Is hair loss a given?

[green 6]

Green used to have really thick hair before being banded. Living under her mop was kinda like being trapped living under a duvet at dreadfully high temperatures. It was Not So Nice, eh??? and thus Green was left feeling like a pretty bitter grrl during the summer months.

New things have been happening with respect to the top of Green's head.

The mostest atrocious is that she seems to have lost a lot of her fabulous Hair growth. This really is a shocker for Greeen! She had become used to living with truly excessive amounts of hair and now she suddenly finds that this is no longer something upon which she can count. She has found herself growing uneasy about the current situation and has even tried warning her significant other that her hair count is rapidly plummetting but it seems that the dude is, well, very much in denial. He still thinks that Green is still blessed with a whole bunch a vigourous

head woolies.

Aah, love is blind.

Insh'allah (don't you know it, and thanks be to the One who created both silly love and tweezers).

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

You know, at almost 40 I should really cut my butt-length hair. But I just CAN'TTTTT

WAAAAAA

Anyone got cheese to go with my whine?

When I drop into the low 200's I will consider cutting it. Im just too heavy now, it's my security blanket.

And I'm sure I'd look loads better with it shorter, but I just can't do it.

Of course if I lose more and more, I'll be forced to because I do want to have enough left to donate once I do cut it.

You have to go with your comfort level. I felt just as you do but now that I cut it off, I regret not doing it sooner. It looks SOOO much better now.

Long and straight hair is simply not in style. It's not a great style for our age, and it doesn't hide a bit of fat. But if you had a cute style people would be more focused on your hair than anything else.

I have brown hair. I had it colored to a softer brown and to cover up a few stray grays. Then I had light caramel highlights. Now I'm thinking dark blonde, I want to do something drastic! I just haven't decided *how* drastic yet. I'm about as conservative as they come so this is big for me.

[cattiff 1]

My doctor told me as long as you get in 20% of Protein in your calories a day you should not have any Hair loss. Use the website Free Diet Plans at SparkPeople to log your food and it will give you the % of food intake you put in everyday.

[prettyred 0]

sorry hair loss could represents Protein defiecncy. you should see your doc asap.

Thanks for the welcome!!

No as amatter of fact, I have not been here long. Today is my first day. I have not had my surgery yet.

However I just seen the Doc this week and was shocked when he said this. What he said was "that if you start to have Hair loss it COULD BE DUE TO Protein DEF. Your hair is protein, and when you become def. your hair begins to fall out." It is his suggestion and mines that you see your Doc if you a now having hair loss and was not prior to surgery (Just to know for sure). With lapband and bypass they both can cause malabsorbtion, protein annd Vitamin def.

Congrats:clap2: on your weight loss!!!

Peace and Blessings,

Prettyred

[Kat817 19]

Get your Protein in, but try not to depend on it, or be too heart broken if it happens anyway---it did to me as well as WABB---I too took in plenty of Protein, and it did NOT prevent, nor help the loss as far as I could tell. I never abandoned the protein intake, so I suppose it could have been worse if I had---I could have went completely bald!

I do not mean to be short--I truly don't! I just find it extremely frustrating to know I tried all of these things, protein being the biggest and most commonly mentioned, and none of it helped. Is reminiscent of the diet and still gain weight days---making me feel like I was doing something wrong, no matter how hard I tried.

I too have had the lab checks done---just got new ones.

Kat

[NanaRenan 0]

Which in my case won't help much since my red hair is past my waist. I'll have stubby fly-aways for ages...

I'm sorta worried about mine, too. It's almost to my knees and I won't cut it. (Been there, done that, not goin' back!) Mine is technically a "dark ash blonde" with a BUNCH of grey in it and it's already about 50% thinner than it was 15 years ago -- thanks to simply AGING. But, I don't want it to get any thinner!

But -- if it does, then I'll deal with it, and I'll be in excellent company!

[brookus 0]

OK, so, as a hairdresser, I feel compelled to post ... So many things can cause Hair loss ... malnutrition is one of them, but NOT the only one. A lot of these reasons for hair loss bandsters are experiencing all at once ... rapid weight loss, anesthesia (sp?), changes in medications, stress, etc. Some people are more sensitive to changes in their bodies than others, and hair is actually a waste product. So, whatever is affecting you internally will be reflected in your hair. My suggestion? Go spend the afternoon with your hairdresser and let her give you a fabulous new haircut. It won't make your hair grow back instantly, it may not stop the shedding (of course, it may ... just ask Wasa ), but it WILL make you feel a whole heck of a lot better!! Stay strong for me ladies ... I will be right where you are in a few months, and I will need the encouragement then!

