Why Am I Losing Hair After Losing Weight
The beauty of the hair is often considered as the half of a persons beauty in total. Having beautiful and above all healthy hair is something we all want. However, this is not always the case and often people have problems with their hair. Many lifestyle and behavioral changes greatly affect the health of our hair. Hair loss is one of the changes with a great impact on a persons hair. Why hair loss occurs after weight loss? Lets find out.
Why Malnutrition Can Cause Hair Loss
Hair loss is typically inherited as a condition called androgenetic alopecia. In less common cases, non-genetic factors may cause hair loss as well. Underlying medical conditions like diabetes, lupus, anemia, or thyroid disease may thin out hair. Female patients may also blame low estrogen levels too, which is why temporary hair loss occurs after giving birth or during menopause.
Another common cause of hair loss is a dietary factor: crash diets, lack of protein, unhealthy eating, sudden weight loss, or eating disorders. In cases like this, hair loss happens due to nutritionally insufficiency your body is signalling a problem.
On average, a healthy person may shed 50 100 hairs per day but a malnourished patient may observe their hair thinning and the hair-shedding process accelerating. Aside from shedding, the hair also grows weak and brittle while the skin goes dry. According to biology, these are the symptoms of protein deficiency.
As the protein stores of the body are depleted due to improper nourishment, the body has to take care of essential organs and muscle tissues first. And because hair is made up of proteins, your follicles will suffer because the body is reallocating its remaining protein supply to support life-sustaining organs. Aside from hair loss, you may also observe symptoms like:
- Frequent colds
- Poor recovery from anemia or workouts
- Significant weight loss
If Youre Worried About Hair Loss After Bariatric Surgery And Want To Know Why Its Happening How To Fix It And When It Will End Keep Reading
Hair loss is a complicated subject hair loss after bariatric surgery is even more complicated.
Researchers and pharmaceutical companies have been trying for decades to find the solution to prevent and reverse hair loss without much luck.
Today there are pills, shampoos, supplements and more that are supposed to help with hair loss. So whats the answer?
Well, first its important to understand whats going on when our luscious locks start showing up on our pillows in the morning.
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What Causes Hair Loss During Dieting
If youre just starting your weight loss journey, perhaps you have questions about unintentional side effects, such as hair loss. If youre already well into this journey, maybe youve already noticed some thinning of your hair. Either way, its important to learn the facts about the connection between weight loss and hair loss and rule out other potential causes.
Use A Topical Treatment
The only topical treatment that has been approved by the FDA for hair loss in women is minoxidil, better known by the brand name Women’s Rogaine . “Topical minoxidil is the gold standard standard of treatment,” Dr. Zeichner says. “It helps lengthen the active growing stage of hairs and promotes healthy delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the hair follicle.”
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Temporary Hair Loss And Losing Weight
Hair thinning after weight loss is usually associated with a condition called telogen effluvium. Telogen effluvium effectively throws your normal hair cycle out of whack.
Normally, hair grows at a rate of about ½-inch per month for about two years, before it goes into the resting phase known as telogen. All of your hairs are at a different stage, so normally you see constant growth and regrowth, with old hairs falling out to make room for new ones during telogen. With a regular cycle, about 10% of your hairs will be in the resting phase at any given time.
Telogen effluvium occurs when this 10% starts to increase, and the hair cycle phases are out of balance. More hairs than usual are going into the resting phase, so hair falls out faster than it grows back in. Its one of the most common forms of hair loss among both men and women. Although its normally limited to the scalp, more serious cases can affect eyebrows and body hair.
How To Prevent Hair Loss After Bariatric Surgery
Admittedly, hair loss is not entirely understood however, there are things that you can do to proactively help yourself maintain a healthy head of hair after bariatric surgery.
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How Does Weight Loss Surgery Cause Hair Loss
Hair loss is also a common side effect of rapid weight loss following weight loss surgery, such as a gastric bypass, and can start from about 3 months after your operation.
Both the surgery itself, which puts a big stress on your body, and the weight loss that follows can be a cause of hair loss. But as with other causes of telogen effluvium, your hair will usually grow back within 6 months from this time. Be careful to follow the meal plans and medication suggested by your doctor to ensure youre getting enough calories and nutrients, while allowing your stomach and intestines to recover.
How Hair Normally Grows
Human hair has a two-stage growth cycle. The growth phase is called anagen and 90% of our hair follicles are in this phase at any given time
Then, after the hair follicle is done with the growth stage it will naturally enter the resting phase, called Telogen.
