Question:
Does Adding Birth Control Pills To Shampoo Really Work???

Might be a funny question... Last week on the message board someone mentioned adding Birth control pills to your shampoo helps. I am 10 months out... and my hair is still coming out more then I would like.. Does anyone know if the above mentioned really work???    — colette73 (posted on July 13, 2004)

July 13, 2004
BAHAHAHHAAA! I read the title to this, and thought you were asking if it helped with BIRTH CONTROL! I howled in my cube! Glad to see you were only asking if it helped with your hair! Oh - and I'm sorry I don't have an answer. Mine is just now starting to slack up a little on falling out.
   — ScottieB86

July 13, 2004
I don't know, but maybe it will prevent little hairs. (or heirs?)(Seriously - hair is esentially dead when it grows from your scalp, and I seriously doubt BCPs would have any effect on the scalp, even dissoved in shampoo.)
   — koogy

July 13, 2004
Your hair coming out is the from the lack of protein, this was told to my support group this last Tuesday by my bariatric surgeon. It generally happens to everyone he said but not all. He also said that there really isn't anything that you can do to stop it from happening (birth control pills, drugs, supplements whatever) except to up your protein intake. You need to get in a minimum of 60gms of protein a day from as soon PO as possible. The lack of protein and hair loss is from over an extended period of time like 2-3 months, and this is when the loss shows up in most people. Mine showed up at about 6 weeks out and the hair just started to come back about 2-3 months ago. I am 14 months PO. I can see little 1/2 inch long hairs coming out now and my hair looks a look fuller and not so thin. So, in regards to your question on BCP, some body is making that up and why would you waste your BCP in your shampoo They are too expensive to do that, you need in inside your body so you do not get prego PO.
   — ChristineB

July 13, 2004
christine your surgeon gave you wrong info. i am 16 months post op and have been losing hair since about two months. I always get 60-90 g protein every day and always have. i take all my vitamins and do all the right things. What MY surgeon group says is that (and being a nurse, I know they are right) it is not always from lack of protein so it is wrong for you to be told this. It can be the stress of such a dramatic sudden weight loss, it can be from the anesthesia or the trauma of the surgery. I have lost hair every time I have had surgery of any kind and I wish people would just stop saying as a sure thing that it is from lack of protein. This is not always the case and usually is not. They also said we might as well keep our money in our pockets because all the hair vits and special products do not help and the reason people think they do is because hair growth goes in three month cycles so about the time it is time for new hair to come in, people think it is the special products. The good news is that in MOST cases, it does come back. I only have one really bad looking spot on my left temple right now and I don't think it is coming back in. My hair is cut very short a'la' Halle Berry. I'm not trashing you but please do not publish things like this as the total fact when it is not and most of us know that. Sounds like your surgeon needs to do a little more research. A lot of them, are just learning about us. My doc has done thousands and trained with carnie wilsons doc but says he learns more every day, the further he gets into it. In fact, when I asked him to take my gallbladder out he wouldn't and i said you might as well because bad gallbladder is a possible side effect of the surgery. he said no it isn't. Well, he had egg on his face one year later when my gallbladder went bad. I had learned that from doing my research here on the board. So you see, they don't know everything.
   — Delores S.

July 13, 2004
I've never heard of putting Birth Control Pills in shampoo to help with hair loss or hair growth... but I started losing my hair about three months ago.. my hair is down to my waist.. I used to be able to wrap a scrunchie around my pony tail twice and have it be VERY tight.. now I can wrap it FOUR TIMES and can still slip it off.. I do wonder if it will keep falling out (about 20+ hairs everytime I wash it) until I have none left.. I AM starting to worry a lot and quite frankly, if I thought it'd help, I'd try just about anything .. I'd even try putting condoms in my shampoo!!! So let me know if you try this. :)
   — Paula R.

July 13, 2004
Condoms... thats funny... Well I had a pack that I screwed up on and had 7 left... I dumped it in a new bottle of nutragina shampoo... I am also going to go to washing it only 3 times a week... I will keep you posted... I have been great with the protien.. 50 to 70gr a day. So that cant be it... and I am past that whole surgery trauma time, what happens to you 3 months ago shows up in your hair now... I will make sure the doc checks my thyroid next time I am in the docs office... I will keep you all posted.
   — colette73

July 13, 2004
My hair started falling out at around 4 months. I started using Biotin (available at GNC) and it helped a lot. I've heard it doesn't work for everyone, but it did work for me. But also make sure you get that protein in every day. That's very important. By the way, my hair is back to it's old thick self now (16 months post-op) and has even gotten curly! Go figure.
   — Jeana B.

August 9, 2004
Only if your hair is sexually active!
   — RWH G.