Hair loss after going vegan

Question

Im loosing so much hair! I have just 15 days since I went vegan, is this normal? I dont want to go back please explain it to me

AndyT · Answer

Isela,

believe me, there is no "magic ingredient" in animal products that keeps your hair attached to your head, and makes them fall out immediately if you stop to have it for 2 weeks!

I can not explain why you are losing more hair than "normally", but generally any changes from a major dietary change need a long time (e.g. 3-6 months) to really materialize. 

I think (mind you, I am not an expert) that is possible that your body is "de-toxing" (getting rid of all the junk accumulated in your body) and that this also has some input on the amount of hair you are losing right now. But be aware that losing hair is a natural process (all the time we grow new hair and lose some of the old), and I have not heard of any documented cases of bald vegans (well, I myself will be there at one point in time, so I might actually be a case of that, but my hairline started to recede 25 years before I went vegan, so I can not blame it on the diet)

Best regards,
Andy

happycowgirl · Answer

hi Isela, Sorry to hear about your hair falling out, but rest assured, going vegan has nothing to do with it. There are lots of reasons why women lose their hair, keep reading and see if any of this applies to you: Although it's not common, there are two dietary reasons that can cause hair loss - taking too much vitamin A or not getting enough iron. If I were you, I'd take a multi-vitamin that has iron in it just to be sure you're covered. Keep in mind that most people lose anywhere from 50 to 100 strands of hair each day. On the days when hair is washed, people can lose up to 250 strands. But donâ€™t avoid washing in an attempt to keep the hair, as it will fall out eventually anyway. Do your mothers, aunts or grandmothers have thinning hair? The most common kind of hair loss in women is "female pattern hair loss". It effects 50% of us and is hereditary. Nothing you can do about that. There are a wide range of medical conditions that can bring on hair loss like pregnancy, thyroid disorders, autoimmune diseases, polycystic ovary syndrome, and skin conditions such as psoriasis and seborrheic dermatitis. Other reasons for hair loss include extreme stress, physical trauma like surgery or intense illness, or dramatic weight loss over a short period of time. And hair loss can occur a couple of weeks to six months after any of these experiences. In short, if the hair loss is really bothering you, I'd go to the doctor and get a blood test. A simple blood test can check your iron and vitamin A levels and also check your thyroid. If those tests come back normal, I wouldn't worry about it. Check out this article if you'd like more info: http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/hair-loss/features/women-hair-loss-causes

glendeek · Answer

I had the same thing last year when I went vegan.  I went back to the SAD diet.  This year, I added B12 shots 2x a week and it did not happen this time.  I went vegan 1/6 of this year and it is all good, so far. like: www.trimnutrition.com/vitamin-injections/methylcobalamin-10-000-mcg-kit.html?mw_aref=42db63904bb0f938d6bad08139c66a20

skinvogue.com · Answer

I think being Vegan is nothing to do with hair fall

Cascadian · Answer

Me too!!!

 It has taken a little bit longer for me though. I went vegan about 21 years ago and honestly have never stressed that much about all of the details of diet. Now that I am in my mid-30's I have started to notice a slight thinning of the hair on my head! I'm also starting to get a few grey hairs!! Worse still I seem to be gaining more body hair each year since puberty!

 Perhaps worst of all, my metabolism seems to be slowing down some and my weight of 195 pounds (I'm about 5'11) doesn't appear to all be lean muscle like the guys on those magazines in the check-out line at the store.... 

 All of this seems to get worse each decade that I am vegan! Please help!!

 Oh! Happily my kids have not yet developed any of these symptoms yet despite having been vegan all of their lives and now entering their teens.

 BUT!! Please help me look like I did when I was a teenage vegan again! But actually a bit heavier than I was then - something like Brad Pitt in Fight Club would be nice! But I still wanna eat lots of sweets & processed foods & not work out much...

 Please help!!

SeekerOfTheWay · Answer

Some vegan B12 tabs. This helped with my hair turning white!

knightofalbion · Answer

I suspect the problem is down to you not getting enough complete protein and zinc.
I would pay special attention to protein combining.
i.e. beans and wholemeal bread, beans and brown rice etc. etc.
Taking a quality multivitamin is a good idea too.
Pure ocean kelp is something I'd recommend to everyone. It contains all manner of trace minerals. Good for healthy hair and general health.

knightofalbion · Answer

Re hair turning grey: Good very likely be copper deficiency...

beastodon · Answer

It is not normal at all, b vitamin deficiency is the only reason I can think of, that you have not been intaking any b-vitamins and you have no idea what healthy eating is in general, people don't just lose their hair HAHA!  Learn what proper nutrition is before you go vegan for godsakes...

