Dieting and Hair Loss

That's definitely a side-effect that isn't talked about much. I wonder how common it is? I had very thick hair and it thinned out a lot when I went on the Pill, which actually was good because it became much more manageable. I wonder if the super-skinny celebrities in Hollywood have to deal with hair loss?

I've wondered the same because many of them have such flat, thin hair like they've ironed--or dieted--the life out it.

I think the subject is taboo - and something you don't hear much about.

i lost a lot of hair after i had my daughter. That really sucks, because my hair is waist length and i REALLY dont want to cut it :(

Spectra, why does the pill cause hair loss?? Is it only one type of pill or do they all cause thinning hair? i was planning on starting the mini-pill in a few weeks, mainly due to the benifits of added estrogen for a long term dieter/eating disordered person like me. But i need to hang on to every hair on my head.

It changes the levels of estrogen in your body, which gives a similar effect to having a baby, hormone-wise. I think the mini-pill would probably minimize the hair-loss though, since the hormone dosage is a lot lower.

See.. now you know how men have been feeling for years with male pattern baldness... !!!! jokes everyone!!

I have even heard of cases of alopecia areata in pregnant women. It would be interesting to know how common it is in women (pregnant women).

Oh my gosh!!!!
This terrifies me. I lost a lot of hair after my daughter was born. Then it started to go back to normal. Well, I should say that I just noticed less falling out in the shower or when I brushed it. I have really thin hair and didn't notice it getting any thicker.

Over the past 6 months or so I've lost 40+ pounds and I'm noticing it falling out at a fast rate again. I thought it might be stress or something. So this really stinks because I don't have a lot of hair to begin with!
noooooooo :-(

I know pregnancy can really screw with your hair. My aunt's hair grew in really thick when she was pregnant and then a lot of it fell out when the baby was born. I think it's the change in hormone levels, mainly. That's what causes it in most men, too. Too much of a testosterone-like hormone. I kind of hope mine grows really thick again when I get pregnant because I don't want to lose much more of it.

WebMD has some advice about nutrients for preventing hair loss:

http://my.webmd.com/content/article/78/95826.htm

Thanks, Spectra. i'll try the mini-pill.

For those of you with hair loss problems (hopefulloser, for one?) Take prenatal vitamins every day. It really helps. Also, try and include nuts into your diet, particularly walnuts and brazil nuts, and also oily fish, like salmon and sardines.

Supplementing your diet with Omega 3-6-9 essential fatty acids will help this problem too.

Thanks for all that great info,
I am a vegetarian and eat a well balanced diet. But I do take a great vitamin that is very close to the prenatal one to make up for the potential lack of the vitamin Bs. Also I have to start eating more flax again.
I'll start incorporating more Omegas and see how it goes!

Here is my favorite site for hair care info and advice:

http://www.tlhs.org/

Simply improving your hair care can really help with reducing excessive hairloss.

Will the hair eventually grow back after you are on the diet for a while? or will it just keep falling out as long your on it?

Hi!!

I recently lost around 40 lbs. by eating absolutly no carbs. (I didn't cheat once in 7 months) As i got smaller my hair was shedding. Enough to notice, but not enough to freak out. But, it is getting crazy thin enough where i am super senative when i brush, but it still it falling out and now more rapidly. I had a CBC test taken and all my vitamins are in good working order, but it is still falling out. I also havent had a period in 8 months. My doctor gave me prenatal vitamins that I have been taking for 3 days now. No sign of the stopping, but i havent given them much time. My doctor even gave me a 10 day pill of hormones to jump start my period but it never worked. Has anyone expierenced any of this?

I'm on dieting and I didn't know that I'll loose all my hair if I keep on dieting. I'm gonna burst out on meal this evening.

Kane, dieting does not necessarily equal hair loss, partial or of all the hair. Only restrictive diets with very low calories make you lose weight. I was on a 670 calorie diet once and I lost a ton of hair, but on a 1,500 calorie diet I lost weight and no hair.

Hair Loss Product Review can help you to make a good dicision for you hair loss.

I lost 25 pounds in 2 months. I have kept it off for 6 months. For the last month or so I have had a lot of hiar loss. I eat between 1200 and 1500 cal/day since then. I am going to try prenatal pills and I hope it slows down. I do not want to have to gain wieght back to get my hair back! I just rewarded myself with an entire new wardrobe 2 sizes smaller! Thankfully I had really thick hair to begin with, so its not that noticable to everyone else. I'm glad to hear that its a pretty common thing...and there are some things I can do to try and stop it other than gain the wieght back!

yes, that's right.I've experienced hair loss because of a strict diet.Whenever I touched my hair or brushed it,it shed.It was pesky.

