Protecting Your Hair during the Summer Months

Tips For Reducing The Amount Of Hair You Lose While Going Through Chemotherapy

If you have to go through chemotherapy, you might worry a lot about losing your hair. You might not want to wear a wig because it makes your scalp itchy or you might have a wedding or prom coming up and want to look as good as possible in your photos. Here are some tips for reducing the amount of hair you lose during chemotherapy so that you can feel as confident as possible.

1. Protect Your Scalp and Roots

The first thing that you want to do is get into the habit of protecting your scalp and roots from being damaged. This means that, when you put your hair in a ponytail, you take care to not pull your hair back particularly tight. It also means that you don't wash your hair in hot water, but water that is as close to body temperature as possible. You also want to make sure that you are gently working the shampoo through your hair when you wash it, rather than scrubbing vigorously. This will allow you to make sure that you are able to keep your scalp as strong as possible and ensure that you don't speed up the hair loss process. 

If you need to style your hair, avoid using a hair straightener or blow dryer on the roots of your hair. Instead, make sure that you only style the ends.

2. Invest in Satin Pillowcases

Consider investing in satin pillowcases. This is because pillowcases that are made out of any other materials will pull at your hair and possibly cause you to accidentally pull your hair out while it is weakened by the radiation. Satin will reduce the chances that this happens.

3. Consider a Cold Cap

Cold caps are caps that are cooled to a temperature that causes the blood vessels of your scalp to restrict. This restriction essentially forces the blood vessels to tighten around the roots of your hair follicles, which makes your hair follicles much less vulnerable to the damage that chemotherapy tends to inflict. By reducing the damage that the hair follicles undergo, you will be able to reduce the amount of hair loss that you experience.

4. Comb Your Hair With a Wide-Toothed Comb

Try to exclusively style your hair with a wide-toothed comb in order to make sure that you are able to be gentle and not accidentally rip out your hair.

For more information, talk to a company that specializes in cold caps.