[Valerie617 1]

I lost a little hair around the forth month - noticed more hair in the drain when I took a shower. It lasted about two months, then it started to get thicker - it's now in better condition than ever. I think it's because I eat a healthier diet and enough Protein now.

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

Get your Protein in, but try not to depend on it, or be too heart broken if it happens anyway---it did to me as well as WABB---I too took in plenty of Protein, and it did NOT prevent, nor help the loss as far as I could tell. I never abandoned the protein intake, so I suppose it could have been worse if I had---I could have went completely bald!

I do not mean to be short--I truly don't! I just find it extremely frustrating to know I tried all of these things, protein being the biggest and most commonly mentioned, and none of it helped. Is reminiscent of the diet and still gain weight days---making me feel like I was doing something wrong, no matter how hard I tried.

I too have had the lab checks done---just got new ones.

Kat

Kat...

Ditto. I tried protein, Biotin, Vitamins x6 daily (childrens chewables), Calcium, VERRRRY expensive shampoo/conditioners ($35/5oz), the works.

I tried brushing my hair less, washing it less, brushing/washing more, I am pretty sure I tried beating my head against a block wall a time or two as well! Nothing worked.

The month I stopped losing weight it started to regrow. As soon as I started losing weight again it started falling out again. I now have a very cool haircut with the exception of the 4cm long wavy hairs floating over the top of my head from that one month of regrowth.

I think it is as a Phoenix bariatric surgeon wrote in OH magazine, if it's gonna happen it's gonna happen and it usually happens between the months of 2-9. If you think about it, that's when we really kick butt losing weight.

I also think lots of things cause Hair loss from reading everyone's experiences. I think anesthesia can do it, childbirth, major traumatic event in your life, low carbing, massive weight loss, the fall season, and stubbing your right big toe.

From the small and unscientific poll we have here and from the mega research a ton of us did it appears that about 50% of WLS patients experience this and if you are on the hair loss side of the 50% then there isn't a bloody thing you can do about it until it's done and wants to grow back.

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

OK, so, as a hairdresser, I feel compelled to post ... So many things can cause hair loss ... malnutrition is one of them, but NOT the only one. A lot of these reasons for Hair loss bandsters are experiencing all at once ... rapid weight loss, anesthesia (sp?), changes in medications, stress, etc. Some people are more sensitive to changes in their bodies than others, and hair is actually a waste product. So, whatever is affecting you internally will be reflected in your hair. My suggestion? Go spend the afternoon with your hairdresser and let her give you a fabulous new haircut. It won't make your hair grow back instantly, it may not stop the shedding (of course, it may ... just ask Wasa ), but it WILL make you feel a whole heck of a lot better!! Stay strong for me ladies ... I will be right where you are in a few months, and I will need the encouragement then!

Ohhhh cool!!! An expert. I have a question for you.

Why in the world would a haircut stop my hair loss dead in its tracks? It makes no sense to me. It is certainly nothing I expected and was shocked when it happened. I can brush my hair and not have to clean out the brush every single time again. I'm actually getting to keep what I have left.

I'm talking the DAY of my haircut it stopped falling out. That can't be coincidental, can it?

[brookus 0]

Ohhhh cool!!! An expert. I have a question for you.

Why in the world would a haircut stop my hair loss dead in its tracks? It makes no sense to me. It is certainly nothing I expected and was shocked when it happened. I can brush my hair and not have to clean out the brush every single time again. I'm actually getting to keep what I have left.

I'm talking the DAY of my haircut it stopped falling out. That can't be coincidental, can it?

Well, this is pure speculation on my part, because I am not really sure, scientifically speaking, but ...... usually long hair is a tad dry towards the ends. This can cause tangles, and tangles cause tension on the hair strands that are tangled together. Thus when you brush to get them out, if your hair is more apt to fall out (weight loss, stress, etc...), then they are pulled out much easier. When you cut off a great amount of hair, you not only cut the dry ends off, which helps with the tangle issue, but you also alleviate some weight off the remaining hair. It is simply lighter. Now, having said all that, I really don't know why it would stop it completely, but it might have been good timing. Maybe, you happened to get it cut off when your Hair loss had slowed or was slowing ... I dunno ... cool thing to have happen, though!:clap2:

If your hair is going to shed, then it's going to shed, but there are some things you can do to stimulate it to grow back. What, you may ask? Make sure you are drinking plenty of Water, try not to Shampoo your hair everyday, just every other day. You can try rinsing it and applying conditioner to the ends on the days you don't shampoo it. If you use a lot of products in your hair, it's nice to use a clarifying shampoo with tea tree oil in it once a week. I know Bumble&Bumble make one, and I think Paul Mitchell might, too ... very good for the circulation in your scalp ... which promotes Hair growth. Prenatal Vitamins can also help with hair growth.

