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.

[Duchessofealing]

I am terrible at tying scarves, but my chemo nurse sent me to Harrods fifth floor and their wig department (you can claim the vat back as medical and they aren’t expensive) - the lady there had the sort of already folded over long scarf that was sewn up apart from where you put your head, there were then the two OMG bits that you could take to the back or side and tie - it was fantastic. My amazing best friend made me a few of them (apparently really quick to knock one up on a sewing machine). If you want to look at one (after my awful description) then PM me and I’ll try and dig one out for a photo - they changed my life at home as I was always cold.

[DianaT1969]

My best wishes to your friend.
I have heard that using squares of soft microfibre fabric is preferable for turbans, as it's breathable and wiks sweat.

You didn't say if it was breast cancer so this may not be applicable on this thread, but I noticed this company on instagram who sell underarm post-surgery pillows and thought it might give some relief and deserves a share.
www.themammycompany.com

My mum had 2 rounds of chemo and had really short hair that thinned, but didn't all fall out, it may depend on the person or drugs. A short cut might make the transition easier xx

[meltedmonterayjack]

I forgot to say I wore mine mostly in spring and summer and the volumiser plus scarves was a bit hot but in winter I bet it would be perfect.

[meltedmonterayjack]

I find scarves give me a pin-head appearance and as others have said, they slip off. I have one of these:

www.etsy.com/market/tichel_volumizer

to prevent slippage and give some volume. I imagine it would also be nice and warm for winter as it's like wearing a beanie. There are loads of youtube vids on different ways of wearing headscarves. I have thin, shedding hair (now a bit better) but when it was at its most obvious, I wrapped layered scarves over the volumiser and it looked pretty good.

TK Maxx is a great place for cheap, nice scarves.

[eggyfartpants]

Thanks for the T and G info. X

[SplatPancake]

Also, when it grows back (and it will, even though it might infuriatingly be last on a list behind "legs" and "chin" grrrrrrr), Tony and Guy are v v good with chemo hair (I looked like ii'd had a lovely shampoo and set for AGES...) T&G are working with Macmillan to learn about post-chemo hair.

(I'm fine at minute, thanks for lovely wishes x)

[TSSDNCOP]

DSIS recommends this site and says the beanies are lovely and soft.

She had her wig styled at Tony & Guy. She has a stylist there anyway, but they do cancer patient wig work fir free.

[eggyfartpants]

Thank you everyone....I feel quite overwhelmed with the ideas, advice and good wishes. I will share the advice on slippy heads and flex my plastic to get her some lovely head wear.
Thank you and good health to you all.

[Sunnymeg]

When I had chemo, I bought a lot of stuff from an american site
www.headcovers.com They do what they call hats with hair which look how they sound. They do fixable hair pieces like fringes or hair that pokes out from under a hat. I found them a really good alternative to a full wig and they took just over a week to come from the US.

[foofooyeah]

Wish I had found those under scarves earlier .... They look fab.

[DwellsUndertheSink]

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

[DwellsUndertheSink]

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

[CMOTDibbler]

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

[Explored]

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.

[Lilymaid]

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.

[helzapoppin2]

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!

[slug]

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

[Sicaq]

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 :)

[helzapoppin2]

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.

[traviata]

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.

[mummysspecialmedicine]

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.

[weebarra]

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

[ZaraW]

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

some ideas here