Hair loss prevention

[Onwards75]

Hey,

I started the WeGovy injections recently. Been coming across posts online recently about the jabs causing hair loss. I’m very susceptible to hair loss so I want to try prevent that before it becomes something I need to treat.

Has anyone experienced hair loss from the jabs, if so, how did you treat it and get growth back?

Does anyone have any tips on preventing hair loss? The only thing I’ve used is the scalp massager brush when I wash my hair, which apparently promotes growth. But I really want to be prepared because I’d be devastated to have another bout of thinning hair, as my hair is so fine as it is. (previously had thinning hair due to pregnancy and also stress).

Thanks

Hey,

Unfortunately it is a known side affect. I was prone to it after COVID, but have noticed more hair loss recently. I'm 21 weeks in on MJ. I'm taking collagen, biotin, magnesium and B12 to counteract, using a scalp massager and heat protection spray too. Kérastase has also been great but spenny. Ultimately the most important thing is to keep protein as high as possible. Hope it goes well.

S

It’s not been an issue for me, but I have kept protein v high (approx 150g a day - in part as I weight lift) and taken collagen / magnesium, omega 3 supplements from the start.

I thought it was an effect of rapid weight loss, not the jab itself? I've lost nearly 5 stone and about half my hair, it's incredibly sad. My hairdresser used to laugh about how thick my hair was. It was recommended that I try massaging my scalp with rosemary oil and take multi vitamins. My b12 is sky high after years on injections so that doesn't help.

I think it's a side effect of rapid weight loss, so try to be sensible about that, and keep protein high, I take biotin and collagen too.

It’s a listed side effect of the drug.

It's a listed side effect, but it's much more likely that rapid weight loss in and of itself causes telogen effluvium.

Does anyone know if I grows back once weight loss stabilises?

I have naturally fine hair and unfortunately I lost around a 3rd of it on wli. I only actually lost 2 stone over 7 months so not a quick weight loss.

I have been off MJ for around 6 weeks and I can see small regrowth around the temples when i pull my hair back.

My friend is also using MJ and has been for a year, she has very thick waist length hair and unfortunately has lost over half, she is taking collagen, bioten and other supplements so I do think it is a side effect of MJ rather than rapid weight loss.

I’m hoping by Xmas the root area has bulked out with regrowth as I didn’t realise how bad it had got until I had an ID card for work and saw how flat and sparse my hair was. To be honest that’s another reason why I’ve stopped!

Yes it should do. Hair loss and growth has cycles and when the loss cycle is triggered too quickly by illness, stress or rapid weight loss it means the growth stage is delayed but you will hit it again. It takes a good couple of years to get thickness back, it happened to me after Covid a few years ago.
i haven't lost hair on WLI and I think that's because I have lost weight slowly (never above 1lb a week and usually less) so if you're willing to be patient you can lose without losing hair!

In a slow loser, but I’m struggling to hit protein targets so this will definitely be compounding it. I’ve really noticed hair loss in the last month or so, having been on the WLI since late June.

Thank you all for your suggestions. Does anyone know if the hair loss stops as soon as you stop taking injections? Unfortunately if that is a side effect that impacts me I will stop them immediately

OP I think hair loss is a thing for most people who are losing weight on these jabs, I probably have but didn't notice so much because it was thick to start with, I think it does 'growback' or rather the shedding becomes less rapid once you stop, you can only try it and see.

It's a risk for all weight loss methods, particularly if you lose a lot of weight fast. You can try to keep weight loss slow, and try all the various supplements and shampoos that people suggest, but it can just happen.

This is my hair regrowth since coming off MJ - I deliberately didn’t take notice of the final date to not put pressure on myself but it’s at least 5-6 weeks.

this is at the temples and around the front of the hairline where you can clearly see regrowth - this was totally bare 10 weeks ago when I pulled my hair back.

So I’d say yes, it will start to regrow pretty rapidly once you stop

Thank you all ♥️

I’m super scared of hair loss - so scared that it’s stopping me from starting the jabs.

I can’t treat one appearance-related problem by causing another 😭

I’ve posted on other chats recently about this as I’ve had the same thing. A few people have replied to say it’s not the WLI but the weight loss itself. However I am seeing more (anecdotal) evidence coming through that it IS the WLI.

