Hair shedding/loss on Keto

#1

So about 4weeks ago I started getting a LOT of hair shedding. Not breaking, actual loosing hair from the roots to the point that I would estimate ive now lost 30-40% of my hair now (very noticable when your hair is 3foot long)

Any help/suggestions?
Ive been keto since march. Lost about 2.5 stone back then. Weight seems stable at 180-185 now
Prior to that I ate low carb/Primal for 5-6 years (so not actully a big change the foods I eat, just the makros)
I feel fine, skin seems fine/ no other symptoms that I can suss.
Female/43years. Dont track carbs/macros as Im familure enough what to watch for due to primal/paleo

Hairloss
(Karen) #2


Maybe this.

K

(Karen) #3

And

(LeeAnn Brooks) #4

This is very common.
I just went through it myself. Luckily I have very thick hair, but it’s still worrisom when it’s happening. It did slow down for me though and others I have read says it stops when your body adjusts. I was surprised it happened after 4 months on Keto for me rather than sooner in the process. How long have you been doing Keto?

Also, this happened to me when I went really low fat a few times in the past, so it isn’t just a Keto thing. It’s the body’s reaction to a major change.

(KCKO, KCFO 🥥) #5

Any consistent lowering of calories can cause it, not just keto. It happened to me once I added fasting to my protocols. I was doing a lot of extended fasts over a two month period of time. I also have thick hair and it was’t a big deal for me, once I got to my goal weight and cut back on the fasting, it started growing back. My hairdresser says my hair is the most healthy head of hair she works with, and I am 69 most of her clients over 50 have issues with thinning hair, not me, it is coming in as thick as ever. Here is a good video by Dr. Westerman about hair loss.

(Lorraine) #6

I experienced hair loss, as well. I had very thick hair and shedding was very normal for me, but my hair always stayed thick. I started Keto in September 2017 and by December 2017 I was losing far more hair than normal. This continued until around March 2018, probably, and then began to slow down.

All in all, I’d say that I lost about 75% of my hair. I used to use a special hair tie for thick hair and only loop it twice. Now, it wouldn’t even stay in my hair, no matter how many times I loop it. I rarely put my hair in a ponytail after that, but for vacation, I actually used a much smaller tie and looped it three times. The winter was brutal. I had never experienced a cold wind freezing my neck and scalp. Prior to this, my hair was always thick enough that I never needed a hat or scarf for winter, unless it was snowing and blowing at the same time. I live in the Midwest, by the way.

It was around March that I could see some baby hairs here and there and now, I have a ton of two to three inch hairs all over my head. Time will tell whether my hair is ever as thick as it was before, since it will take 18 months for those baby hairs to be to my shoulder again and are able to sweep up into a ponytail. I know this because that is how long it took to grow my gray hair out, down to my shoulders, when I stopped coloring.

I have faith that all will be well in the end and my thick hair will return. On a very pleasant note, I love my gray hair and it is very soft and silky. I was afraid it would be coarse and wiry. This, of course, has nothing to do with Keto. Just the luck of the genes giving me my Nana’s beautiful silver hair!

#7

Thanks all
Lots of helpful info.

Been keto for 5-6 months (but was low carb primal for 5-6 years prior) however was also doing fasting/intermitent fasting when I started keto. Lots about 30-35lbs when I started which means the hair loss started roughly 4 months after the weight loss which makes sense with the above info,

Just sucks as I had fairly thick hair down to my butt. So dosent matter if it replaces, gonna be a LONG time before its back to that lenth & thickness :frowning: