Hair loss is emotional. It can be tough to navigate how to feel good about yourself through it all. There will be days where you wish you could just have your old hair back, but we've turned to stylists, dermatologists, and women who’ve been there for tips and products to help you embrace your hair—or lack of it—at every step of the way.
Scalp Care
An oncology dermatologist at Northwestern Medicine, Dr. Jennifer Choi says scalp care is very important when you’re experiencing hair loss. Your hair is protective, and if it’s not there, you should make sure you’re still cleansing and moisturizing. Because your skin may be more delicate, you typically want to opt for gentle, fragrance-free options. And, it’s not a bad idea to check with your oncologist whenever trying any new products to ensure it’s safe for your skin.
A Simple Gentle Cleanser
When it comes to simple, fragrance free cleansers, we love Dove for gentle products that help you also stay moisturized. Dr. Choi recommends going with the simplest option when it comes to a cleanser. “You don’t actually need shampoo,” Dr. Choi says. “I usually recommend something that’s gentle and moisturizing,” and one option that she recommends is this Dove foaming cleanser. It’s non-fragrance, and therefore has less of a chance of irritating your potentially sensitive skin, and despite its simplicity, it gets the job done.
A Lightweight but Effective Moisturizer
For a nourishing and deep moisturizer, we love this one from La Roche-Posay. While it’s marketed as a face moisturizer, it also keeps your scalp healthy after hair loss. It’s fragrance free and super lightweight, but with ingredients like niacinamide and ceramides, it does an excellent job of keeping your skin hydrated and healthy.
A Sunscreen for Sensitive Skin
Sun protection is always incredibly important. Sun hats and head wraps ensure any bare spots on your head are protected (more on this later), but choosing a good SPF is also crucial to keeping your skin healthy during chemo. Abby, 29, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2023 and experienced hair loss during treatment, recommends this mineral sunscreen from Pipette, which is technically designed for babies, and gentle for sensitive skin.
Comfortable and Cute Headwraps
Diana Bottino, a hairstylist in New York who works with women with cancer, says headwraps are a great way to style your hair during chemo. Whether it’s thinner and falling out, or you’ve decided to shave your head, a headwrap is an elegant way to cover up and spruce up any outfit. Molly McDermott, who was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma at 24, says scarves have been a major way she’s explored new styles during her hair regrowth journey—she has a couple go-tos, but she also recommends checking out your local thrift store to find unique vintage options.
Silky Scarves
These silky hair scarves from Anthropologie feel soothing on a bare head, and are a quick way to spruce up any outfit. This set of two is available in a variety of sophisticated prints. Emily DiGiulio, 24, who lost her hair during treatment for breast cancer, says head wraps have been her favorite hair accessory throughout chemo and recovery. “They’re just easy. I’ve found that they’ve been a lot easier and a lot more stylish than wearing hats.”
A Cheeky Scarf Designed Especially for Treatment Hair Loss
Jadey co-founder Michelle Reiss struggled to find head wraps that fit her personal style when she started chemo. Then she came across Bravery Co., an Australian company founded by a 3-time cancer survivor that sells soft patterned scarves designed especially for treatment hair loss (read our interview with Bravery Co. founder Emily Somers here, including her expert tips on selecting and tying head scarves). Michelle says this scarf perfectly matched her personality and how she was feeling during treatment, “I love this design with the giant curse word surrounded by flowers. It makes me smile that when you wear the scarf tied up, you can walk around with this curse word, but nobody can tell it's there. It becomes your little secret. It feels like an accurate metaphor for going through cancer treatment."
A Practical and Pre-tied Head Turban
Loza Tam's pre-tied turbans are one of our favorite hair loss accessories to have on hand. They are easy to throw on and always looks good, and they come in a wide offering of colors, patterns, and wrap styles. The soft satin lining is soothing to wear, and also reduces friction to protect your potentially delicate hair from further breakage.
