To achieve the best results when using cold caps, it is important to adhere to the following recommendations:
General Recommendations
- Drink plenty of water prior to, during, and after treatment. 10 to 12 cups a day is recommended for all chemo patients. For those using cold caps, it is better to drink even more.
- Use a satin pillowcase.
- Use aluminum free deodorant.
- Use an all natural toothpaste without preservatives.
- If you are using manual caps, before your first treatment, you should practice application of the cap with the person who will be assisting you during treatment. It is important that the cap fit properly. Watch any instructional videos provided by your cold cap provider.
Hair Care Instructions
- DO NOT color or apply any chemicals to your hair within 2 weeks prior to beginning chemotherapy treatment and not until 3 months after chemotherapy is completed.
- DO NOT drastically cut your hair prior to or during treatment. Haircuts should not exceed a trim. Significant length cutting causes the hair follicle to weaken.
- Gently wash your hair 3 days before and the 3rd day after chemotherapy treatment.
- Do not wash your hair more than twice per week.
- Use cool water when washing hair.
- Hold hair when combing/brushing so that pulling on roots does not occur.
- Hair accessories that pull on the hair should be avoided. Soft scrunchies can be used.
- DO NOT blow dry, straighten, curl, or apply heat to hair.
- Shampoo hair with an organic, mild, paraben- and sulfate-free shampoo. I used Alra Mild Conditioning Shampoo.
- Avoid high pressure shower heads.
Tips During Capping
- Cover the skin on the forehead and ears while using cold caps. See “Protecting Your Forehead and Ears” below for additional information.
- For manual caps, switch caps out as quickly as possible, preferably less than 1 minute.
- Rotate your hair part line between each cap exchange to protect the scalp.
- Wear a nylon wig cap under a manual cap to keep your hair from getting caught in the cap velcro (example shown below).
- Caps must remain in tight contact with your entire scalp.
- Caps must be in a specific temperature range. This range varies between cold cap providers. Check the instructions included with your caps.
- If you develop any bald spots from shedding, you can protect your scalp during capping by covering the bald spots with cheese cloth or gauze (example shown below).
Protecting Your Forehead and Ears
When wearing a cold cap, make sure the skin on your forehead and ears is protected. The first time I wore my cap, I did not realize that I needed to cover my ears. My ears ended up getting so cold that the skin crusted over and peeled off. They recovered after a few days, but I was really worried that the cap had caused permanent damage. My cold cap provider recommended using moleskin to protect the skin near the hairline, but I found what worked better and was less expensive was panty liners (feminine pads). I would put three panty liners on my forehead. I would cut another three panty liners in half and put three layers over each ear. With three layers of protection, I had much less discomfort and no further problems with skin irritation. You can see the panty liners on my forehead in the picture below.
Several women in the Facebook group, “Chemo Cold Cappers Support Group,” have also recommended the “Sprigs Earbags Bandless Ear Warmers/Earmuffs with Thinsulate” sold on Amazon and shown below:
If you have any additional tips for cold cap use, please add them to the comments below.
Good information!
Thank you ! Great advice !