Nutritional deficiencies
Weight-loss surgeries are often accompanied by weight loss. Some surgeries worsen hair loss and have effects on the way your body absorbs nutrients more than others, such as:
- Restrictive surgeries, such as gastric bypass and gastric sleeve do not affect your body’s absorption of nutrients but still result in hair loss.
- Mixed procedures, such as Roux-en-Y gastric bypass have severe effects on how your body absorbs nutrients. Your doctor may recommend taking supplements for a long period.
- Malabsorptive surgeries are biliopancreatic diversion (BPD) and BPD with duodenal switch. They affect your body’s absorption of nutrients.
Over the years, many studies have been done to understand why people experience hair loss after bariatric surgery. Some studies showed that the absence of some nutrients may also lead to hair loss.
In 2014, a researcher studied hair loss after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy in 42 females. About 41 percent of the women experienced hair loss after the surgery. Also, the study discovered that most of the women who experienced hair loss had low levels of body iron [1] and zinc. Zinc supplements improved the hair loss in the participants.
The research observed 18 participants on hair loss and bariatric surgery. The research discovered that women who have low levels of zinc, ferritin (protein) [2], and folic acid (vitamin B9) [3] were more susceptible to hair loss.