Coping with Hair Loss Through Positivity
- Actress and talk show host Jada Pinkett Smith, 51, offers hope and inspiration to women battling hair loss by encouraging them to embrace their beauty inside and out. While Smith’s hair loss is linked to alopecia (a condition that causes temporary or permanent hair loss), cancer patients are susceptible to hair loss due to their treatment.
- Losing your hair or seeing it thinning is often a side effect of some cancer treatments. It usually begins about three to four weeks after chemotherapy and continues throughout treatment.
- Many people going through cancer treatment feel a sense of dread associated with losing their hair, making this stage of the journey very emotional. Such a drastic physical change may lead to anxiety and sleepless nights.
- Fortunately, your hair regrows shortly after finishing treatment, but the experience can bring a lot of emotions for women. New York-based psychiatrist Dr. Samantha Boardman suggests connecting with others in a similar situation to help cope.
- While no treatments guarantee your hair won’t fall out during or after chemotherapy, scalp-cooling caps and minoxidil (Rogaine) may help.
“Red Table Talk” host Jada Pinkett Smith has been open about her hair loss struggles and sends a powerful and inspirational message to others facing similar struggles. She says, “Bald is beautiful” in a social media post offering support for other women with shaved heads. Her words provide hope and encouragement, especially for women who struggle with hair loss because of cancer.
Smith is married to actor Will Smith, 54, and has two children. Jada’s career includes acting, hosting, and producing, earning her several awards over the years. However, on a personal front, she battled alopecia.
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Since sharing her condition publicly, Smith has used her experience with hair loss as a source of inspiration for others and a means to tap into her inner strength for herself.
“My hair has been a big part of me…Taking care of my hair has been a beautiful ritual, and having the choice to have hair or not. And then one day to be like, ‘Oh my God, I might not have that choice anymore,” she said, according to People.
RELATED: How to slow hair loss during chemo.
However, Smith has been a beacon of hope for women since cutting her hair. She’s dubbed herself the “Bald boss” on episodes of her popular talk show where she and other women share positive stories about how they have coped with hair loss.
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Supporters of the actress showered her and other women with tons of support.
“Yes, it is a bold and confident statement. I love when a woman can rock a bald head,” one Instagram user wrote.
“Radiantly beautiful through and through,” Instagram user Lelah Delia commented.
Smith’s positive approach to hair loss can also encourage women experiencing hair loss amid cancer treatment.
More on Hair Loss Options During Cancer Treatment
How to Navigate One of the Most Emotional Steps During a Cancer Journey
Hair loss is challenging for women and men alike, but it can be incredibly difficult for cancer patients. Losing your hair or seeing it thinning is a common side effect of some cancer treatments.
Chemotherapy can cause hair loss. It usually begins about three to four weeks after starting chemotherapy and continues throughout treatment.
It happens because this treatment targets quickly dividing cells throughout the body. That includes cancer cells but also hair cells.
“For cancer patients, losing one’s hair can be unbelievably stressful. To start with, the dread of losing one’s hair can lead to some sleepless nights and feelings of anxiety,” Dr. Samantha Boardman, a New York-based psychiatrist and author, told SurvivorNet.
WATCH: Hair loss during chemo.
To better cope with this emotional stage of the journey, Dr. Boardman suggests reaching out to other survivors who have been through a similar situation.
Radiation is another treatment that can lead to hair loss if the hair is in the path of the tumor being treated. Radiation for a brain tumor, for example, may cause hair loss.
“If you do lose hair, it will regrow several weeks or months after treatment,” radiation oncologist Dr. James Taylor told SurvivorNet.
“Fortunately, for most patients, hair loss is not a concern when having radiation therapy,” Dr. Taylor continued.
Fortunately, hair loss during cancer treatment is not all bad news. Most people can expect regrowth four to six weeks after treatment. However, when your hair grows back, you may notice some changes in its color and texture.
If losing your hair is a concern for you before cancer treatment, know you have options like wigs, hats, wraps, and scarves, among other things.
Another option that can minimize hair loss is cryotherapy, “just a fancy way for saying cold therapy,” says Dr. Renata Urban, gynecologic oncologist at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Cryotherapy involves wearing cold caps or special cooling caps before, during, and after each chemotherapy treatment.
WATCH: What is a scalp-cooling device?
The caps, which are tightly fitting and strap-on helmet-style, are filled with a gel coolant that’s chilled to between negative (-15) to (-40) degrees Fahrenheit.
The caps “cause vasoconstriction, or a narrowing of the blood vessels bringing blood to the scalp,” Dr. Urban explains. By constricting the blood flow to the scalp, the caps limit the amount of circulating chemotherapy that reaches the hair follicles, protecting them from some of the chemo’s damaging effects.
The cold also decreases the activity of the hair follicles, which slows down cell division and makes the follicles less affected by chemotherapy medicine.
“This has been shown to reduce hair loss by 50 percent,” Dr. Urban says. “I do try to let patients know it’s not a 100 percent prevention strategy, and it’s not been studied in all hair types, but it is at least an available strategy for patients to try.”
Keep in mind you will be experiencing some cold temperatures. Some women find the caps give them a headache. To help withstand the chilly temps, some women will dress warmly and bring blankets.
Of course, always talk with your doctor about potential treatments to mitigate the loss and the resources at your disposal for handling the loss.
Questions to Ask Your Doctor
If you’re going through cancer treatment and experiencing hair loss, here are some questions you may consider asking your doctor:
- Are there any treatments to help manage or minimize my hair loss?
- What are scalp-cooling devices, and how do they work?
- Do you recommend scalp-cooling devices?
- What other options are available to help me cope with hair loss?
- Can you recommend a wig maker?
- I’m struggling mentally with my hair loss; can you recommend a therapist to talk to?
How can I find a local support group with people going through similar things?
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