Hair Loss After Bariatric Surgery * Spotlight My Health

Hair loss after bariatric surgery is a very common side effect of this type of surgery. If you have had bariatric surgery (weight loss surgery), I hope you are not experiencing this side effect like I am. Hair loss—BIG TIME! I’m a woman that has had long hair for most of my life and for some reason I always feared losing my hair. Guess what? I’m losing it and I did it to myself!! Oh Lordy!

I had bariatric surgery December, 2020, and basically it has gone fairly well, but slow. I’ve still managed to lose 50 lbs. And I can’t tell you how much better I feel, physically.

I seem to be in a plateau right now, and I must admit, I’m having some trouble sticking to the plan. But that is for another post. Today I’m writing about something I was not prepared for and that is hair loss.

I Must Have Been Daydreaming

Bariatric surgery refers to a group of weight loss operations from lap band surgery to gastric bypass. These types of surgery are considered successful because most patients tend to lose about 50% of their excess weight. Unfortunately, it’s common for hair loss after any of the weight loss procedures; some more than others.

Somehow, I missed the tidbit of information about loss of hair being common after weight loss surgery.

I must have been daydreaming or something when the doctor or nurse was talking about this; because I know I would have perked right up hearing I may lose some of my hair.

My hair thinning has always been one of those things I hoped would never happen to me. Being female, I knew there was less chance of that happening, but you never know, right?

Now, I’ve never had a nice, thick head of hair, but what I had was OK. Now? All I can say is ekkkkkkk! I now know that I have lost more than just pounds since the weight loss surgery I had. So, of course after speaking with my doctor, I came home and started doing my own research.

And that’s what I’m going to share with you, so you won’t be caught off guard like I was. Now I know what I should have been doing before and after the surgery.

All About Hair Growth

Every hair strand has two structures; the follicle that is found under the skin and the shaft that we see is on top of the skin. Each hair follicle has several distinct layers, but I’m more concerned with the growth of the hair. For more information on this see WebMD.

Human hair has a three-stage growing cycle.

-Anagen or growth phase
-Catagen phase
-Telogen or resting phase

Many who have had weight loss surgery will experience telogen effluvium which is a type of hair loss because of bariatric surgery. Because the surgery causes a lot of stress to your body, the hair follicles above your scalp may prematurely enter the resting phase (telogen effluvium) instead of continuing to grow.

It’s normal to lose 50-100 hairs per day, but when telogen effluvium hits, it can cause 70% of the scalp hairs to go into the resting phase all at once. This would be significant hair loss and usually starts happening 2-3 months after weight loss surgery. Luckily, it is temporary since the telogen effluvium usually only last from 6-12 months.

Why Hair Loss After Bariatric Surgery

There are many reasons for hair loss after having bariatric surgery. This surgery puts an enormous amount of stress on your body, and I can tell you that it alters your hormones. It is major surgery, and will change and disrupt your whole digestive system where many of our hormones come from.

Bariatric surgery induces rapid weight loss which is another big stress on your system and causes our body to not absorb all the nutrients it needs.

Just this alone can result in hair loss. That is because when our body isn’t getting the nutrients it needs, it will start pushing the nutrients it is getting, toward the vital organs rather than use them for hair growth.

Hair growth is not as important as organs like the heart or liver.

Other things that can attribute to hair loss are inadequate eating habits, medications, chronic health conditions and hypothyroidism.

All of these things can cause hair follicles to enter into its resting phase too soon. This plays havoc with normal hair growth which in turn causes even more hair follicles to go into its resting phase before new hair grows in.

It’s worth noting that not everyone who gets this type of surgery, experiences hair loss. Everyone’s body is different and it’s extremely rare for anyone to actually end up with bald patches or more.

Nutrition and Hair Loss

Your nutrition should be something that is taken very seriously in the weeks before surgery and then after. Following your doctor’s nutritional diet and advice could help you prevent having hair loss. After the surgery, your nutrition could play a large roll on whether or not you lose your hair.

You may not be able to control losing your hair, but you can control what you do about it, thereby possibly controlling how much hair you lose.

