Oooooh, hair laced with chemo is tricky tricky material for a colorist (kind of like the challenge coloring pregnancy hair). There’s no inherent risk that it will break, it’s just that it destabilizes a typically predictable process...not enough lift is the usual result, leading to unwanted reddish tones. For this reason, coupled with the fact that non-professional products (like Madison Reed and pharmacy items) are prohibited from including higher strength peroxide’s, your chances of a surprising outcome are higher. Fact is, a pro will give you the best chance, but they might ask you to sign a waiver before proceeding.

I’m a pro, and didn’t want to deal with the hassle of dissapointment ( we’ve had enough with regard to our hair, amirite??) so, while it was still uber-short, I opted to throw on a semi-permanent to cover grey and give it some tone and shine. I think it was pretty cute, if not ideal, and I kept it up for about six months. Plus, as it coated the hair rather than altered the hair internally, it faded off and was rather non-committal, and NOT interfering with my future plans: as you can see, I’m back to stark raving blonde via highlights.
A no-ammonia/ no peroxide semi or demi permanent color from the pharmacy is fine to mess around with, although my colleagues would kill me for saying so...but a sister must stick with a sister, so I recommend. 😏

Regarding growth seeming to slow, this might just be trickery of the eye: those first weeks hair doubles in length quickly, as we’re talking fractions of inches. Even a full inch gaining another 1/8 inch in a week seems grand, but after you gain more, that same addition seems insignificant.

One thing to add, that you didn’t particularly ask for, is that some time around the 10 month mark, you will have your first natural shed. NO one is prepared for this, and it can seem a little alarming. No worries, though: a single strand sheds out at roughly this time, depending on genetics. This process is usually staggered throughout (hence the adage “lose a hundred hairs per day). Not so when everyone comes back in at once—a shed over a couple weeks ensues, I estimated about a fifth of it. After this, it regulates to a normal staggered pattern and you’ll be on your way to normalcy.

((Hug))

I dyed my very short hair the second I could and hated it! I too wish Id left the salt n pepper look. Problem for me was that they cant hi-lite ultra short hair and it had no dimension. (Not to mention the person who colored my hair made it too red) I have heard good things about https://www.madison-reed.com if you are thinking of doing it yourself.
I couldn't agree more with Zgfighter.....embrace the new you. I'm trying to do that. I now keep my hair very short. Its easy to care for. Good Luck and congrats on your accomplishment.

It's been 3.5 years since chemo, and still I shed a lot. Have a brush for wet hair but it really doesn't matter cause hair comes out dry too. My hair grows in different lengths all over my head. It's the longest it's ever been. Back is down to bottom of rib cage.

After chemo I stayed with white hair and waited for my hair to grow more. now that it is grown shoulder length, i go to the salon and have it professional dyed. It looks gorgeous. Good luck to you too. i'm sure you will look fabulous too in due time. Keep up the fight and stay well!!!

Thank you Karen for this info. I needed to read it. Very helpful.