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Chemotherapy And Radiation: How Can These Affect My Hair, Skin And Nails?

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Isabel Calleros discusses how your hair, skin and nails can be affected by chemotherapy and radiation.

Isabel Calleros:
Hello, my name is Isabel Calleros and I am a licensed cosmetologist specializing in aesthetics and I am also registered with the American Cancer Society.

And what I do is with the Look Good…Feel Better foundation. We go in, we try to help women with their skin conditions, their hair care and any questions they have in the beauty aspect of going through their cancer treatments.

Chemotherapy, radiation or any of the treatments that a patient goes through during cancer is going to affect the hair, skin and nails, basically all the same.

And the reason is, is because they are all made of the same type of protein called carotene. So we have a depletion in moisture and we have a depletion in oil. The hair itself will dry out tremendously.

So if you are starting out with dry hair you want to precondition your hair. You want to get your hair in the best of health prior to knowing that you are going to have some type of chemotherapy and radiation.

And the best way to do that is either A, talk to your stylist, or B, let’s go back to the basics of natural hair care.

You can take what we used to do back in the day, you can take mayonnaise because mayonnaise has oil in it.

You can do your soap caps with mayonnaise by putting it on your hair, putting a plastic cap, sitting out in the sun area just keeping your sunblock on and that will help to hydrate the skin and get in good, strong condition.

It’s always the integrity that you start with that will end up prolonging as you go through your treatment.

About Isabel Calleros:
Isabel Calleros has dedicated over 30 years to education in aesthetics and permanent makeup for both cosmetic and breast repigmentation for breast cancer recovery. As a voice for the breast cancer survivor, Mrs. Calleros wants to provide each and every woman the opportunity to know and understand their choices as they regain their femininity, womanhood and self beauty.

Isabel is a facilitator for the Look Good…Feel Better program through the American Cancer Society. She has volunteered her time at the Arizona Cancer Center in Tucson, Arizona, through the Women’s Cancer Support Group, along with participating on in the 2009 Breast Cancer Wellness Cruise for breast cancer survivors.

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EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

Great practical advice! Thank you.

May 10, 2010 - 8:34am
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