Hair Loss in Weight Loss Surgery Patients

I am often asked about hair loss in WLS patients, so I did a little research and found an article from the Obesity Action Coalition written by Jacqueline Jacques that describes how hair grows, the risk factors and treatments for hair loss.

I am including her conclusion and will provide a brief summary of the article.

Conclusion
Hair loss can be distressing to bariatric surgery patients and many will try nutrition themselves to see if they can prevent it. Unfortunately, there is little evidence that early hair loss is preventable because it is mostly likely caused by surgery and rapid weight-loss.

Later hair loss, however, can be indicative of a nutritional problem, especially iron deficiency, and may be a clinically useful sign. Educating patients about the potential for hair loss and possible underlying causes can help them to make informed choices and avoid wasting money on gimmicks that may have little real value.

Summary:
At any given time most of our hair is in a 'growth phase', but a small percentage is in a 'resting phase'. A number of stressors can cause a greater percentage of our hair to move into a resting phase and WLS patients are at particular risk because we have all had major surgery and experience rapid weight loss which are among the stressors that can impact having a larger percentage of our hair being in the resting phase. Also, if we are experiencing low values of ferritin, zinc or protein or have had more rapid than expected weight loss we may be at greater risk of hair loss.

While some think that supplementing with Biotin, topically or ingesting it; studies have not shown it to be effective in either stopping hair loss or improving regrowth.

Hi Barb!

I have had a lot of hair loss since August- all of a sudden I'm 6 months out and it has stopped! Just like that! Also, I've had chronic constipation since surgery date and voila! 6 months out and everything is back to normal there also! Craziness!

Jen-

Hi Jen,

Your hair loss pattern is very common and I hope that reading this will calm the nerves of some who are beginning to experience some hair loss. I'm not sure about the timing of the constipation issues, but I'm sure like so many of us that have battled that issue, that you are glad it to has resolved. 

Keep up the good work!

I have lost about 115 pounds in about 19 months and I definitely have lost a lot of hair. All of my blood work came back with normal values for zinc, iron, etc.  I had thin hair to begin with, but I noticed it got even thinner about 6 months out from surgery. Feeling very self conscious, I looked into getting hair graft surgery and was a candidate (a lot of women don't qualify for surgery) and I had my surgery mid January. I'm currently in the dormant stage of hair growth, but should start seeing some hair growing in about 2 months.