Thinning hair

[MJMabel]

I started MJ in March and have lost over 2.5 stone. My BMI is now ‘normal’, hurrah. But my poor hair is thinning like mad.

What can I do to help it? Will it settle in time?!

I’ve found taking an iron supplement (Hemoglobin) really slowed down my hair shedding. Too early to say whether there is any significant regrowth but slowing the rate of loss has got to help!

Thank you. I am taking ferrous sulphate so don’t think I can take more iron, but will look into it. My hair just looks awful I hate it! And I always used to like my hair!

Last year I lost 2 stone and my head thinned like mad. It started noticing it growing back about 6 months after I stopped losing weight. Hopefully the same will happen for you.

I had the same. I am so sad. I just went to the hairdresser who said that my scalp is full of baby hair all the way through about one inch long so it is growing back. I haven't changed anything.

i think I’ve lost almost half my original volume of hair based on how many times in now need to twist it to put it in a clip and how many times I now have to twist a hair bobble to secure it.
I did have a huge amount of hair to begin with. I can’t see any signs of regrowth, just lose fistfuls when I wash it or brush it.
To be honest I feel so pleased to have lost weight that it’s a minor inconvenience to me but I still have plenty of hair and it doesn’t seem to be thinning in any one area.
It does make me wonder if it will ever grow back though!

It's telogen effluvium (it happened to me too) caused by rapid weightloss.

It usually starts about three months after the event that caused it, and lasts for a bout three months. After that, your hair starts visibly growing again. The hair that is shed is your "resting" hair, or the hair that is in the "telogen" phase.

Each hair is in one of three phases: anagen (growing), which is most hair; telogen (resting), ~15% of hair, and catagen (creating), which is a new hair follicle. Hair grows for 3-4 years, then rests for 3-6 months. The resting phase is just the old hair hanging out on your head while a new anagen hair emerges and pushes the telegen out. It covers over this transition.

With telogen effluvium, instead of this happening gradually, all the resting hair is shed at once. So you don't get the gradual transition over months, you get a sharp change to new baby hair, which takes longer to emerge than we realise. But your new hair is there - it's not like balding or alopecia. It just will be a bit fuzzy for a while.

Thank you so much this is very reassuring, and yes it did happen about three months in, so this fits. Cannot wait for the shedding to stop!!

Sorry, the supplement is Ferroglobin! Has B vitamins too.

You're welcome! That's a basic overview - I'm not a doctor or anything - there's more complexity to it about more hair moving into the telogen phase etc etc - but the basic message is: your hair will grow back - by the time you see it falling out it has already started doing so. 💇

I’m taking Collagen. Holland and Barret it’s £22 a tub and really helps there’s marine & bovine one is better for hair. Tastes disgusting but am getting used to it.

I haven't noticed any increased hair fall, but I do feel like my hair has thinned somewhat since starting MJ a year ago.
Not had fast weight loss. An average of 1.4lb a week overall
I started taking collagen powder a couple of months ago & a hair, skin & nails supplement last week.
Apart from that I don't take any other supplements.
No difference as of yet.