Causes For Hair Loss After Bariatric Surgery

While there are several possible reasons for hair loss after bariatric surgery, not enough nutrients is the main reason. Other possibilities are:

Less food

Fewer calories

Nutrient deficiencies

Stress

Hormonal changes

Rapid weight loss

Not enough protein

Physical trauma

Severe infection

Debilitating illness

Ways to Minimize and Combat Hair Loss Before and After Weight Loss Surgery

There are some things that can be done before and after surgery to help with the hair loss. While these suggestions are good all-around nutritional rules, they may also help you lessen the onset of hair loss and maybe even prevent it.

**Begin taking a good absorptive multi-vitamin before getting weight loss surgery.

The sooner you begin a multi-vitamin regimen the better. This helps to ensure that your body is consistently getting enough vitamins and minerals and will also help make sure that your blood work will not show any deficiencies.

Getting into the habit of doing this daily and at the same time, will get you set-up for already having the habit after surgery. There will be more supplements, after surgery, added to your regime. Taking vitamins before surgery will get you into the mindset for doing so after surgery.

**Your doctor should have blood work done right before your surgery.

This is to see if you have any deficiencies beforehand. If you are deficient in anything, it will be added to your regime immediately. Any deficiency needs to be found immediately so it can be corrected right away, especially after surgery.

**Continue taking each vitamin, mineral and multi-vitamin, as directed by your physician after surgery.

These supplements may be life-long habits after having bariatric surgery. The first few weeks after surgery these supplements should be in liquid form or chewables. Just be sure to follow the guidelines of your surgical team.

**A protein source should be included with each meal.

Protein is extremely important after surgery. I’ve learned this the hard way, so trust me on this one. Eat protein at every meal to help with recovery, healing, continued weight loss and prevention of muscle loss. It is also needed for good hair growth.

After surgery, your daily protein intake should be between 60-100 grams. But just like with your vitamin/mineral intake, go by what your physician recommends you eat daily.

At first, this may be hard to do as you are also getting used to a much smaller stomach. For this reason, it may be recommended for you to drink protein shakes.

Good sources of protein include:

Eggs, meat, fish, dairy and plant-based foods like peas, soy foods, beans and lentils. Low-fat string cheese, flax, cottage cheese, skinless chicken, beans, chia seeds, Greek yogurt, protein bars and lean red meat. During your meal, concentrate on eating your protein before moving on to your vegetables.

**Be sure to include a wide variety of foods after weight loss surgery to ensure you get enough vitamins and minerals.

While you can take supplements to make sure you get the recommended vitamins and minerals, it’s even better when you get them from a good nutrient dense diet of whole foods.

Some nutrients that your doctor will be keeping an eye on are iron and zinc.

While biotin is supportive of hair growth and may help prevent hair loss, iron plays and even bigger role. It is considered a micronutrient and is a common factor in hair loss.

Zinc is an essential need for healthy hair but taking a supplement could be too much. Try getting it from your foods because taking too much zinc can cause adverse side effects to your health. This is a nutrient that needs to be discussed with your doctor.

Foods rich in iron are:

Dark leafy greens, lentils, turkey, tofu and chicken. Note that it is good to include a good source of vitamin C to help with the absorption of the iron.

Foods with vitamin C to pair with the iron rich foods would be: berries, bell peppers, citrus fruits, and dark leafy greens.

Zinc-rich foods include:

Dairy, eggs, beans and meat, oysters, dark chicken, light tuna, and quinoa.

Biotin rich foods:

Blue cheese, cauliflower, spinach, egg yolks, avocado, salmon.

Concentrate on including these foods in your diet after bariatric surgery and maybe your hair growth patterns will return to normal, sooner than later.

vitamins-for-hair-loss-after-bariatric-surgery

How Long Does Hair Loss Last?

Hair loss is a common side-effect of bariatric surgery. Luckily it is temporary rather than permanent.

The first 3 to 6 months after the surgery can be the hardest because the body is healing and adjusting to less food intake. Once your body is healed and has gotten used to working with less food, the telogen effluvium (hair loss) should go away by 12 months.

The telogen effluvium doesn’t harm the hair follicle, so eventually your body gets back to normal hair growth.

