Question about your skin post op

The hair loss is very individual - most people lose some, some people lose none, and some people (like me) lose at least half or more of their hair.  My hair loss didn't even slow down until Month 8 and it took me until almost 2 years post-op to get it back.  But I think it looks just as good as before.  I always got in all my protein, took all my vitamins and did everything else you can think of before and after surgery to prevent hair loss - it didin't matter.  What's going to happen will happen. 

As for condition of skin - I didn't notice any extra dryness on my body or my face.  

I'm only 7 months out but so far so good on the hair loss. Hardly any at all. Praise the lord. As far as skin mine has always been dry and still is. I use good lotion and it's great. Good luck to you! When is your surgery?

Robin

I didn't notice any differences in my skin, but my hair seems drier (no loss yet - but then, I'm only a couple months out)

The hair loss is due to telogen effluvium, a condition unrelated to skin.  Skin may become dry due to dehydration or not enough fat in the diet.

My hair did thin out after surgery. I had thick hair before and now it is average. It's been 5 years since surgery and it never returned to the way it was before. However, when I had the surgery I was 28 and now I'm 33, so I would expect it to be a little thinner anyway. Totally worth it though!!

My skin is in much better shape now. I do notice that if I slack off on my 80+ ounces of water a day it does seem "drier" than normal. 

As for hair loss. I had normal, straight brown hair. I lost a lot cause I had 2 strictures and wasnt able to get my protein in. I am in my mid-30s. The hair that came back is SUPER THICK, course and WHITE/Silver. My family was amazed at the difference in it. It is actually kinda nice cause for years I paid for highlights and now I have natural ones! 

I had NO hair loss!  I do have extremely dry and itchy skin since surgery, but have found that Claritin works great for this (just in case you are wondering I checked with an Allergist and it is NOT an allergy).  I have also found that taking Claritin at bedtime works best.  It neither keeps you up nor puts you to sleep.  I believe it works best as it then has all night to get into your system.

I never had an issue with dry skin.

I didn't lose a lot of hair either, my hair became a little more brittle where I had some breakage but nothing people other than myself and my hairdresser would notice. Hair is the same now as it was pre-op.

Here's a tip---if you will put your surgery TYPE and DATE on your profile, this info will show up each time you post. This info REALLY helps us help you.

Hair loss post-WLS---Google 'telogen effluvium'. It will tell you why this happens to some people, and put your mind at rest about what you can and can't to about it. (Good news---it's never fatal. *grin* And for 99% of people, your hair comes back better than ever.)

Skin is different. I've seen a LOT of people develop acne immediately post-op, and the main reason is that we store hormones in our body fat. When we start burning that fat, we start dumping a butt-load of hormones back into our bloodstream. This can cause all SORTS of stuff, from acne to depression. I personally did not have to deal with this, but I've read that adding supplemental zinc can really help the acne.

A low-fat diet can cause dry skin. A LOT of people go drastically low-fat after WLS, and this isn't always a good thing. (Well, IMNSHO, it's *usually* a BAD thing!) If you choose a malabsorptive surgery like the RNY or the DS, you will always and forever not absorb all the fat you eat. Given the human body NEEDS 30-40 grams of fat EVERY SINGLE DAY in order to lubricate skin, hair, nails, and the poop chute, you need to be certain you're eating as much fat as YOUR body needs.

And---aging can also cause dry skin. Add this to the malabsorption thing, and treat accordingly.

Hi, I had my surgery 8 years ago and before I had it my hair was long and thick. Now it is so thin. Even with all the biotin and other vitamins all they did was lessen the amount of hair I loose. Dry skin I think is a lack of water intake. I've noticed since my surgery too that I don't drink enough water.