What You Need to Know About Cancer and Hair Growth Oils

Finding out that you or someone that you know has cancer can be difficult. 

Working through your feelings, new reality, and questions can be a process. 

Many women who are diagnosed with cancer often have lots of questions about their hair. 

To help, I want to provide some insight about this topic so that I can support you along your journey.

A few things before we get started . . .

But, first, please know that myself and everyone at VoiceOfHair is rooting for you and wishing for your absolute best.

Second, I am not an oncologist or physician. This article is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care providers with any questions regarding your medical conditions.

Third, although there are similarities, each cancer experience is unique to the person so you may have a slightly different experience than what I discuss, and that’s okay.

In this article, I want to talk about cancer and hair growth oils.

But, please know that in the meantime, I will be doing this for you. 

Understanding Chemotherapy (Chemo)

When you undergo chemotherapy for cancer, you may lose some or all of your hair.

Hair loss during chemotherapy can happen all over your body, including your eyebrows, armpit, and even scalp. Because our hair is so important, seeing your hair fall out can be devastating.

But, thankfully, seeing hair regrow on your scalp after treatment can be encouraging, but a lot of people ask me:

• “Will my hair ever grow back?”  
• "If so, how long might it take for my hair to grow back the way it was before?” 
• “Can oils help with my hair regrowth process?

Many people who are diagnosed with cancer undergo chemotherapy to fight the disease.  Chemotherapy destroys cancer cells, but it can also kill healthy cells.  One of the side effects can be hair loss.

This happens because chemotherapy targets all quickly dividing cells (both healthy and cancerous), including your hair cells. 

Typically, hair follicles divide every 23 to 72 hours, but chemotherapy interrupts this process.  Therefore, within a few weeks of chemotherapy, you can lose all or some of your hair. 

Your hair loss could happen suddenly (e.g., hand fulls of hair in your brush or on your pillow) or gradually.

And if your hair falls out, please know that . . . 

Hair Loss

Typically, your hair can start to fall out between 2-4 weeks after you’ve started chemo. The hair loss can last throughout chemo and up until approximately one month after treatment.

While there are no hard and fast rules, it could take many weeks after treatment for your hair to start growing back.

This is because it takes time for chemo drugs to completely leave the body and stop attacking healthy dividing cells. 

However, when your hair starts to grow back it may be initially different than before (e.g., curlier, lighter color, etc.). Importantly, some people experience permanent hair loss after certain chemo drugs.

Hair Oils for Regrowth

Again, first, confer with your doctor, but after chemo treatment has ended, there are several things that can help stimulate hair regrowth. One of the key things you can do to regrow your hair after chemo is applying essential oils to your scalp.

Many hair growth oils contain essential oils because they have so many beneficial functions that strengthen and moisturize your hair. Essential oils also contain a multitude of antiseptic properties, which reduces the possibility of infection, that can enable hair growth.

These types of essential oils include Castor oil, Peppermint oil, Ylang Ylang, etc. 

Applying all-natural hair growth oils daily with scalp massages can help jumpstart your regrowth. However, it is important to remember that your hair typically grows about 1/2″ per month. 

So, to see optimal results with hair growth oils, you will need to consistently apply them for one to three months, and after chemo, probably at least two to four months.

Also, hair oil is a part of a larger healthy hair care journey, so it is important to set realistic expectations for your hair regrowth. 

Be cautious of any hair oils that promise to grow your hair 3 inches in three days, for example. Such claims are unrealistic, go against science, and those products are probably filled with detrimental ingredients.

So, remember, that using hair oils to grow your hair after cancer is a several months experience, not an overnight one.

The Key Takeaways

Just in case you did not have time to read the above information, no worries, I get it, life can be busy. That is why I have included the key takeaways for you to read below at a quick glance. Here are 5 important things to know about cancer and hair growth oils.

 Again, I recommend consulting with your doctor before using any hair oils to aid in your regrowth process.

*Disclaimer: We have some anecdotal evidence of cancer survivors using our hair elixir to regrow hair.  However, this product has not been FDA approved or tested to regrow hair for cancer survivors and we cannot guarantee results.  What works for one cancer survivor may not work for another.