Posted on 07/22/2025 1:51:01 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
Hair loss is one of the most feared and traumatic side effects of cancer chemotherapy treatment.
That's why scalp cooling caps, often worn during chemotherapy, have become an increasingly common sight in cancer wards.
Chemotherapy drugs work by killing rapidly dividing cancer cells—unfortunately, they cause collateral toxicity to rapidly dividing healthy cells in our body, like those in the roots of our hair.
Automated scalp cooling devices are used just before, during and after chemotherapy. It reduces blood flow to the scalp, meaning less of the drug reaches the hair follicles.
But despite its potential, scalp cooling doesn't work for all patients. Until now, we didn't really know why.
Our new research shows that temperature precision might be fundamental in the ability of scalp cooling to prevent hair loss.
When we treated hair follicles with chemotherapy drugs, we found that cooling can prevent the toxic effects of chemotherapy drugs. However, there is a catch: it only works if hair follicles are cooled to the right level.
More specifically, when cooled to an optimal temperature of 18°C, hair follicles were completely protected from chemotherapy drug-induced damage. However, when the temperature was higher—say, 26°C—the protection dropped dramatically. This finding may explain why scalp cooling doesn't work for all patients. In real-world settings, scalp temperature can vary due to differences in equipment, head shape, blood flow, or hair type. Some patients may not reach the "protective threshold."
But, here's the exciting part: if the temperature isn't cold enough, we have found a way to compensate for this by adding antioxidants, and that makes a huge difference.
So, how do the antioxidants help? Chemotherapy drugs generate harmful molecules called reactive oxygen species which contribute to cell damage. By adding antioxidants like N-Acetylcysteine or Resveratrol—even at sub-optimal cooling temperatures—we saw a remarkable improvement in protection.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
NAC and resveratrol appeared to both greatly help-enough that 78.8 F was fine when using them.
They are making a salve for applying these, but you now know how to prevent hair loss during chemotherapy.
Probably why cold caps have been available for many years for those on chemo.
I just finished lots of chemo. Lost almost all of my body hair. I keep my hair very short so I don’t look much different. It’s going to grow back in 3-6 months.
Oh, I am leukemia free now after a bone marrow transplant.
Congratulations on that.
My little sister was blonde but after chemo her hair grew back as brunet. But of more importance she is cancer free some 30 years.
As an aside, too many systemic antioxidants impair chemotherapy.
Which tells you they work as supplements against toxins, despite how the science is “unsettled”.
Congratulations!!
That is a huge deal and a wonderful success story.
Praise God.
Praying for your sisters continued success in recovery.
A good friend just started her chemo and has been using the cold cap since treatment one and so far no hair loss . She was going for #3 today. 🙏
🙏👍
I remember seeing Ann Jillian on Johnny Carson, who related that during chemo for breast cancer, the nurse put an ice cap on her head, and she didn’t lose a hair on her head.
I had a niece in her 40s who worked diligently at cooling her scalp during treatment for breast cancer. She wanted to keep her thick, beautiful hair.
She kept her hair, but it eventually became thin and brittle anyway.
No matter, though, as the poison from chemotherapy left her susceptible to the lung infectoon that eventually killed her in January of 2024.
The poison of chemo is not the answer.
But it sure does make lots of money for the drug companies.
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