The Hair Clinic - Consultants for hair restoration, hair transplantation, microsurgery hair transplants

Articles

1. Chemotherapy and hair
2. Dandruff: What’s It All About

Chemotherapy and Hair

Chemotherapy targets all actively dividing cells of the body whether they are healthy or not. Unhealthy cells get blasted which is of course the aim of this type of therapy, however, healthy dividing cell of the hair follicles will be put out of action in exactly the same way. Once chemotherapy starts hair will fall out within days, although hair loss is not always experienced as it depends on the type of chemotherapy used. Your doctor will warn you on the likelihood of hair loss.

Once hair loss has occurred your scalp may feel a little tender or sore, it is wise to protect it fully from strong sunlight due to it’s high sensitivity. At this stage, The Hair Clinic offers a hair replacement service - a wig can be designed to your specific requirements, taking into account your original hair type and colour.

Four to six weeks following your last dose of chemotherapy, hair re-growth will start. Trichological advice at The Hair Clinic is available at this stage as gentle hair handling tips will be imperative. For instance, if you are used to colouring your hair and want to get back to it as soon as you see your hair growing back, it would indeed be wise to wait a further six months before doing so. This is due to the fact that when your hair first starts to grow back it can be rather dry and brittle so resist the temptation to dry it out any further or you may find hair breakage will occur.

It is also important not to brush the hair harshly while it is growing back, don’t be tempted to massage the scalp vigorously with a brush or any other such instrument in pursuit of boosting hair growth while it is only a few inches in length as it could easily break off. It is best to shampoo and gently massage your scalp regularly once it starts to grow and always avoid aggressive detangling or styling techniques once it reaches a longer length. Individual advice on post chemo hair care can be obtained with the trichologist Vanessa Bailey at The Hair Clinic.

Your hair texture may change following chemotherapy, it may grow back wavier than usual but often grows back in healthier shape than before chemotherapy was administered. However, it is at least a year before the hair starts to feel stronger and healthier again. Always bear in mind that trichological advice and non-surgical hair replacement is available at The Hair Clinic throughout the stages of chemotherapy linked hair loss and hair re-growth.

Dandruff: What’s It All About?

A common belief is that dandruff is a dry scalp complaint when in fact the opposite is true! Dandruff thrives on grease. Fungi spores that are found naturally in normal scalp secretions cause all the fuss. Some of us don’t get dandruff, but a lot of us do, if you do get dandruff this means your scalp is hyper-sensitive to these fungi spores and will react to them as if they are something quite alien!

The white “flakes” that are noticed amongst your hair and on your shoulders during an outbreak are little collections of oil, wax and dead skin cells. They manage to adhere themselves to hair and cling onto clothes quite happily due to their consistency. Susceptibility to this condition is derived from our genetic make up but some outside influences can make things worse.

Stress, not shampooing every day, using the wrong type of shampoo and applying conditioners or greasy hair products on your scalp will all exacerbate dandruff. Always seek the advice of a registered trichologist as treatments can be prepared for you based on your own individual needs; you will be surprised how easy it is to control dandruff when you use the correct products.

Trichological products and therapies work by reducing scalp fungi levels and fungi sensitivity so that the problem can be cleared initially and then with regular treatment use prevented from re-appearing. Due to the persistent nature of dandruff, trichological products are prepared with plant based ingredients to make them easier to use in the long term and are also prepared with the health of the hair in mind-therefore managing to maintain healthy shiny hair at the same time as treating the scalp.

With dandruff or any other scalp concern, always have the problem diagnosed by a trichologist and follow their advice.

All wording by Vanessa Bailey MIT MRIPH author of The Good Hair Guide: All Your Questions Answered.

www.amazon.co.uk/Good-Hair-Guide

If you would like futher information please contact The Hair Clinic.