I am in the process of going though with the surgery. However, I can’t seem to fathom the possibility of my hair falling out. I’m in love with my locs (dreadlocks). Anyone who knows the process would understand what I mean. It’s more than hair! Did anyone else fear things such as hair loss and loose skin, etc and these things caused you to have a dilemma with going through with surgery?

Does anyone here have locs? Did yours fall out or thin? Please share your experiences! TIA!!

I don't have locs but I'm pretty obsessed with my hair. I have long curly hair that I feel like is a huge part of me. I haven't experienced any more hair loss than usual. I normally have a bit fall out, especially when I wash it. Losing my hair and having loose skin were two of my biggest fears about surgery. Looking back I realize those things shouldn't have held me back because the benefits have been so worth it. With that being said I take 1000mcg of Biotin every day. I took it for years before surgery and the doctor approved it to be used after surgery. I think it's helped prevent hair loss and would highly recommend it. I've lost 122lbs so far and I'm surprised at how minimal the lose skin is also. There's a very small amount on my underarms, tummy and inner thighs. It's not noticeable to anyone but myself thankfully. I'm only 8 months from surgery so I hope that within a year of leveling out my weight the skin will be able to retract some. The biotin may be helping with the skin as well. I'm also relatively young (32) so that helps with lose skin.

Another important thing to consider is that as long as you are getting your recommended protein intake post-op this helps your hair from falling out. So if you are committed to the nutritionist's plan the more likely your hair won't be an issue. Best of luck!

I’ll be honest with you, here I am 5 mo out and last month I started losing a ton of hair. I am on b vitamins and extra biotin too. Still, I’ve lost probably half my hair. And I was a low BMI obese so I thought slow loss would mean no hair problems. Untrue.

i curl it every day so it disguises the thinness. It is so worth the surgery. The hair loss will stop by month 7 and then it will all grow back, just like after giving birth. The hair comes back! And the weight won’t! It is still worth it. Totally. This surgery was the best thing I ever did for myself. I think even if you do have some hair loss you will also feel that way.

some people lose a lot, some people don't lose any, most of us are somewhere in the middle. Unfortunately, there's not a lot you can do about, but fortunately, it's temporary and it grows back.

I did some light "shedding" for about three months. No one would have noticed it but me. Even for those who lose a lot of hair, most say they're the only ones who notice. It's kind of uncommon for it to fall out in chunks (like with people on chemo). It happens, but again, that seems to be pretty unusual.

I worried about hair loss and excess skin *incessantly* before surgery. In retrospect, I can't believe I wasted even one brain cell worrying about them. My life is SO MUCH BETTER now that I don't weigh over 300 lbs. I would take my loose skin any day over weighing 373 lbs again. ANY FREAKING DAY!!!

I'm going on one year with my locs.... I figured my hair would shed any way... i hope I don't lose patches

Loosing my hair was my biggest fear. I am blessed to have extremely thick,dense, and long hair. I still feel like it's the best thing on my body. I'm 5 years natural. I'm almost 10 months out. I had minimal hair loss. At first it felt like I was loosing all of my hair. I literally cried with every strand. Once I calmed down about it. I realized I had lost nothing. No one noticed. Not even my natural hair dresser's that I see every two weeks. I did take 10,000 milligrams of biotin for a few months. I also added vitamin e oil to my moisture routine. Hair loss is nothing I compared to how good I feel. I'm off of about 4 or 5 meds. I can enjoy my 5 year old. Just think of the benefits.

HW 330
SW 292
CW 185
GW below 200

I lost a couple of thin ones. But for the most part, it’s ok. I had surgery June 11 2017.


Highest Wt: 265 lbs
Surgery Wt: 250 lbs
Current Wt: 165 lbs

I lost a couple of thin ones. But for the most part, it’s ok. I had surgery June 11 2017.


Highest Wt: 265 lbs
Surgery Wt: 250 lbs
Current Wt: 165 lbs

Nice! Did your locs thin around the hairline?

Nice! Did your locs thin around the hairline?

Yeah, it did thin some. I’ve been doing braid outs and putting rollers on the tips to draw attention away from the edges.


Highest Wt: 265 lbs
Surgery Wt: 250 lbs
Goal Wt: 175lbs
Current Wt: 165 lbs

I had VSG in August 2017, and I've barely noticed any hair shedding and I haven't lost any locs. My edges may have thinned a wee bit, but not much. There were also some "mind games" I played with myself because I was deathly afraid of waking up one morning and seeing a loc on the pillow.

1. Maintained my locs as close to surgery date as possible --- since my scalp is most visible after rolling my locs, I figured I wouldn't be too freaked out to continue seeing it, THEN
2. Didn't do any maintenance until early December --- I didn't want to overmanipulate or handle my hair too much so I wouldn't lose (more) hair. And seeing new growth over the last four months balanced out any fears of hair loss.
3. Washed my hair the bare minimum necessary --- once again to decrease overmanipulating my locs. This turned out to be once a month and since I wasn't sweating, I could get by with a dry wash.
4. Wore my hair out or very loosely tied back

Like everyone has mentioned, MAKE YOUR PROTEIN GOALS! I made my own protein drinks with almond or cashew milk and added high quality protein powder and dried fruit. I added high quality collagen powder to my broths, soups, jello, pudding, whatever food I eat as long as it doesn't mess with the taste too much. Now, I'm able to swallow a biotin capsule without heaving so I take that as well.

Don't let the hair loss scare you; I know it's hard but it will grow back if you lose a little or a lot. What's the point have having beautiful locs when you have diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, or whatever weight related illness this surgery may help prevent!

Edited December 29, 20178 yr by papercliphip

I am SOOOO glad you posted this. I have been going back and forth with myself about hair loss...the thought of hair loss terrifies me because I am only 5 months into my loc journey. I love them so much. I’m pre-op, won’t be having surgery until some time in April or May....Nothing can detour me from having surgery and I do mean NOTHING, but the thought of “loc loss” just hurts so bad.

I do not have locs. I have had thin hair for quite awhile. I did alot of research and b Vitamins, Biotin and Protein. At least 70g of protein a day. I have not had any extra hair loss. And 10,000 Biotin. Vitamin E and coconut oil are good to help. Please be careful with them though. They may clog hair follicles and give you more issues. My ends seem to be ragged, so I use a touch of coconut oil on the ends, to calm them down. 1st Thursday. 2nd was end of August pre surgery, 3rd was 11/11/17, 1 month after surgery. Surgery date was 10/17/17