What You Can Do

There may not be a lot that you can do to avoid hair loss altogether, but there are certainly some things you can try. I admit that I had a hard time with eating anything for months after my surgery and that definitely included protein and my vitamins.

If I had known better, I may have tried a bit harder to get these things down. Unfortunately, my stomach rejected almost everything I tried to eat which resulted in me eating whatever my stomach could handle.

So, take note of the things your doctor tells you and take them to heart. Here are a few things that was part of the plan I was given.

-Get enough protein (60-100 grams daily)

-Take biotin daily

-Take bariatric vitamins as recommended

-Have regular blood tests to keep an eye on vitamin and mineral levels to catch deficiencies early

-Maintain a healthy, daily range of caloric intake (1000-1200 calories)

-Get to know your body physically and emotionally so that you notice differences as soon as they happen.

Holistic Suggestions to Combat Hair Loss After Bariatric Surgery

None of the following suggestions or hacks include using harmful chemicals, so should be safe for everyone.

Don’t use bleach on your hair, at this time

Hydrogen peroxide is so bad for your hair that using it at this time could give you brittle hair that would easily fall out.

Massage your scalp

Think of how good this would feel. Absolutely wonderful, I’m thinking. Not to mention it would stimulate blood circulation in the tiny veins of your scalp. A minute or two of massage will also stimulate your glands to produce more oils for your hair.

Use a wide toothed comb rather than a brush, especially while hair is wet.

Try to stay away from blow drying and heat styling

Too much heat hurts your hair anytime and the first year after surgery your hair is very vulnerable. Heat would cause more trouble. This is a time to baby your hair.

If you must use something hot on your hair, try a heat protectant spray first to shield your hair from heat damage.

Skip the daily wash routine

Every other day or even every two days is plenty. This comes under “baby your hair.” It will give your hair time to replenish its own natural moisture.

Rinse with cold water

Cool water helps seal the hair cuticle to keep in the moisture.

Give up elastic hair ties

Elastic hair ties are never good for your hair and even less so now. During this time after your weight loss surgery, hair is very fragile.

Elastic ties can harm the hair shaft which can cause breakage or more hair loss. Instead, try bobby pins, barrettes or claw clips if you want to put your hair up.

Continue to Baby Your Hair

Drink plenty of water

Many of us know that our body likes a lot of water. Your hair does too, so baby it with more water.

De-stress

Stress never does anyone any good. That includes your hair. People with too much stress in their lives can see hair loss. Don’t add stress to the list of things that can cause hair loss after weight loss surgery.

11. Skip the hair pulling “do’s”

Pulling your hair tight into a ponytail or bun is not a good idea in the months after surgery. Give leaving your hair down a try.

12. Brush hair when its dry

As I mentioned earlier, don’t use a brush on wet hair. My opinion is not to use a brush any time during the healing process after surgery. But if you must, only do so when your hair is dry. Instead, try using a wide toothed comb.

protein for hair loss after bariatric surgery

Contact Your Surgeon For Any of The Following

-Have difficulty eating or taking supplements

-You show low levels of ferritin, zinc or protein

-Weight loss is more rapid than expected

-Hair loss starts more than six months after surgery

-Other symptoms of deficiencies

-Hair loss continues more than a year after surgery

Final Thoughts On Hair Loss After Bariatric Surgery

I can attest to hair loss being very distressful. I noticed more hair than usual falling out within 2-3 months of my surgery and became alarmed. What I didn’t realize is that this is a side-effect of the surgery and called my surgeon to find out that this is normal after weight loss surgery.

I came home and started doing research where I learned what can cause it, what to watch for and things I can do to take care of my hair during this time. I’ll be honest in that I have lost a lot of hair and that’s even according to my primary care physician.

After a blood test, she gave me supplements to replace what nutrients I was low on. I started wearing my hair differently so the hair loss would be less noticeable and also stopped curling my hair.

Supposedly hair loss should turn around after about 12 months, so I’ll do an update on this once I get past that point. And I look forward to getting my hair back.

I do not regret getting the surgery, even with the hair loss side effect. I like my hair, but I like my health even more.