Common Myths

Not all patients see ice crystals on their hair after their scalp cooling treatment. Ice crystals are not a sign that scalp cooling has gone particularly well, and can be a result of several factors.
Ice crystals are more likely to occur if a lot of water has been used in the hair preparation stages, or if the cap was removed quite quickly after treatment. Do not be disheartened if you don’t see ice crystals, this does not mean that the system wasn’t cold enough or that your treatment didn’t work – the systems are designed to function at a consistent temperature and will alert if there is an issue with the temperature.

This is dependent on your cancer type and your treatment center’s scalp cooling policy. The PAXMAN Scalp Cooling System is indicated to reduce the likelihood of chemotherapy-induced alopecia (CIA) in patients with solid tumors. For patients who don’t meet the FDA recommendation for the Scalp Cooling Cap, we recommend that you consult with you doctor. We can enroll you into the program if your treatment center offers scalp cooling for your type of cancer and your HCP has written a prescription or completed the enrollment form.

No. Shedding is a unavoidable part of scalp cooling, no matter how successful. Shedding does not mean that scalp cooling isn’t working either. Shedding will begin like clockwork for almost everyone between days 14 and 21 after your first treatment. Without the cold cap, this would be the point where you would have extensive if not complete hair loss with most regimens.
You need to anticipate shedding at some level throughout your treatment, but you can lose an awful lot of hair and still retain an enormous amount.
For more information on potential success rates for your regimen, try our decision making guide or alternatively hear from those that have gone through the process themselves on our Facebook Group

There is no evidence to suggest that scalp cooling works better on any given hair type or thickness. The only thing that you can do to achieve the best possible results from scalp cooling is to ensure that you have the best cap fit possible. We do know that scalp cooling is not successful for everyone, but we don’t always know why. Several different people with the same diagnosis and receiving the same drug regimen can see different outcomes as a result of individual biological response. The same would be true for how people respond to any drug, treatment or even recovery from surgery. We would encourage you to give scalp cooling a go, as you have a lot of hair to retain and potentially a lot to lose.
Making sure that you care for your hair effectively during scalp cooling won’t effect your hair retention levels, but it will ensure that the hair that you do retain is in the best possible condition going for once you complete your chemotherapy. For more information on hair care, click here

This is dependent on your cancer type. The Paxman Scalp Cooling System is cleared by the FDA for use with all solid cancer tumors. For patients who don’t meet the FDA recommendation for the Scalp Cooling Cap, we recommend that you consult with you MD. You can access scalp cooling if your physician has written a prescription or has filled out the enrolment form.