I had my g.s on May 20th, 2020. As of 1 month ago I have started losing tons of hair, and notice very small bald patches. How long before my hair becomes thick again, and any tips to prevent loss?

First, as a reassurance, its only temporary!

For those that did lose some hair (which is mostly everyone...though there are a lucky few that don’t) it all came back eventually. I have yet to read from anyone who is far out from surgery that it is permanent.

I started losing mine at 3 months, and it stopped around 7 months. I don’t know if it was because of time elapsed, or because I was done with rapid weight loss phase, though.

I am 2+ years out now and its ALL back (sometimes i think its actually thicker these days, but it might just be because of my hairstyle, lol).

I did cut it all off at the first sign of loss, and my hair today is no where near how long it was pre-surgery, but thats just a matter of time (though I dunno if I even want to grow it back to that length anyway.)

I don’t have any tips to prevent it, honestly I don’t really think you can, but I’m sure others will weigh in on this subject.

Good Luck!

P.S. despite the current hair loss, are you satisfied with your WEIGHT loss so far?

Edited January 11, 20215 yr by ms.sss

I started taking Biotin pre-op and have continued post-op. My hair started to "shed" much more than usual about one month post-op. I don't have any bald patches, but my always thick hair is starting to look a little thinner. It is still growing, though.

I've been advised the shedding/hair loss will slow down in time.

A while back I found a helpful article. I will post it when I locate it again.

that article MoxieMama posted was very informative, so check it out.

basically, there's not much you can do about it. If it's gonna happen, it's gonna happen. Some people swear biotin helps, but just as many swear it doesn't. So...YMMV.

luckily, I lost very little hair - certainly not enough to notice (I just noticed a lot more strands than usual when I combed it out after washing it). It started about about 5-6 months post-surgery and lasted maybe three or four months. It all grew back.

I posted the article as a separate post titled A Good Article on Hair Loss and Weight Loss Surgery. ?

Take heart---it is temporary.

On 01/11/2021 at 12:34, TheMoxieMama said:

I started taking Biotin pre-op and have continued post-op. My hair started to "shed" much more than usual about one month post-op. I don't have any bald Patches, but my always thick hair is starting to look a little thinner. It is still growing, though.

I've been advised the shedding/hair loss will slow down in time.

A while back I found a helpful article. I will post it when I locate it again.

If you find it will you please send to me as well! Thank you ❤️

I took biotin gummies.

There’s nothing you can do to stop it or slow it down. It’s a very normal side effect of your natural hair loss cycle speeding up due to the shock of the surgery & reduced nutrient intake. As my surgeon said: your body has better things to do with the nutrients you’re eating than grow hair. The article @TheMoxieMama posted is very good.

Any supplements you take will only help your regrowth at the root. The hair on your head is already dead so nothing will help that - lol.

I lost quite a bit of hair - my hairdresser thought a good 40%. Thank goodness I had a lot to begin with. Your hair will grow back too. In fact new hair is growing now, just at its normal rate, you just can’t see it yet.

This is me, 4 months postop... but I was bald before surgery.

sorry for derailing this thread, but when I took that picture, I didn't realize how wrinkly my head was. I have loose skin everywhere, including I guess the top of my head.

Naturally, I'm really concerned about hair loss as well. I lost a lot previously due to PCOS, but over the last year and a half it has grown back and thickened up a ton...still a little thin on my temples but it's barely noticeable.

I'm seriously considering shaving my head if I lose a ton of hair. I've always wanted to anyways and I think this would be a good excuse. Does anyone have any other suggestions for hair styles to mask bald spots or thinning areas?

I'll probably still shave it...and bleach it. You only live once, right?