Hair loss?

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Hi all,

I've been following a LCHF diet for the past four months - absolutely love it and 24 pounds down - but I've noticed my hair has really started to thin out in the past few weeks.

Has anyone else had this while following this WOE and any suggestions?

Replies

  • Sunny_Bunny_
    Sunny_Bunny_ Posts: 7,140 Member
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    I had it for a few months wen I was still losing weight. Then it just stopped.
  • redimock
    redimock Posts: 258 Member
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    Mine has been thinning too, but then it occurred to me to check on my medications. I'm on 2 blood pressure medications - atenolol and amlopidine. It turns out the atenolol is linked to hair loss. Are you on anything like that? I went on it right around the time I started keto, so it's hard to say for sure what the culprit is, but I am now tapering it off to go off of it (with doc's permission).

    Before I thought of the medication, I started tracking again to make sure i was getting enough protein and calories. I also added Vitamin K2, Biotin, and diatomaceous earth (DE was @KnitOrMiss 's suggestion - she knows more about that).

    Anyway, no improvement yet, but I'm hoping to see some when this medication clears my system. Otherwise I hope the hair loss stops when I'm closer to goal like it did for @Sunny_Bunny_ .

    Good luck - I hope this helps in some way! :smile:
  • auntstephie321
    auntstephie321 Posts: 3,586 Member
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    It happened to me as well about 4-6 months in. There's a couple of things going on from what I learned back then. First your hair grows in cycles, so there are time periods where you are growing lots of new hair and times where you are growing none, this is true for everyone whether you are losing weight or not, your hair will also always be falling out each day. so if you are in a time period where you are not growing new hairs and its falling out it will be thinner. Second when you are eating at a caloric deficit your body will use the fuel you provide for essential functions, running your organs, heating your body, etc. the non essential ones will not receive as much fuel, hair growth is a non essential function so its very common for weight loss and caloric restriction to trigger a dormant period. The good news is it'll start growing again and fill back in. Make sure you are getting enough protein in your diet as well, too low on protein can also cause issue. The only part that really sucked was when it started growing again I had all these tiny short hairs sticking up out of my head especially along the hair line that were too short to lay flat lol. You can also try increasing your calories a bit, the larger the deficit the less to go around for all the things your body needs to do.
  • kmsnyg
    kmsnyg Posts: 100 Member
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    Last time I lost a significant amount of weight (about 80 lbs, not low carb), I lost a lot of hair as well. I think it's pretty normal with weight loss. Doctor told me to take biotin.
  • stacicali
    stacicali Posts: 137 Member
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    I'm so glad that you posted this. 5 months into LCHF, I shed alarming amounts of hair for about a month. I was so freaked out and discouraged by the hair loss that I even considered going on Rogaine, but it did finally stop and now my hair is growing back. I only lost 15 lbs but was not technically overweight so perhaps even that small weight loss was enough to freak out my system. I read that approximately 10% of people adopting a low carb lifestyle experience temporary hair loss. Lucky us!
  • ladipoet
    ladipoet Posts: 4,180 Member
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    One other thing to consider is that limiting protein intake may also be a factor as hair and nails are made of keratin which is made up of protein so when you limit protein, often times nails become weaker and thinner and hair sometimes becomes thinner and you may notice you're losing more in response to this limitation. Try increasing your protein for a while and see if that helps.
  • RowdysLady
    RowdysLady Posts: 1,370 Member
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    When I had my Roux N Y I lost hair too.... right along with the weight. Same thing is happening now. It filled back in then and think it will now.
  • suehbca
    suehbca Posts: 21 Member
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    I've just started having a lot of hair come out in my brush. I'm 5 mo into Keto and lost most of my 18 lbs the first 2 mo. Then I was on a plateau for a few mo. I was eating too many calories. I made Keto goodies but ate dessert when I wasn't really hungry. Now I'm trying to eat only when I'm hungry, and started losing again. But the hair just started really coming out recently. My nails are good. I hope it is just temp like many of you are saying. Hey! We could start a new fad with our short hairs growing back in!
  • Laurashar34
    Laurashar34 Posts: 22 Member
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    Thanks so much for all your comments - feeling much calmer now!

    I'm not on any medications and eating plenty of protein, so assume it's my body's reaction to fairly significant weight lose (I've never stuck to a diet long enough before to see these side effects!)

    Hopefully it will start to thicken up again as I get closer to my goal weight and start to level off a bit.
  • LowCarbInScotland
    LowCarbInScotland Posts: 1,027 Member
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    Not to say its not worth it, but I spent a fortune on quality vitamins to replace all the things I may have been lacking and I really dont feel that it helped my hair loss any. The loss didnt slow until i started eating more, which slowed my weight loss to a crawl. I take biotin and collagen and everything else under the sun and have been since about a month after I started my weight loss journey. I still take them all, just in case, but I'm not really sold on the value. But YMMV, everyone's body is unique.