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Hair problem
More and more people notice hair loss while using weight-loss pens such as Mounjaro. In most cases, the shedding is linked to losing weight quickly and eating less, and it is not permanent. Here we explain why it happens, what to do without stopping treatment and what the clinic can offer.
Reviewed by Dr Michelle Campagnoli, clinical director
How to recognise it
Shedding caused by rapid weight loss follows a pattern: it starts months later and spreads across the whole scalp. These signs help you work out whether this is your case.
Tick what you recognise
Tick the signs you recognise in your case. This is not a diagnosis, it is only meant to give you an idea.
You recognise some signs. It may be linked to weight loss or have another cause. Only a medical assessment can say for sure.
Several signs match shedding from rapid weight loss. It is common and, in many cases, recoverable, but an assessment is worthwhile to see what is missing. Only a medical assessment can confirm it.
Book an assessment consultationDo not stop or change your medication without speaking to the doctor who prescribed it. Sudden patchy hair loss, a painful scalp or signs of deficiencies, such as extreme tiredness or dizziness, should be seen without delay.
Parting. It is usually the first sign: it widens because the hair becomes thinner across the whole scalp.
Top of the head. Diffuse thinning shows here, with the scalp becoming more visible under light.
Temples. Hair may also thin near the ears, but without the marked gaps seen in other types of alopecia.
Why it happens
It is almost never just one thing. Choose a cause to see what makes it worse and what helps.
Losing a lot of weight in a few months is a shock to the body. Many hairs enter the shedding phase together, which shows two to four months later.
Very rapid weight loss combined with very restrictive diets.
Losing weight at a pace your doctor considers appropriate, with follow-up.
With less hunger, it is easy to eat little and end up with too little protein. Hair is made of protein and is one of the first things to suffer.
Skipped meals and little protein throughout the day.
Prioritising protein at every meal, even in small portions.
Eating less can lower iron, vitamin D, zinc or vitamin B12, all of which matter for the hair cycle. Only a blood test can confirm it.
A diet low in meat, fish, eggs and a variety of vegetables.
Having blood tests and correcting, with the doctor, whatever is lacking.
A big change in weight and habits is a stress for the body and can, on its own, push hair into the shedding phase.
Several changes at once: diet, weight, sleep and medication.
Changing one thing at a time and giving the body time.
Shedding can have other causes at the same time, such as the thyroid, menopause or stress. That is why it is worth having an assessment rather than assuming it is only the pen.
Blaming everything on the pen and postponing an assessment.
A consultation to look at the whole picture, not only the medication.
Linked to weight or needs assessment
In most cases, shedding follows the pace of weight loss. These signs help you tell it apart from shedding that deserves a consultation.
What it looks like. More hair falls out diffusely, two to four months after losing weight quickly. The parting widens and the ponytail gets thinner.
When it eases. In many cases it eases when weight stabilises and eating improves, and hair gradually recovers over months.
What the clinic does. The doctor confirms the pattern, requests blood tests if useful and proposes the plan.
At home. Protein at every meal, a monitored pace of weight loss and gentle hair care.
What it looks like. The shedding does not ease once weight is stable, leaves bald patches or comes with an inflamed scalp.
Warning. Patchy hair loss, pain, sores, dizziness or extreme tiredness call for assessment.
What the clinic does. The doctor looks for other causes, such as deficiencies, the thyroid or hormones.
Tell us at the consultation. Which pen you use, since when, how much weight you have lost and what you eat: it helps in choosing.
Are you using a weight-loss pen? Tell us when booking the consultation, so the doctor has the full picture. Never stop your medication without speaking to the person who prescribed it.
Book an assessment consultationWhat the clinic can do
When shedding is linked to weight loss, the first step is to correct what is lacking and monitor the pace. These are the treatments the doctor may propose to strengthen the follicle, always after seeing your case.
Regeneration
Vitamins, amino acids, minerals and hyaluronic acid, to nourish the scalp when diet has fallen short.
Suitable when
hair is weak after weight loss and the doctor considers scalp nutrition appropriate.
Find out more→
Regeneration
Platelet-rich plasma, obtained from your own blood, to stimulate the follicle. The doctor first assesses whether it is appropriate.
Suitable when
shedding continues after deficiencies have been corrected and with stable weight.
Find out more→
Advanced regeneration
Regenerative solution to support follicle repair and improve hair thickness.