For a scalp that is not experiencing hair loss about 5-15% of our hair is in the resting phase at any given time.
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How To Prevent Or Stop Hair Loss After Weight Loss
Losing hair is a normal and natural process. Everyone loses an average of 100 hair strands per day, but the continual hair growth rejuvenates itself, so if you have had a rapid weight loss after following strict diets, then you may have to work on your hairs health. Hair naturally takes around 3-6 months to grow back on its own after weight loss.
If you are at the beginning of your weight loss journey, then you may have to take some steps to prevent your hair from falling out.
The best solution is to lose weight gradually and at a slow pace. Losing weight rapidly causes problems regarding your health as well as your hair.
You should take an adequate amount of protein to help prevent hair thinning. Dietitians advise taking 0.36 grams of protein per pound of your weight. If you cannot comprehend how much protein you should consume by following your body weight, you should consult your dietitian.
You should take supplements of Vitamin B, biotin, zinc, iron, as well as Vitamin C to provide your body with the sufficient amount of nutrients your hair needs to grow. It is typically recommended to eat whole-grain foods, fruits, vegetables enriched in the nutrients mentioned above. Hair loss by the result of a rapid weight loss is always temporary, but if the hair doesnt start growing back in 3-6 months, you should consult your doctor to find the culprit for your hair fall.
How Does Weight Loss Cause Hair Loss
If youve been trying to lose weight or youve lost weight quickly, your hair loss may be due to a condition called telogen effluvium. This is when something disturbs your hairs normal growth cycle and pushes more hairs into the resting, or telogen phase, leading to more of your hairs falling out than usual. Its often triggered by a shock or a big stress on your body this can include intentional weight loss.
You might also be losing hair because your body isnt getting the nutrients it needs, for example if youre following a diet that involves eating very few calories or cutting out whole food groups. This sort of restrictive diet can mean your body isnt getting enough energy or the right nutrients to function properly. In this case, whatever energy is available is sent to your bodys most vital organs instead, and away from less important areas like your hair follicles, which may affect the health of your hair.
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Hair Loss Dieting Research
An acute form of the condition telogen effluvium is a well-known side effect of sudden weight loss or decreased protein intake. This condition, which causes thinning or shedding hair, occurs when your hair prematurely enters the telogen phase. Dieting can cause physical and emotional stress, thereby causing more hair than usual to enter the telogen phase.
Protein deficiency: This can impact your skin, hair and nails because they are made primarily of protein. Protein is essential for hair growth, so a lack of healthy protein in your diet can cause broken hair strands that are resistant to growing back.
Iron deficiency: The most common nutritional deficiency worldwide, this is a well-known cause of hair loss. Its unclear what degree of deficiency leads to hair loss and studies are inconclusive. Risk factors include menstrual blood loss, malabsorption , the use of H2 blockers and a vegan or vegetarian diet.
Zinc deficiency: This essential mineral is important for the health of your skin and hair, among other key body functions. Although this type of deficiency is fairly uncommon, risk factors include aging, gastrointestinal disease, anorexia, malabsorption, chronic liver or renal disease, sickle cell disease, diabetes, cancer, alcoholism and a vegetarian diet.
Hair Loss As A Symptom Of Thyroid Problems
Growing hair is more complex than you think. Your blood vessels, skin cells, and oil glands are all responsible for strong and healthy hair. However, when your hormone production is disrupted, specifically the output of hormones T3 and T4 , it affects the life cycle of each strand of hair. This includes the development of hair at the root, how long it grows before falling out, and its replacement by new growth.
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Optimize Your Diet For Thyroid Health
The next step in reversing your thyroid hair loss is making sure your diet has been optimized for thyroid health, which includes ditching toxic and inflammatory foods and adding in plenty of the nutrients needed for essential thyroid function. So many of my patients have seen an improvement in their thyroid test results after going gluten-free I cover the scientific research behind the gluten-hormone connection in my book. Dairy is another big culprit for thyroid patients suffering from thyroid hair loss because of its chemical similarities to gluten and because it is so inflammatory for many people. Other inflammatory foods I recommend eliminating while you work to resolve thyroid hair loss include corn, soy, nightshades, eggs, nuts, and seeds.
Instead, youll want to focus on eating real, whole foods rich in the nutrients needed for thyroid health, including iodine, selenium, zinc, iron, vitamin D, B vitamins, and vitamin A. If you are low in these nutrients, your thyroid cant adequately produce its hormones, convert T4 to T3, or get T3 into your cells to attach to thyroid receptors, which can cause hypothyroidism symptoms, such as thyroid hair loss. I recommend a diet with plenty of grass-fed, pasture-raised meat, leafy greens, starchy vegetables, organic fruits, and healthy fats to combat thyroid hair loss. If you need some inspiration, my website has a ton of free recipes packed with nutrient-rich foods that make healthy living deliciously easy.