I was on birth control for 5 years. i am also a heavy set woman who had lost 40 pounds of weight at that time in my life when my very, dark, curly, long, thick hair thinned out.i look shabby now. it seems to have stopped thinning out. although my hair has not grown back. i've been off of the pill for 1 and 1/2 years, and i do not diet anymore. will my hair ever grow back? is there a conection between obesity, and birth control to thinning hair? is this temperary? please help.

There are many things that can cause hair loss but diets are mentioned the least. It seems to affect people in different ways so its hard to generalize. There are other ways of curing hair loss naturally with a hair loss remedy

hello, everyone i lost 60 pounds in the mid ninties on the phen/phen diet. i also lost 25% of my hair, mostly at the crown area. it was scary and i was shocked. it did grow back as the 60 pounds came back over the years. it took about 3 years for hair to look normal again. i take better care of it since then and i am again loosing weight and want to stop the hair loss before it begins this time. keep the ideas coming. i heard that taking extra biotin helps.
slow to loose in Texas

I just lost 18lbs over 3 months doing the weight watchers "points" program. This is a normal weight loss..I still have 62 lbs to go- I have started to loose my hair. About 20% in 6 weeks- I see postings but no suggetstions. I have started taking biotin, co-q10,b6,and pre-natal vitamins. This "cocktail combo" has only been digested for the last 3 1/2 weeks and I have noticed that the shedding has not slowed or stopped. When can I expect the vitamins to help and take care of any deficiencies that have caused the hair loss?

I just lost 40 pounds pretty quickly and now my hair is shedding by the buckets! I went to see the doctor and she said it was a normal side-effect to losing weight and I googled it as well and see that it's normal. But I'm really upset about it!! The doctor told me to take Omega 3-6-9 pills - I just saw on another site that a lady went through the same thing with a gastric surgery weight lost and she lost her hair - she said she bought Silica Complex by Puritan's Pride - I just ordered it online and I'm definitely gonna try it cuz Im desperate!!

i recently suffered from an eating disorder and my hair has thinned so much that my confidence now is at an all time low. I have put most of the weight back on but i was just wondering if my hair will actually go back to normal now that i am putting weight back on? And also how long does it usually take to go back to normal?thanks. laura

i started losing some too :
1- am a freek coffee drinker . used to have 8+ mugs a day
2- Rarely drink water
3- i smoke .
4- always stressed ( work , college )
5- Aspartame

Hey everyone! I have never been pregnant before, but I was looking for a way to make my hair grow longer and faster! Two different salons said that prenatal vitamins are a good source. Id anyone has problems swallowing pills like me, no matter what size they are, there is also a prenatal liquid vitamin. Prenatal vitamins are a bit big, and cutting them in half or chewing them is not a good idea, as they lose some of the vitamin. Thats all for now! I havent gotten my liquid yet, but i'll let you all know what happens.

I lost about 25 pounds so far on my diet. I dont know if it is worth it to lose weight but go bald. I used to have very thick hair, not so much anymore though. Its not completely noticable to others but its really apparent to me, I dont know if I should quit the diet or if there are vitamins out there that would work.Ive worked so hard I dont want to give it all up. Im not seeing anying great suggestions, Can anyone help??

Hair grows back! Keep in mind that all illness can be reversed. 1. Watch stress 2. Don't allow yourself to lose weight too fast. 3. Certain products do work but it can take forever to figure out which ones: Evening Primrose (1200 mg. day - very effective in tandem w/others), Biotin (most people have enough - works more for men), B vitamins (several are needed so take a good multi- & top brand, such as Nature's Sunshine). I've found a prenatal most effective as my dermatologist tested my ferritin level (there are several tests for iron, so test this one in conjunction w/other iron tests) and the AMA stated that below 40 brought hair loss, particularly if at 15. I was 16. You really need to be 70 or above for healthy hair growth. It really helps to increase iron if tests show you need it. Also, I take 30 mg. Armour Thyroid and it is crucial to help my thyroid and hair growth. My body craves it and hurts when I miss a dose.