Suitable when
the doctor considers it useful to reinforce the plan with a regenerating active ingredient.
Find out more→What about oral therapy? It is often the starting point, to replace what is lacking, and it is always chosen by the doctor after assessment and, if useful, blood tests. Results are gradual.
What the journey looks like
No treatment starts without an assessment consultation with the doctor. This is how it works.
The doctor asks which pen you use, since when, how much weight you have lost, what you eat and what other medicines you take, and examines the scalp.
If useful, requests blood tests for iron, vitamins, zinc and the thyroid, and explains what to expect and how long it may take.
Combines what to replace, home care and, if justified, a treatment, without asking you to stop the medication your doctor prescribed.
We look at the hair again after a few months and adjust, because recovery is slow and follows weight and diet.
Day to day
Pace and protein matter more than any product. These are the measures that count most.
The golden rule
Pace and protein matter more than any product. Eating enough, even without hunger, protects the hair and the rest of the body.
Hair is made of protein, and with less hunger it is easy to fall short.
In practice: include eggs, fish, lean meat, legumes or yoghurt at every meal, even in small portions.
Preserving muscle mass helps the whole body during weight loss.
In practice: if your doctor agrees, do strength exercise two or three times a week.
Losing weight very quickly takes a toll on the hair.
In practice: talk to the person who prescribed the pen about the pace and the doses.
Iron, vitamin D, zinc and vitamin B12 matter for the hair.
In practice: ask for blood tests if the shedding does not ease.
It can be a risk and is not the solution for the hair.
In practice: always speak to the person who prescribed it before changing or suspending it.
Cutting more calories worsens the shedding and the lack of nutrients.
In practice: eat enough and favour nutrient-rich foods.
Taking several supplements on your own may not solve anything and can do harm.
In practice: speak to the doctor before taking supplements, especially iron.
Already weakened strands break with a very hot hairdryer and hair dyes.
In practice: use moderate heat and space out colouring.
Who will look after you
At Luxmed, the first step is always an assessment consultation with Dra. Michelle Campagnoli. She works out what weighs on the shedding, requests blood tests if useful and designs the plan with you, without asking you to stop prescribed medication.
Hair medicine
Why hair may fall out when you lose weight quickly and what to do without stopping treatment.
Read the article →
Hair medicine
What to eat to protect your hair when appetite decreases.
Read the article →
Hair medicine
Iron, vitamin D, zinc and vitamin B12: which values matter for the hair.
Read the article →Other hair problems
Book a consultation
Choose how you prefer to get in touch. We will arrange the assessment consultation with Dr Michelle Campagnoli.
New Life Miraflores, Algés · Office Center, R. Santa Teresa do Menino Jesus n.º 6, 9.º C, 1495-048
Your details are used only for this contact. Any treatment depends on a prior medical assessment.
Some people who use these pens report hair loss, but it is usually linked to rapid weight loss and lower nutrient intake, more than to the substance itself. Everyone is different, and only an assessment can say what weighs in your case.
It can happen with other weight-loss pens, and with other ways of losing weight quickly, because the shedding is linked to the speed of loss and to diet.
It usually starts two to four months after losing weight quickly and eases when weight stabilises and eating improves. Hair gradually recovers over several months.
Do not stop or change the dose on your own. That decision belongs to the person who prescribed the pen, and hair loss is one of the things to discuss with them.
In many cases yes, because the follicle is not damaged. Recovery is slow and depends on correcting what is lacking and stabilising weight. If it does not recover, it is worth assessing other causes.
Depending on the case: oral therapy to replace what is lacking, hair NCTF, hair PRP and hair exosomes. The doctor defines the plan after the assessment and takes into account the medication you are taking.
Often yes. The doctor may request iron, vitamin D, zinc, vitamin B12 and thyroid tests, because deficiencies are a frequent cause of shedding when you eat less.
When the shedding lasts more than a few weeks, leaves hair visibly thinner or comes with extreme tiredness or dizziness. Patchy hair loss or a painful scalp should be seen without delay.
As a rule, assessment comes first. The doctor decides what is appropriate taking into account the medication and your general condition, so always say which pen you use.
They can help when a deficiency is confirmed, but taken without criteria they do not solve anything and can do harm. The best approach is to have blood tests and speak to the doctor.
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The assistant does not give diagnoses or replace a consultation. The plan and cost of any treatment are set at the medical assessment.