For many of us, weight loss is undoubtedly a positive thing. It can help you maintain physical fitness, curb significant health risks, and look and feel your best. The benefits of weight loss are numerous—but are there also disadvantages?
Sometimes. One of the most noticeable ones is hair loss. Yes, shedding pounds can sometimes mean shedding hair, as well. Ideally, you’ll be able to lose weight while keeping your beautiful and full hair, but how do you avoid balding during the weight loss process?
The Wrong Diet
If you are losing weight and also losing hair, the first thing you want to do is consider why. There are many potential causes of hair loss. It may be due to a medication you’re taking. It may be due to hereditary factors. Sit down with your doctor to try to rule out some of these more common causes of hair loss—but if none of them offer a satisfying explanation, that’s when you have to consider whether your weight loss is to blame. And if that’s the case, it probably means that you’re not losing weight the healthy way.
For example, you may be on a strict diet that cuts out entire food groups; maybe you’re not getting enough healthy fats, enough iron, or enough vitamins B and D. All of these nutrients are crucial for healthy hair growth, and if you’ve embarked on a diet that’s literally starving your hair follicles, that’s surely why you’re seeing your hair growth stall.
If you’re doing a diet that sharply limits the food groups you consume, that’s reason for concern regarding hair loss. Consider something like the South Beach or the Atkins diet, both of which eliminate carb intake completely; any diet that’s as restrictive as that could be leaving your hair malnourished. And if it’s not healthy for your hair, it’s not really healthy for the rest of your body, either—even if you are seeing the desired weight loss results.
Losing Weight Too Fast
Malnutrition is one possible reason why your weight loss has led to hair loss. Another possible reason is that you’re simply losing weight too quickly—shocking your bodily systems or even exacerbating hereditary hair loss factors.
If either of these cases is true—if you’re not getting enough nutrients or if your weight loss program is too extreme—that could mean wide-ranging health effects, hair loss being just one of them. Take your hair loss as a sign that you need to talk to your doctor about healthy weight loss options.
If you need assistance finding a hair loss solution, meanwhile, don’t hesitate to contact the Mane Image team. We would love to show you some of the solutions we have available to help you stall hair loss, or to replace your lost hair altogether.