Patterned and Colorful Head Scarves
Coming in a pack of four, these colorful and comfortable floral scarves are an easy way to add some variety to your hair accessory rotation. “I’ve loved the scarves,” says Molly. “I would say they’ve been one of my favorite looks throughout… I don’t think they’re going anywhere, even when I get long hair again.”
Protective Sun Hats
Bottino also recommends hats as a cover-up—and as a bonus, they protect your sensitive skin from the sun.
A Chic and Sun-Safe Hat
When it comes to sun protection, we like Solbari. They had a wide offering of sun-safe clothing and hats, all of which are UPF 50+.
Antonia, who was diagnosed with skin cancer in 2018, specifically loves their sun hats, like this wide brim style. It comes in a bunch of different colors, and it’s adjustable, so you can make it fit exactly to your head. We like the detachable chin strap for windy days (especially useful if you don't have much hair to help keep the hat in place).
A Two-Toned Sun Hat
For the sun-conscious, we are also big fans of Solumbra, another brand that makes well-designed clothing and accessories for sun protection. This lightweight hat from Solumbra is a little peppy, a little classic, and easily packable and comes in a ton of different colors. We like the adjustable sweatband and the chin strap for navigating your changing needs during hair loss and regrowth. Best of all, the fabric is 100+ SPF.
Products for Eyebrow and Eyelash Loss
Losing your eyebrow and eyelash hair (or seeing them thin out extremely) can be one of the hardest parts about hair loss. It can be a surprise. You expect to lose your hair, but you might not have thought about what you’d look like without eyebrows and eyelashes, which can be a big part of what your face looks like. And you can’t just cover it up with a scarf or a wig. Despite this, these eyebrow tattoos, pencils, and sunglasses might help you to feel more like yourself, but, as always, you should check with your oncologist before using any of these products on your skin.
Go-To Sunglasses
Sunglasses are not just important for sun protection (and style), but also to protect your eyes when you're experiencing hair loss. When Michelle started chemo treatment, her oncology nurse recommended getting a pair of sunglasses and having them with her always. “Your eyebrows and eyelashes help collect dust and protect your eyes from debris, and when you lose them during treatment, a good pair of sunglasses helps do the job instead. On top of that, particularly with chemo, treatment makes you very sun sensitive,” Michelle says.
She recommends the brand IZIPIZI for good quality, attractive, and lightweight sunglasses that you can throw in every purse or keep stashed in your car.
A Fuss-Free Brow Pencil
Drawing on eyebrows helps add some of that definition back to your face, and this one from Urban Decay is long-lasting, waterproof, and precise. Jenn Aédo, a make-up artist who lost her eyebrows and eyelashes during chemo treatment for Burkitt Lymphoma, says she leaned heavily on brow pencils, playing with a new, fun shape every day. She recommends this one from Urban Decay for its precision, to help you get really detailed hair strokes.
A Clean-Beauty Brow Pencil
For a cleaner beauty option, we also love this Kosas Brow Pop pencil. Kosas’s products are all made for sensitive skin, with ingredients that are good for your skin. Aédo loves this pencil—it has a precise pencil for nice defined strokes, and it comes with a spoolie on the other side to help blend. It comes in a couple different shades, it’s long lasting, and helps you draw on beautiful, natural-looking eyebrows.
Beautiful Replacement Brows Designed by a Beauty Writer and Survivor
These replacement eyebrows were designed by Deanna Pai, a beauty writer and cancer survivor who couldn't find a good substitute for real brows during her chemo hair loss. They are well-shaped and feature a tiny lace-front design for a smooth look. Offered in two different shades of brown, these can either replace fully lost brows or cover up some sparse strands.
A Smooth, Precise Eyeliner
Eyeliner adds some definition back to your eyes and give your features some of the definition you might’ve lost. Aédo uses this one from Westman Atelier, in brown, for a more natural look. She recommends applying it with a thin liner brush to get a smooth and precise application.