Finally, and this is my big secret, Edgar Cayce suggested petroleum shampoos to stop hair loss/grow hair. It takes quite a bit of work to use it to grow hair, but believe me, if you are losing hair in clumps, IT WILL STOP IT. It may take 2-3 shampoos, but it works. Contact Heritage Products on the web. It is messy (really messy). After you leave it in for 30-45 mins., wash it out w/denatured alcohol (buy them both @ same time), then shampoo 2-3 x's to remove excessive oil. Don't be scared if more seems to come out more than normal after rinsing w/1st shampoo - you were going to lose it anyway. It will literally nourish the rest and stop the hair loss. I LOVE this stuff. I know of nothing else that will stop it while you work to find the cause and correct it. Have your doctors test hormone levels, iron and thyroid. Try natural progesterone (it may take up to 200 mg. - find a fantastic doctor - they have to be pretty successful, like Dr. Erika Schwartz (NYC) to treat it naturally - if hormones are a factor.

FYI - if you are pregnant and losing hair after birth, then your doctor didn't start balancing your hormones immediately after the birth - when they plummet!!! Find a doctor who understands that and will have your progesterone on hand to help you. It also treats post-partum depression very quickly if done immediately after birth. Remember, all illness is treatable.

I'm 16 years old.. and over the past two years ive lost about 80 pounds i believe. I would lose some... maintain the weight.. & lose some more.. Last summer, i lost about 30 pounds. & yes.. hair loss does happen. Although i've lost the weight, and feel much better, it's still not as glorious as everyone thinks. I hate the way my hair looks, I mean.. thankfully.. I have enough (I'm grateful, because there's some people that don't have hair AT ALL) but my hair looks stringy..kinda like spaghetti. It's so frustrating to not be able to style my hair like i used to. I want to do a cute braid sometimes, just a simple one, but it looks ridiculous, & thin. Not only do I feel that it's thin, but it is noticeable. My friends have mentioned it so many times. I hate it.
But just like everyone says, you have to eat right. & for anyone reading this who is planning to lose weight in a short amount of time. DON'T DO IT. Trust me, it's not worth it, to lose your beautiful hair, and Also, losing weight too fast brings more loose skin.
I learned the hard way.
But for people with thin hair, there are hair products that are volumizers, and/or specifically designed for thinning hair
Sally Beauty has alot, and it does help.

I have had badly thinning hair since i started to become a teenager and am nearly out of my teenage years the doctors can not find anything ab normal in my body but it has gotten worse as i have aged! I'm very ashamed of it and because i cant change my hair i obsessed about other parts of my body and do diet a lot!! ill be on at least 5 a year and restricting in between so i definately believe it could be a influence to hair loss and if you want to lose weight and keep it off and look GREAT AFTERWARDS i suggest from the bottom of my heart-seek out a nutritionist its what they are there for you only have one body spend a lil more money and time and do it the right way. I wish there was a quick cure but there doesn't seem to be so prevention is the key word!!

Good Info! I will keep reading...

i went on a diet and lost 60 pounds, and my hair started thinning so bad, it has been ayear and a half and my hair is almost all gone, i am 50 years old and i can,t look at myself in the mirror what can i do help me please.

I am 28 years old i have been shedding hair like crazy over the past two year...... i am not sure why this is happening.i got my blood tests. i just want to know i have started searching in internet for hair regrowth products than i found on the is IHT-9 herbal hair regrwoth shampoo i have seen many good comments for this product,and when i use the IHT-9 herbal hair regrowth shampoo now my hair is very good thanks to IHT-9 herbal hair shampoo..

Chinki...do happen to sell IHT-9????

I also lost hair when I went on a diet. i was doing the Healthy Performance diet and when I asked the counselor if my sudden hair loss could be from dieting, she acted like shed never heard of that before. People are very in informed about this side effect. i quit the diet, my hair stopped falling out..but I have 1/2 the hair i used to have. it is sad.

I've been doing the weight watchers point system for 4 months and my hair is shedding alot. I went to the doctor and she told me to take biotin. I take 5000mg a day and I don't know if it's working. Sometimes my hair feels pretty good but sometimes it looks pretty thin and frizzy. I recently have been eating more protein so I hope that helps. I also excercise pretty hard 5 times a week. I do a combo of cardio and weight training. It sucks to finally be in good shape and have your hair falling out. I just don't know how much protein I should be eating. Every website has a different suggestion. Anyone have a similar problem?

I've lost 60 pounds in 6 months, and two months after I started the diet, i noticed when i combed my hair i lost around 100 hairs, plus more in the shower, and lots during the course of the day....i visited my gp, and he told me it will rectify itself,and to ensure i'm eating a well balanced diet of around 1,700 calories a day....im still dieting but very slowly, it's simply not worth sacrificing your hair for a quick fix weight loss programme, slow and steady is a much better option.I'm also taking vitamin b supplements and a multivit/mineral tablet, and the shedding certainly seems to have slowed down a little .Eat plenty of eggs, fruit/veggies, and dont skimp on protein.Hang on in there-it will get better.