Taylor Hill · Answer

Well no. It has nothing to do with being Vegan. Maybe it is stress or something else like a new type of shampoo you're using. I has that happen when I used a new shower wash it messed me up. Also dying your hair a lot will do that as well ( Not sure if you dye or color your hair) Anyway you might want to talk to a nutritionist about it. I would look up Vegan nutritionist and see what pulls up in Google. Best of luck hun.

Andy.R · Answer

I heard from many and now this is puzzle for me is this really affect opposite on the hair or skin on the people who turns into vegan. Personally I won't think this could cause hair problem or falling problem for vegan people. The problem should be persist only if your body don't get enough food or nutritional diet which you required. Eating more of the fatty and protein filled nuts will help with these reasons and can help to fight hair loss. 
My friend (John) also experienced the same problem but he faced this hair loss problem after he turns into vegan he went to experts and after examine doctor suggest he has deficiency of Vitamin D. After he had start to rake Vitamin D supplement the problem went away.
www.akclinics.com/hair-loss/

veggoodness · Answer

Here is the best article on vegan hair loss that I know about: veganhealth.org/articles/hairloss

In general, I recommend the article author, Jack Norris, RD, for all questions related to vegan diet and nutrition. He's a long-time vegan and a vegan activist (one of the founders of Vegan Outreach, the organization that hands out booklets at colleges and concerts). He wants us vegans to have the best nutritional information so we can stay vegan and stay healthy. He stays current on the research and writes up the findings for us. jacknorrisrd.com/

Debs121 · Answer

​Oh my god, I'm so sorry! This is completely normal when going vegan.

With that said... There's no feeling worse than feeling your hair starts falling off as a woman. You definitely need more supplements in your life.

Sorry for chiming in to this thread so late, but I used to dread taking showers all the time. Now I don't mind.

This is my story and some of my best advice which I hope is going to be of much help.

I'm a woman in her 50's and I didn't give much thought to my sprouting gray hairs and my hair loss in my 30's during my first pregnancy because they were virtually undetectable; however, as my patch turned into a streak, I began to question whether or not I should address them although it was the last thing I wanted to do...

Should I color them? Should I stick to natural hairstyles where they'd go unnoticed? I was really on the fence, yet I didn't feel particularly rushed to conceal my grays...

I'm glad there are finally solutions out there for doing something about it that actually work!

This is a daily hair growth supplement that quite quickly helped me and my bestie to improve our hair and stop our hair loss with a few important but natural ingredients: www.AgingHairNoMore.com

It wasn't until we found it we were able to make our hair stop falling off as fast although it doesn't stop completely!

I finally feel a lot more confident in my hair!

Wishing you the best of luck in your journey, sis.

Hope my advice was of help to you

AliBrown · Answer

Dang, I'm sorry this is happening - it's so frustrating. It IS normal when folks drop meat to experience hair loss - but the good news is you can restore hair health on a plant-based diet. Often times, your hair needs iron, but you don't need to eat meat to get enough!  This article may be helpful - outlining why it happens to plant-based beginners and what whole vegan foods to eat for healthy, full hair. https://www.mamasezz.com/blogs/news/vegan-diet-hair-loss-wfpb-foods-to-eat

You've got this!

Veganlight1 · Answer

Dear Isela,

It may be the stress you've sorted by becoming a vegan resulted in some hair loss, or that it was almost too late to turn vegan and you were stressing beyond your wildest dreams about something and your body clock drove you to becoming a vegan (as if by magic) and almost just in time you did become a vegan, but not in time to avoid the hair loss. Sometimes its something as big as getting cancer we avoid by becoming a vegan and if it is very last minute we do that, some minor other deteriation like hair loss had already started and more than likely we never find out what would have been or nearly happened just have a tiny indication to the fact we just avoided a major disaster (like hair loss) as to the urgency or Importance of us becoming vegans . So don't give up now and my guess is your hair loss will stop even if you do nothing about it and will regain strength at some later stage. 

And yes there are things you may do about your hair in the mean time and there are plenty of suggestions in the other responses as to what those might be.

But whatever you do don't quit being a vegan now, that is not what is causing your hair loss. More than likely that's what's resolving it or resolving the root cause of what is causing the hair loss as well.

They say the thickness and shiny colour of our hair depends on how respectful we'd been to some major figure in our life; father or grandad) past or present or even future, so there ain't that much that can be done if you missed an important opportunity of respect towards a main character somewhere in the past, and your hair is suffering the blow now. 

But you are on the right track.... and welcome to the vegan club it s an elite a magical wave a magnificent way of being.

Love and Light
VEGAN LIGHT

Megan44Lol · Answer

Oh no! What you could try is to take collagen supplements, I've been taking these https://www.vitaminexpress.org/uk/collagen-supplements and they've been quite helpful for my hair and skin as well.

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