In my radiation education session, they told me not to shave. I hate having a beard, though, and my face feeels OK. Do y'all think it would be OK to shave or is there some reason other than irritation that would make it a bad idea?

Clint

Hi Clint,
One of the first symptoms of radiation, at least for me, was the reddening and burning of my skin on the outside. By the end of my six weeks of treatment, my skin in the radiated area was much too tender, blistered and oozing to even think of shaving.

Like you though, the parts of my fact that weren't getting radiation bothered me because I couldn't shave with a safety razor. I ended up getting an electric razor for this period to shave the areas that weren't radiated every couple/three days, just to try to feel somewhat normal.

By the way, my radiated areas no longer have any hair growing, so I only have to shave parts of my face. The downside is that if I decide to skip shaving for a day or two, it looks like I started to shave (the radiated areas) and then somehow forgot to finish. I don't want to give people more reason to think I'm getting senile, so I usually shave daily now.

Hope this helps. Good luck with your radiation treatments. - Sheldon

I would follow your doctors instructions. The hair is soon going to fall out anyway from the radiation. The skin is damaged from the radiation... let it heal. Any shaving you do in the future is going to be with an electric razor.

Barry shaved throughout treatment with an electric razor, which his nurses told him to use as long as he felt comfortable shaving. His radiation plan did not greatly impact the front areas of his face and (like ssax) it looked very "half-shaved" after a day or so. However the hair growth even in these areas was slower than previously. He never had any broken skin (just reddened like a bad sunburn), but the hair did stop growing on his rear cheeks, sides of neck and nape area.

After about 4-5 weeks, the hair started to grow back, first up around his ears which were not radiated much, and back of neck, gradually moving across cheeks and sides of neck. The whole radiated area was "re-haired" (is that a word?) in about two-three months or so. It grew in darker than his pre-radiation hair -- and thus looked a lot thicker but really wasn't -- and is still darker to this day.

He stopped using the electric razor in about 6 weeks and is back to using a regular disposable razor for shaving.

Barry did a few things during radiation that may have helped prevent so much skin damage -- *immediately* after coming out of radiation, he went into the restroom and liberally applied first RadiaCare Gel (or equivalent) -- which is an aloe-containing gel -- and after that dried, a liberal application of Biafine Cream. He also gargled and swished with cold food-grade aloe gel (obtainable from GNC and other stores, get 100% aloe, nothing with "colloidal silver" or other ingredients). The latter was advice from several folks who went through radiation before him. Although reaction to radiation varies depending on the individual, our nurses said that patients who did the most to take care of their skin generally (not always, but generally) did better and avoided the worst blistered/broken skin. Barry continued to use the Biafine for a number of weeks post-treatment, until all the reddening and dead skin (again, like after a bad sunburn) was gone.

Gail

Hey Clint! Man, do I remember those days! Don't worry about the beard, number one! You have bigger fish to fry! Like Gail Mac said take care of that skin! And like Brian said the beard will all fall out any way. I actually spent a lot of time tweezing the hairs. They just slid out! I still dont have much if any facial hair below my jaw line today, all the way down to my collar bone. I am a pretty hairy guy & it almost looks like I shave from there up! Focus on the things you can have an effect on & that matter. The beard will do what it is gonna do. If it grows back, shave it. If it does not, dont. Slather it up with the radia gel & do the aloe gargle. Take care of that tissue! Erik