Noticing your body losing weight by intensively cutting calories and working out is a joy to a person’s eyes, but glancing at your dull hair hanging on your shoulders in their lifeless form snatches all the happiness away.
Losing weight can lead to hair fall, which is normal after losing weight in a short period, but it can still be alarming for people.
Does Sudden Weight Loss Cause Hair Loss?
Losing hair after restrictive dieting or crash diets is a temporary and common occurrence because of the pressure on the body and micronutrient deficiencies.
Experts believe that the more weight you lose, you’re more likely to be a victim of hair loss. Some people start experiencing hair loss after 3-6 months of dieting. Inadequacy of protein, iron, zinc, and other dietary supplements are the main reasons for hair loss among those who constrain their consumption of calories.
Hair is made up of amino acids, the building blocks of protein. Thus, taking an adequate amount of protein is necessary for the health of our hair. If you are going after a low-calorie weight loss diet that doesn’t include a sufficient amount of protein, it can cause protein malnutrition. When a body’s needs for protein aren’t met, your body starts prioritizing important functions that rely on protein. Since hair growth is not an essential function of living, it’s not a priority when the body is going through malnutrition, which results in hair loss.
Is Hair Loss a Side Effect of Weight Loss?
When our body goes into shock because of weight loss, menopause, and childbirth, it can cause your hair to be in the state of telogen effluvium. Telogen is known as a resting state, while effluvium insinuates outflow.
Your hair can grow in cycles, and while growing, it can be grown up to half an inch per month. It is normal to shed 50-100 hair per day, but when it comes to telogen effluvium, it sheds more than usual and starts falling out prematurely. Telogen effluvium is the result of nutrient deficiency. It can occur after three months of any stressful event like a rapid weight loss by doing crash and restrictive diets or weight loss surgery.
Your body needs to get a proper and adequate amount of calories to stay alive. If your body doesn’t get sufficient nutrients, side effects like hair loss arise. Inaccurately planning your diets, such as crash diets, can do you more harm than good.
Along with crash diets, restrictive diets are harmful where you cut out an entire food group to lose weight quickly. If your diet consists of low-calorie foods, you will be more likely to suffer hair fall. Stress while following a strict diet can also be a reason for hair fall.
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 hair’s 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 doesn’t start growing back in 3-6 months, you should consult your doctor to find the culprit for your hair fall.
Does Hair Grow Back After Weight Loss?
Yes, usually the hair you have lost will grow back 3-6 months after rapidly losing weight. Your hair might start growing on its own, or sometimes you need to trigger the hair growth by taking supplements, stimulants, or foods enriched in nutrients beneficial for hair growth.
How to Regrow Hair After Hair Loss
Ensure you are getting enough protein. The little blocks of amino acids are the most beneficial for your hair as the follicles are made up of protein. When you take the correct amount of protein in your diet, you will start seeing differences in the growth of your hair.
If you are not doing it, then start taking supplements. Consult a doctor or other health expert. They may consider prescribing you some supplements which you can take to regrow your hair.
Another option you have, which you can do yourself, is to massage your own scalp. Massage is known to have a stimulating effect on the growth of hair, as it promotes blood flow to your scalp, hence making it easier for your hair to grow.
In the end, take a deep breath and wait it out. Hair growth is a natural process. After going through a major change in your weight, you might have to withstand some consequences, so taking it gradually will be the most effective for you and your hair’s health.
Weight Loss Surgery and Hair Loss
One way people lose weight very quickly is if they have had a weight loss surgery, also known as bariatric surgery.
Bariatric surgery causes hair loss which is stressful and also common. The hair loss typically starts abruptly and lasts for approximately 1-6 months. Stress to the body and hormonal changes are the sole reason for hair loss. If the person is experiencing high levels of stress, it can cause hair follicles to enter the resting phase.
Therefore, when the person goes under surgery, the hair in the resting phase is most likely to shed. When the hair eventually sheds, it happens because the hair starts to grow back again, resulting in the release of old hair being pushed out by new hairs that are growing in those follicles.
Prevention of Hair Loss After Bariatric Surgery
Relax and take a deep breath. Hair loss of 5-15% is natural, and it is happening because of stress and surgery. It will not last long, and your hair will most likely regrow in six months.
Consult your doctor for evaluating any underlying conditions or diseases for hair loss. Perhaps your doctor will have you take bariatric specified multi-vitamins with enough vitamin B, zinc, folate, and biotin. B12, calcium citrate, and Vitamin D are necessary for your hair’s health, especially if you are deficient in any of them.
If you are iron deficient, you should consult your physician, and perhaps start taking an iron supplement.
Final Thoughts
Hair loss during and after weight loss has many causes, even after fixing any nutrient deficiencies. However, sometimes the hair loss can also be caused by some underlying health condition, so make sure to consult a doctor instead of self-diagnosing. You should work with your health care provider, ask for his advice, and identify the reason for your hair loss.