Haircare

As with dyeing your hair, it is important that you avoid any chemical treatments on your hair during scalp cooling, this includes chemical straightening, keratin treatments or perms/permanents etc. This is because your skin and scalp are likely to be much more reactive and sensitive than before chemo, and also because these treatments will damage your hair, which is already going to be dried out be chemotherapy treatment. It is important to wait until your shedding has returned to normal once you have completed your chemotherapy before considering these treatments, and to go to an experienced hairdresser who is familiar with your circumstances as they will be able to tell you whether your hair is in a robust enough condition to tolerate these treatments.
For more information on visiting the hairdresser click here

We would suggest that you wait until any shedding has returned to normal. This can take about 12 weeks, longer or less time for some people. This gives some time for your scalp and follicles to recover a little. There are then a couple of things to consider –

• Go to an experienced hairdresser who is familiar with your circumstances. They will be able to give you good advice around what your hair is ready for
• You may need wait a bit longer and work on improving the condition of your hair. Chemotherapy has drying effect on your hair and skin and it is not unusual for your hair to be too compromised for it to be ready for the dyeing process, particularly if you are wanting to bleach your hair. Spending some time using conditioning products and treatments will result in healthier hair and a much better end result
• Make sure that when you do go ahead with dyeing your hair that your hairdresser patch tests in advance. It is super important, even if you haven’t had problems before as your scalp and skin may still be reactive or sensitive as a result of the chemotherapy
• Bleaching or high lighting your hair may not be possible if your hair is really dry and compromised after chemo. Bleaching can further damage the hair cuticle and could result in your hair snapping or breaking

See our post scalp cooling hair care guide for more information or visit our blog post on visiting the hairdressers

We would really recommend not dyeing your hair during your treatment – firstly, because your scalp will be much more reactive due to the chemo and even if you have had no problems with reacting to hair dye previously, this might not be the case during your treatment. Secondly, your hair will be much drier as a result of chemotherapy, and dyeing your hair can exacerbate this. It really is best to wait.
See our post scalp cooling hair care guide for more information, or visit our blog post on visiting the hairdressers

Having a very short hairstyle won’t have an effect on hair retention. You don’t need to cut your hair unless you want to. The only occasions in which you might want to consider cutting and/or thinning your hair are if it is very thick and very long, as the weight may put tension on the roots and you want to ensure good contact with the cap and the scalp. Manageability throughout treatment is the thing to concentrate on. Having a trim is a good idea to get rid of any damaged or dry hair as this is more likely to tangle or knot.

You can see more information in our myth busting section (scroll to the bottom of the page)

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You can contact us at patient@PAXMANUSA.com and/or go to https://shop.paxmanusa.com/ to reorder haircare

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

Yes, you may find the Paxman Scalp Cooling Facebook Group a really good place to start. It’s a place to talk all things scalp cooling, and find advice and support from individuals who have who have been through the process and who are different stages of their treatment, all over the world. You can also find information and answers to questions direct from Paxman. All you need to do is answer a couple of questions to join.
We also have a haircare blog, which is full of lots of information help and guidance on how to best care for your hair while cold capping, as well as more in depth information on how hair follicles are affected by chemo, how to identify which hair type you are and lots more.