Does It Run In The Family
Look into your family’s history with hair loss. Male Pattern Baldness is typically a genetic condition, so your first step in determining if you are balding is finding out if you are genetically prone to baldness.
In the event you have a family history of male pattern baldness, then there is a good chance your hair loss is not the result of stress or another factor. It may come down to genetics, and there is not much you can do about that.
At this point, you should speak with a dermatologist to go over your hair restoration options. There is a lot of information you can find online, but the internet is also filled with half-truths and myths. The only way to get good information you can trust is to go directly to a medical professional who can review your hair loss.
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Nutrition And Hair Growth
Its generally agreed upon amongst medical professionals and researches that nutrition has something to do with hair growth and the cause for hair loss however, there is enormous and conflicting evidence that exists on hair loss and the role nutrition plays.
Based on our research heres what weve found
Hormonal Changes And Hair Loss
Hormones are the most common cause of hair loss for both women and men. The table below taken from this study illustrates well the dramatic changes in the hormonal profile after bariatric surgery.
Its these hormonal changes that occur after bariatric surgery that have the most significant impact on weight loss however, it does stand to reason that they can contribute negatively to short-term and long-term hair loss after bariatric surgery.
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Does Weight Loss Really Cause Hair Loss
Yes, sudden weight loss and hair loss can be associated with each other. There could be all kinds of triggers for hair loss, and rapid weight loss could be one of them. In order to lose weight, our body goes through a lot of changes. During the process, it doesnt give priority to hair regrowth. Even when we go through a weight loss surgery, our body reacts to it in different ways. Rapid weight loss resulting in hair loss is one of the vital side effects of it.
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The Truth About Weight Loss And Hair Loss
As the old saying goes, You are what you eat. Hair is made up of protein, so its important to eat plenty of fish, chicken and other forms of protein for strong, healthy hair. Unfortunately, when dieting, many people dont eat enough protein to sustain healthy hair growth. The body does not consider hair a must-have, so it reroutes your protein intake to your vital organs first. The result? You may see more hair thinning with your weight loss.
This temporary form of hair loss is known as telogen effluvium. Luckily, hair loss from weight loss is usually temporary and usually will regrow once you resume eating an adequate amount of protein.
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The Link Between Weight Loss And Hair Loss
Picture this: youve been working out hard, and diligently cutting calories with the hope of reaching your goal weight. But then you start to notice that your hair is looking more sparse than it used to. Unfortunately, for many men and women, weight loss and hair loss are linked.
Dont panic. Hair loss is actually normal after losing weight, especially if youve lost a significant amount of weight in a short time. Keep reading to learn more about the connection between weight loss and hair loss, and how to fix it.
There Are Root Causes Behind Thyroid Hair Loss
Thankfully, after a long journey to restore my thyroid function, my hair returned to being as full and healthy as ever. However, when I first meet with thyroid patients, they are oftentimes struggling with thyroid hair loss even while being treated for their thyroid dysfunction.
As with many health issues, this is often because conventional medicine doctors fail to identify and address the root cause of thyroid symptoms. I discuss all of these environmental root causes in my book, The Thyroid Connection.
In this article, Ill share ten tips for addressing the root causes of thyroid hair loss and getting your hair back to being full, shiny, and healthy!
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Anatomy And Physiology Of The Hair
The hair is one of the skin appendages. It grows out of the hair follicle which is located in the dermis and extends to the skin surface. It is made up of keratin majorly. Keratin is a fibrous protein that is insoluble in water and organic solvent and rich in sulfur-containing amino acids.Each hair follicle undergoes a growth cycle. The cycle consists of 3 phases: anagen, catagen, and telogen. The anagen is the phase of active hair production. Catagen is the phase of conversion from active growth to resting phase. During this phase, nascent hair is under development. Telogen is the resting phase at the end of which the club hair is shed off.
The length of these phases varies from one part of the body to another. On the head, anagen may continue for five years, the catagen phase lasts for two weeks, while telogen takes about three months. Up to 100 hairs may shed from the scalp on a daily basis in a healthy individual.
Each hair follicle undergoes its cycle independent of others. If however many hair follicles enter the resting stage at the same time, shedding may ensue at the end of the resting phase , a condition known as telogen effluvium.