chemo hair loss headwear

[eggyfartpants]

Best friend started chemo this week and has been told her hair will be gone in a couple of weeks. She's done an exploratory wig/turban shopping expedition. I'm not particularly local so support from afar is tricky. She's maintained a fairly dark sense of humour about it so far...but having googled turban wear, I fear that for a young, former indie kid 40 something, a twisty turbanny concoction may be too much. In the great scheme of things, beating the cancer is a total priority, but I was thinking of trying to find her something slighty stylish. Has anyone seen anything decent (other than wigs) that might suit. She's not a hat kind of person under normal circumstances, which makes it even more difficult.

What about silk or chiffon scarves and bandanas. There's some good ideas on here.

here

Colourful scarfs?

A friend of mine who had cancer in her 30s and lost her hair. She invested in a natural hairpiece and generally didn't bother with anything else other than a scarf if it was cooler indoors and she didn't want to wear the hairpiece. There were no turbans in sight. Most of the time she either wore her hairpiece or nothing unless she needed protection from the heat or the cold.

She initially had an NHS hairpiece but found it too hot.

How about a layered headband/skull cap like this?

I wore buffs throughout mine - different patterns/ fabrics available. Not massively chemo-looking if you funk them up a bit...

I crocheted my mum berets. Really easy to make and you can get really lovely wool that changes colours. Perfect for the weather coming up too.

Usually have them on eBay and Etsy too if you just want to buy them.

I'm sorry I have no suggestions, but just wanted to send my best wishes to your friend

And bump for you

can she cut it off really short beforehand? I saw a woman the other day I assume was going through the same thing, she had a very short cut, like a 3 or 4 and she looked great. No scarf or anything

Hadn't though of Buffs...that's a good idea, thanks Splat and I hope you are well now.

Will look on ebay/etsy too..my crochet skills are dreadful. I hope your Mum is better as well Milminge.

I like the layering idea...maybe a plain buff, with a wide knitted band on top.
Thanks for all the ideas and good wishes...

First of all, for your friend.

What about you organize a day out in London for the two of you and hit Liberty? They have a fabulous scarf section with mannequins that display many different ways of wrapping a scarf around your head. I'm sure they would be able to demonstrate, and their stock is fabulous, very funky.

Good luck to your friend. I went through chemo during winter and having no hair even with a wig sometimes feels really cold. For sleeping I would say go with turbans I really needed them as did friends who were going through chemo.

If she is going to wear a wig she may have to get it cut or styled to suit her. I never had to do this but my friend did as the one she chose just lay flat but when her hairdresser added layers it looked much more natural.

I just went with cheap scarves so I had options what to wear and could just throw them in the wash. I only wore them at home and my wig when I was working, socialising etc.

Shopping together would be fabulous, but she has a cancer which means any infection risk/crowds etc need to be avoided as far as possible. Will look at liberty website for ideas.

Will def suggest getting any wigs styled to suit.

Will ebay for some cheap scarves. Any suggestions on alternative tying techniques as all I can think of is Hilda Ogden style...?

Healing thoughts to everyone who is currently receiving treatment or who has been through it.

I found wigs a total nightmare I am afraid. I got 3, determined to have fun with them. I got one close to my natural colour and style, one long blonde bombshell and one cute redhead bob. Could not bear to wear any of them for more than an hour! They were too hot and itchy.
I wore beanies. Friends bought me the most outrageous ones they could find and I wore a different one every day.
I am crap with scarves and things, so they suited me down to the ground.

Good luck to your friend

www.scarves.net/how-to-tie-a-scarf/head-scarves/

some ideas here

I used Seasalt's Handybands when I had chemo last year. Also Anna Bandana were good, I didn't like wigs!

Might be worth a look at The Mom Edit as the blogger, Shana Draugelis went through chemo after having breast cancer - she is a pretty stylish lady and wrote a number of posts on this subject etc.

Hope that helps! Best wishes for your friend.

I don't like scarves on my hairless head, they slip around and I feel anxious about whether they cover the back of my head.

I bought hats from www.suburbanturban.co.uk and buffs including some from Seasalt. Bandanas are too small.

I hate my wig and am not looking forward to returning to work when I may have to wear it , it is hot, itchy and constricting.

As traviata says, nothing grips onto a hairless head. My best friend was a stretchy hairband which gave some grip for wigs etc.
I had chemo in the winter and wore a wig, which was warm as they are quite thick. Putting a hat, in my case, beret or bakers boy cap over the wig,helped to confuse the eye, drawing attention away from the wig, although mine was pretty good. Earrings helped also.
In spring, when it warmed up, I ditched the wig and wore a funky army cap, tons of make up and big hoop earrings. By then my hair was starting to grow back.
I felt quite defiant, sort of "I know I don't look quite normal, but it's a look, and I can look how i like after what I've been through!"
My biggest waste of money was on a real hair wig. Synthetic wigs were much more natural and easy to look after.

I was hat shopping on Amazon earlier. If you search "crochet hat" on Amazon you get a lot of really stylish lightweight hats like berets, beanies and cat ears :)

Not what you were asking but... When my sister lost her hair to chemo we painted her head with henna in glorious patterns.

OP, my best friend cut my hair really short in preparation for losing it. It generally happens around the time of the second dose. That was a really special thing to do. Maybe you could do that for your friend. Believe me it doesn't have to be a professional job!

I wore Buffs at home and had a very nice monofilament wig for going out (these are not too hot as I managed them through last year's heat wave!) Seasalt handybands are a cotton alternative to Buffs.

A friend of mine who has been completely bald since her hair fell out suddenly when she was 7yo always looks amazing.

She wears large scarves, usually ethic prints, tied behind her head, so they fall down her back and on her shoulders in the manner of hair.

Slug, a smallish girl in our town who has alopecia often sports lovely stick on sparkly body art things on her scalp. She had fab ones to match her dress as carnival princess

what about these underscarves worn by muslim women under their scarves? Then she could artfully drape a gorgeous scarf over the top?

They have other underscarf styles on ^^ that site too.