I am on Mounjaro and in month 6 at a low ish dose of 7.5mg so been a relatively slow loser now reaching 10kg. I’ve been experiencing quite substantial hair loss since August and am now going to have to come off the Mounjaro. I’ve lost lots of weight before post baby and never had this so I’m 100 per cent certain for me it’s the WLI not the weight loss.

I have extremely thick hair but it’s now becoming an issue. For what it’s worth, I lift weights so have kept protein intake high and am taking all the usual supplements including pumpkin seed oil and nothing works. I’m really disappointed as still got another 8kg I’d like to lose and would switch to Wegovy if I think it wasn’t going to occur with that too.

I wonder what the mechanism is 🤔

@PuppyKeep losing weight when obese is a health related issue, and WLI are a prescription medical treatment for that health issue. For me, it was necessary to lose weight to remove the health issues and health risks of being obese. Hair loss is temporary and self resolving, unlike being obese.

Personally I really think slowing the rate of weight loss helps.

I see people on this forum saying that their weight loss has been quite slow – when they’ve lost three stone in four months 🤷‍♀️ …

If you’re losing around a pound a week, I doubt very much whether you would lose much in the way of hair.

Even if it was a reaction to MJ itself, rather than weight loss,I think it would be pretty minimal in that case, ie tolerable.

I’ve lost 4st 7lb since January, 63lb in 45 weeks, so on average 1.5 a week, not fast at all and my hair loss is starting to really trouble me. It started around 4 months in and has steadily got worse. Like @SilenceInside I’m on MJ for obesity related health conditions BUT my hair was one of the few things left about me I liked and now it’s falling out by the handful. And I’m not even losing much weight now, literally half a lb a week if I’m lucky. It feels like the MJ has stopped working, but I’ve gone to 10mg to see if it changes anything, so I don’t think simply reducing the dose will help me. I was hoping to lose another 4 or 5 stone, but now I’m not sure how much longer before I decide I don’t want to be bald and a size 20/22 is fine, a lot better than where I was. If I can limp along to 100lb off, another 2 st, but will I have any hair left by then, who knows.

No. Sorry, but what you doubt and think or not is irrelevant to the evidence, which a bit of a google would show you.

It is a side effect of the DRUG, and not just of weight loss. When it is caused solely by weight loss (and it can happen even with very slow weight loss btw), it will start to grow back either after 3 months (which is why so many topical hair products and quack remedies appear to work) or when weight loss stops. For some, this is indeed the case. For others, it won't be this simple.

I lost very slowly - 5 stone in 9+ months. Mine started 3 months after I started MJ which for telogen effluvium suggests that the trigger was the drug itself. This is similar to TE caused by Covid, where hair loss will show 3 months after the infection.

I have been in maintenance for 6+ months now, and hair loss is still happening. I have had all the relevant blood tests, have taken collagen and B vitamins etc throughout, always hit my protein targets, and am otherwise fit and healthy. I have been medically checked to confirm that it is telogen effluvium and not a coincidental androgenetic alopecia.

I plan to keep taking MJ for a further year at least, and for me, the benefits utterly and totally outweigh the downside of hair loss. If it gets too much then I will investigate oral minoxidil.

Me too. I already have very thin hair.

Agree. But there is a lot of online saying that it IS simply due to FAST weight loss putting stress on the body, or not enough protein, or whatever. If you google the issue, you will find even MEDICAL sites assert this - you need to eat more protein etc. I DO actually think it is a side-effect of the drug itself, nothing to do with anything else, for some people, even if they lose weight slowly - even if medical sites say otherwise.

For most people, it’s a side effect of the rapid weight loss and not the drug. My friends on WLI that lost weight slowly, had no hair loss whatsoever.

I have loads of hair and assumed the shedding was just my annual moult, but it was much more than that. After a few weeks, it suddenly stopped. It’s now grown back, so I have a LOT of hair that’s 3 inches long. (The rest is bra strap length).

If I did it again, I’d take a multivitamin and mineral as well as a hair supplement - it can’t hurt.