cuts and styles... there were just so many! I'd gone in with the intention of getting a wig with loose curls in a brown or blonde and I definitely knew I wanted it to have a fringe as I felt that being a wig, with a fringe you wouldn't be able to see any cut off point from head to hair. I tried on the 'Avery' wig it was curly and had bangs on it, but I quickly realised it wasn't the right one for me, for some reason it just didn't look right, (probably because my hair is naturally dead straight... not to mention the fact I was bald and hadn't seen that much hair on my head in a while!) Phoebe suggested trying something straight and brought back 'Misha.' I'd also decided that I wanted a slightly lighter colour than the last one, so Phoebe had chosen a lighter brown colour with blonde highlights running through it. She placed it onto my head for me, like she had done 'Avery.' I had a wig cap over my head first (to make the wig more comfortable to wear) and then Phoebe asked me to hold the front of the wig against my forehead, whilst she pulled the rest of the wig over my head so it sat comfortably. Phoebe had assessed my skin tone perfectly after I realised the last colour was too dark and the mixture of the blondes and browns in 'Misha' were a really complimentary colour on my skin tone. The fringe that was on 'Misha' was a tad bit too long for me, but Phoebe cut it so that it sat how I wanted it and was more of a straight fringe. I then walked out of the shop a very happy bunny with a lovely head of hair!

Overall I can't rave enough about Trendco and about Phoebe! I'd gone in about a week before to book my appointment (you need to book an appointment with a stylist, unfortunately you can't just walk in.) I went into the salon really scared to take my hat off as I was now bald, however when I did take it off Phoebe didn't bat an eyelid, she talked me through styles, colours, wig care and how to get it to sit on my head properly. When she spoke it was as though she'd actually been through hair loss (whether she has or not I don't know, as I didn't ask) but she made me feel completely comfortable and very happy by the end with my new hair! She knew exactly what she was talking about and I would definitely go back again! 'Misha' the wig itself looks so real and unless you came up really close and had a good look at my 'roots' (sounds a bit of a funny thing to do) you wouldn't know that it was a wig! My Dad summed it up nicely by saying, "It's weird, because you wouldn't know it was a wig, but obviously I know it's a wig because I saw it go on your head, but really, you wouldn't know!" Haha!

A MASSIVE thank you to Phoebe as I couldn't have asked for better! If you do go to the Hove store I would thoroughly recommend her! The focus is all on the customer and making them feel 'normal' again and that is something you won't find with every wig supplier. Trendco is THE place to go for getting a high quality, natural looking wig.

My wig colour is Mochaccino and the style is Misha. (Synthetic wig.)

*It is also really simple to wash your wig. You soak it in lukewarm water with a splash of shampoo, rinse then soak in clean lukewarm water with a splash of the conditioner and then just rinse it out and hang it on your head or wig stand to dry! You can brush through it with a wide toothed comb once it is dry, don't brush it whilst it is wet as that can pull on the hair. It's as simple as that!*

http://www.trendco.co.uk/

 

Goodbye Hair ♥

After two courses of Idarubicin (chemo,) my hair hadn't yet fallen out... yes, it had thinned, but there was still a substantial amount attached to my head and anybody who hadn't met me before would have thought that that was my normal amount of hair. My third course of chemo changed all of that. It was a drug called Mitoxantrone, a funky Sonic the Hedgehog blue in colour and I was given that, like my previous courses, intravenously.
A week or so after I'd' had my last dose of Mitoxantrone and my levels were pretty much in a 'safe' zone my Dad came to collect me to take me home. I heard him come into the room whilst I was in the bathroom, I'd locked myself away and had been standing looking into the mirror, slowly running the brush through my hair for about 10 minutes. I'd found a bald patch at the back of my head and my hair that should have been there was now scattered on the floor and firmly lodged in my hairbrush, I unlocked the door with tears rolling down my face and Dad came over to give me a hug. He collected up my hair from the floor and then put it in a bag to take home... "You can show it to your Mother when we get back... we can always stick it back on your head with a bit of glue!" Haha, one thing about my Dad is that after a sympathetic hug, it is normally always followed by a joke or a sarcastic comment to lighten the mood and admittedly, it did make me laugh!

I have always loved my hair, it was part of me (obviously, being attached to my head) and changing the colour and style of it now and then is what (I thought) made me, well, me! 

Up until now, my hair has had a very colourful life! My natural colour is a mousey brown, but as you can see it has been brown, dark brown, black and blonde and it's had highlights, bits of blue, bits of pink and bits of red here and there. So when it started falling out I was devastated. It got to the stage where the majority of it had come out, I was left with a massive monk style bald patch on my head and I was crying every time I washed or brushed my hair.

On the 25th September I decided enough was enough and took the rest of it off. (That and the fact my Mum had said I now reminded her of 'that man from Little Britain' aka Matt Lucas... thank you Mother! Haha!) So off it all came. There is no way you can prevent your hair from falling out due to chemo. If it's going to come out, it's going to come out and I was nowhere near ready to deal with it. I cried a lot. Every time I brushed my hair, I cried. Every time I washed my hair, I cried. Every time I looked in the mirror and saw myself, I cried. In my eyes and in my mind I was falling apart, the worst bit was, I could see that I was falling apart, but there was absolutely nothing that I could do about it.

My hair has grown a fair amount since September, my sister has now nicknamed me 'Hedgehog' because it's so soft and sticks up where I've been sleeping on it. She said when it gets even longer I will have reached a 'Porcupine' stage of hair growth! My brother on the other hand, returned home from work and greeted me with a "Haha! How's Dennis the Menace doing?" I'd like to think that I don't resemble a spikey haired, trouble making cartoon character, but he seems intent on making his nickname for me stick... I do however have THE nicest wig for the days when I just can't bare looking at it, which I shall give you all the details for in my next post! There is no easy way to deal with losing your hair when having Chemo, but stay strong and keep smiling! It WILL grow back. xx