Hope this helps!

[brookus 0]

If your hair is going to shed, then it's going to shed, but there are some things you can do to stimulate it to grow back. What, you may ask? Make sure you are drinking plenty of Water, try not to Shampoo your hair everyday, just every other day. You can try rinsing it and applying conditioner to the ends on the days you don't shampoo it. If you use a lot of products in your hair, it's nice to use a clarifying shampoo with tea tree oil in it once a week. I know Bumble&Bumble make one, and I think Paul Mitchell might, too ... very good for the circulation in your scalp ... which promotes Hair growth. Prenatal Vitamins can also help with hair growth.

Hope this helps!

That last part was for those still in the land o' shedding. All that in combination with regular haircuts might help a little bit at least.

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

Well, this is pure speculation on my part, because I am not really sure, scientifically speaking, but ...... usually long hair is a tad dry towards the ends. This can cause tangles, and tangles cause tension on the hair strands that are tangled together. Thus when you brush to get them out, if your hair is more apt to fall out (weight loss, stress, etc...), then they are pulled out much easier. When you cut off a great amount of hair, you not only cut the dry ends off, which helps with the tangle issue, but you also alleviate some weight off the remaining hair. It is simply lighter. Now, having said all that, I really don't know why it would stop it completely, but it might have been good timing. Maybe, you happened to get it cut off when your Hair loss had slowed or was slowing ... I dunno ... cool thing to have happen, though!:clap2:

If your hair is going to shed, then it's going to shed, but there are some things you can do to stimulate it to grow back. What, you may ask? Make sure you are drinking plenty of Water, try not to Shampoo your hair everyday, just every other day. You can try rinsing it and applying conditioner to the ends on the days you don't shampoo it. If you use a lot of products in your hair, it's nice to use a clarifying shampoo with tea tree oil in it once a week. I know Bumble&Bumble make one, and I think Paul Mitchell might, too ... very good for the circulation in your scalp ... which promotes Hair growth. Prenatal Vitamins can also help with hair growth.

Hope this helps!

Yep, that makes sense. I had "perm residue" on the ends so it was dry and it did tangle easily.

BTW, Bumble & Bumble... LOVE their products! I was using the Density Therapy and it didn't work. But the Thickening stuff works well. I like it. WOW that stuff is expensive!

Another question for you (since I know you have nothing else to do but answer my hair questions) but does it hurt to mix products such as Bumble & Bumble thickening stuff and their hair straightener? My hair is wavy since it's shorter and the straightener stuff works but I wasn't sure if I could use the thickening stuff too. One day I have straight thin hair and the next day it's wavy thick hair.

[anonemouse 1]

If your hair is going to shed, then it's going to shed, but there are some things you can do to stimulate it to grow back. What, you may ask? Make sure you are drinking plenty of Water, try not to Shampoo your hair everyday, just every other day. You can try rinsing it and applying conditioner to the ends on the days you don't shampoo it. If you use a lot of products in your hair, it's nice to use a clarifying shampoo with tea tree oil in it once a week. I know Bumble&Bumble make one, and I think Paul Mitchell might, too ... very good for the circulation in your scalp ... which promotes Hair growth. Prenatal Vitamins can also help with hair growth.

I wish I could only wash my hair every other day. But it seems to be super oily if I go between days (I naturally produce a lot of oil and have the skin to prove it.) and it has a mind of its own when I've slept on it. Literally, it stands on end (occasionally in a mohawk, too) and won't do anything unless I get it soaking wet, in which case, I might as well wash it.

[Kat817 19]

The prenatal Vitamins didn't seem to help much with the loss of hair, but the hair I had left, seemed to become healthier...silkier, and just felt heavier, if that makes any sense. But it worked wonders with my nails!!! People swear I have acrylics, and they are all mine! I continue with the Vitamins to this day, I figure they can't be hurting, and since I have them, might as well take them!

Kat