Hair Loss After Weight Loss Surgery – What Can You Do?

Healthy human beings are constantly growing and losing hair simultaneously, generally we are growing more than we are losing, so we do not notice it. When there is extra ‘stress’ on the body, this can cause a shift in the normal balance and hair loss increases. Two stressors known to do this are major surgery and rapid weight loss. Therefore weight loss surgery is a double whammy! There can also be nutritional causes of hair loss.

Hair loss in the first six months after surgery is generally due to the trauma of the surgery and rapid weight loss. However, if you have a good nutritional intake it will settle and hair will re-grow as weight loss stabilises.

For hair loss that continues for over a year, or hair loss that starts six months after surgery, particularly in people who have difficulty eating or not taking the supplements recommended to them, there may be a nutritional cause. A low protein intake, iron or zinc deficiency can all play a role in hair loss.

You may have seen discussion on online forums or discussion groups recommending zinc supplements for hair loss. Interestingly, iron is actually the one nutrient that is most closely related to hair loss. This does not mean that if you are losing hair you should put yourself on iron supplements! Your team should have already recommended a supplement for you containing iron. If a particular supplement is recommended, it is generally recommended for a reason. We recommend supplements that contain more iron than a standard multivitamin after weight loss surgery. Standard multivitamins contain very little iron, far less than that recommended after weight loss surgery. You should also be checking in with your team for regular blood tests. Even if it is years since you had weight loss surgery, yearly blood tests are important to check not only your iron levels, but also a range of other nutrients.

As mentioned above, zinc is often associated with hair loss, but again, it is important not to rush out and buy zinc supplements! High doses of zinc can actually interfere with iron absorption and can also cause copper deficiency. Therefore high doses of zinc may actually cause you more problems and there is no solid evidence zinc supplements will fix your hair loss.

Protein, protein, protein! Sometimes it seems that is all we hear about after weight loss surgery. Protein is important for a range of reasons after weight loss surgery, but it seems it is also involved in hair loss. The current guidelines suggest a minimum target of 60g per day. Whilst this can be a challenge, with careful planning it can be done. We will look at how you can make sure you are getting adequate protein in upcoming Member Bulletins.

In summary, don’t try to treat your hair loss without some guidance from your team and blood tests to check your nutritional status. Speak to the dietitian in your team about making sure you are getting adequate nutrition both from your diet and supplements.