What is the Connection Between Weight Loss and Hair Thinning?

Weight loss can lead to hair loss in some cases, disrupting the hair growth cycle. It’s usually linked to nutrient deficiencies, hormonal changes caused by rapid weight loss, crash diets, weight loss surgery, and stress associated with losing weight.

Losing weight has plenty of benefits – from reducing the risk of diseases to increased energy. But if you’re not mindful of the changes your body is going through, it can have unexpected side effects like hair loss. Many people can be surprised by this during their weight loss journey, so knowing what can happen and how to minimise the shedding is essential.

In this article, we’ll explore the connection between weight loss and hair thinning, ways to treat hair loss and promote hair regrowth, and how Hairy Hair can help with hair thinning.

Why Does Hair Fall Out After Weight Loss?

Hair loss after weight loss is usually caused by a lack of vitamins and minerals, and the stress that your body may suffer from sudden weight changes. Sudden weight loss can trigger telogen effluvium.

This hair loss condition is usually temporary and a consequence of a stressful event. Telogen effluvium may be caused by a traumatic emotional shock or severe physical shock, like major surgery or crash dieting. Your body reacts to stress by diverting nutrients from your hair follicles to your vital organs, starving your hair follicles of vitamins and minerals.

Telogen effluvium usually arises 3 months following the stressful event and lasts for around 6 months, resulting in temporary hair loss. Some very restrictive diets may also make androgenic alopecia (pattern baldness) in women and men worse.

Here is a closer examination of the causes of hair loss after hair thinning:

Weight Loss Surgery

Weight loss surgery resulting in rapid weight loss has also been found to impact nutrient levels that result in hair loss. A study published by Obesity Surgery established that 56% of the patients (46% of them female) experienced hair loss after a laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy. The individuals who lost hair also had lower levels of zinc, vitamin B12, and folic acid than those without hair loss.

Depending on the type of weight loss surgery, your body will react in some way to the extreme changes. Besides reducing stomach size, some weight loss surgery works by bypassing segments of the intestines. The effect is that nutrients are not utilised as effectively and could pose a higher risk for nutrient deficiency. 

Low Protein Diets

A lack of protein in your diet can cause hair loss. This is because you’re not getting enough amino acids. These are the foundations of protein and help produce keratin, the main structural protein of hair. Low-calorie diets are protein-deficient in a manner that your body will not get enough protein to support healthy hair growth.

Protein serves many functions, such as tissue repair, pH regulation, hormone production, and digestion. The growth of hair is not a primary function; hence, your body will shift the priority to maintaining vital functions when you do not have enough protein.

The International Journal of Trichology reported that 77% of telogen effluvium patients were deficient in histidine (a type of amino acid) and 98% were deficient in another amino acid known as leucine.

Crash Diets

Crash diets can cause essential fatty acids, protein, and zinc deficiencies, leading to hair loss. Poorly planned diets can also mean insufficient nutrients to facilitate proper hair growth. Diffuse hair loss, like telogen effluvium, is commonly linked to iron deficiency and psychological stress.

The mental toll that crash dieting can take on you is also a contributing factor to hair loss. This kind of stress can also come from restrictive dieting, where you’re cutting out whole food groups.

Lacking vital nutrients and restricting caloric intake can not only cause hair loss but also lead to significant health issues like muscle loss and iron deficiency anemia. Around 25% of people globally have anemia, with an iron deficiency being responsible for half of all cases, according to research from Stat Pearls. These can cause symptoms such as:

• Poor brain function
• Heart conditions
• Depression
• Infertility
• Intestinal issues
• Decrease in immune function

What are the Signs of Hair Thinning After Weight Loss?

While it can take a few months for hair thinning from hair loss to appear, there are some common signs that will indicate its presence. These include excessive shedding when you brush or wash your hair and diffuse (all over) thinning across the scalp. Hair texture can also feel brittle and lack its usual shine. 

Can You Prevent Hair Loss During Weight Loss?

You should always try to reduce your weight in a healthy way to avoid ill effects like hair loss. A balanced diet that provides your body with the vitamins and minerals needed for proper functioning is recommended compared to a fad diet.

Some dietary restrictions, such as plant diets or vegetarian diets, restrict a wide range of foods, which could require you to alter your diet to receive proper nutrition. Consuming large amounts of nutrient-rich foods or supplementing to correct nutritional deficiencies can prevent you from lacking important nutrients such as iron and zinc.

If you are undergoing weight loss surgery, you will be required to have your nutrient levels evaluated before the surgery. You should ensure that you get your zinc, iron, and vitamin B12 evaluated because these will help guard against hair loss due to surgery.

How Do You Treat Hair Thinning After Weight Loss?

If you’re having severe health issues or adverse side effects, including hair loss, due to a restrictive diet, cease the diet program at once to address any underlying causes. Your body will need nutrient-dense foods to help fuel it and get you going again.

Hair loss after weight loss will be temporary or involve the treatment of an underlying condition. Hair loss can be reversed on its own if your levels of nutrients normalise after a few months of drastic weight loss. If you have a condition like nutrient deficiency, chronic telogen effluvium or pattern baldness, then your loss of hair will only become worse after a major stressor like weight loss surgery or crash diets.

Find out the cause of your hair loss so you can treat it accordingly. If you suspect you have a nutrient deficiency, then it’s crucial to get a blood test to check your vitamin and mineral levels. Once you know what you’re deficient in, you can incorporate more nutrient-rich foods into your diet or supplement if you can’t naturally acquire enough of these vitamins and minerals. 

How Can Hairy Hair Help with my Hair Loss?

Weight-related hair loss can be distressing if you’re already stressed about dieting or surgery. Talking to a healthcare provider is vital for identifying the cause of your hair loss and formulating a plan to tackle the issue. Hair loss can happen during or after weight loss and be caused by several problems, like nutrient deficiencies or telogen effluvium.

An underlying issue, like androgenetic alopecia, may also cause hair loss. Sudden weight loss will only exacerbate the problem if it’s already present or trigger it if not. And while the shedding can decrease once your body has had time to adjust, if you’re not dealing with the underlying issue, your hair loss will only worsen over time. 

If you want to take action against your hair loss, contact Hairy Hair today. Our targeted hair loss treatment’s formula is designed to deal with the leading causes of hair loss comprehensively and simultaneously. The treatment acts as a vasodilator to help ensure your hair gets all the nutrients it needs for healthy growth, and works to lower DHT levels, which cause your hair follicles to shrink, leading to permanent hair loss.

Our expert Australian GPs are available to help come up with a personalised treatment plan based on your needs. Just fill in our short online form, and they’ll review your details before giving you a call to outline your treatment. From there, your prescription will be shipped to your door for a discreet and convenient solution to tackle your hair loss.