Chemotherapy and Hair Loss
Chemotherapy is a treatment that is often used to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy involves the administration (either orally or intravenously) of medications and chemicals that are designed to poison and kill cells that are rapidly dividing. Chemotherapy kills cancer cells because these cells are actively dividing and growing more rapidly than normal cells in the body. However, chemotherapy can also be toxic to healthy cells in the body, including the cells in the hair follicle, as they also rapidly divide. As a result, these cells are killed off by the chemotherapy, which causes the hair that they support to fall out. This can lead to noticeable hair loss.
Hair Regrowth
Although hair loss is a common side effect of chemotherapy, it is usually temporary. This is because the cells in the hair follicle can eventually be replaced. They are replaced via the action of a specific subset of cells called stem cells, which live in the skin. These cells do not typically divide, which allows them to escape the effects of chemotherapy. However, when there is significant loss of hair follicle cells, the stem cells are able to replicate and form new hair follicle cells. Once the cells in the hair follicle are created and are in place, they are able to start making hair again.
Timeline and Features
The Mayo Clinic states that noticeable hair loss typically begins 10 to 14 days after a chemotherapy regimen is started. Because it takes time for the hair follicle cells to regenerate after chemotherapy has stopped, hair typically begins to grow back four to six weeks after the chemotherapy has stopped and grows at a rate of approximately one quarter of an inch per month. The initial hair that grows back may be somewhat different than the hair that fell out---it may be curlier or straighter than before, or have a different texture. It may even be a different color as the cells that control hair pigment regenerate and heal.
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