Healthy Hair from Behind The Chair - Weight loss & diet changes!

If there's anything that I've learned on my journey to learn more about scalp health, it's that there are a lot of surprising factors that can affect our scalp and our hair.

Recently, many discussions I've had with fellow stylists have focused on how weight loss and dietary changes can impact hair. I wanted to share what you might observe and how we can assist our clients experiencing hair changes due to weight loss.

This is for my fellow stylists, and hopefully my clients that find it interesting too!

As we go into this, I want to stress that I am not a medical professional and if you want to explore any of what I've discussed more, I would highly recommend you speak to your GP.

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What to look out for

During any weight loss journey, the body undergoes significant changes, and the hair, skin, and nails are usually the first to be impacted, particularly with rapid weight loss. The body prioritizes delivering nutrition to more essential areas, which means these parts may receive less nourishment initially.

You might observe changes in hair density and thickness, with hair becoming somewhat lifeless and dull, particularly noticeable around the front of the hairline.

Hair loss issues often begin at the front of the hairline and temples, where the most visible changes occur. Along with changes in density, you might observe breakage and brittleness around the hairline, as well as hair loss during shampooing and combing.

Of course, if hair starts to experience breakage, it will affect what you can do when it comes to colour. Lightening hair when it's more brittle can make issues worse, and will affect how an end colour will look too.

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What can help

If any of your clients report experiencing hair issues following weight loss, there are several steps you can suggest to help them progress positively.

Ideally, if your clients are on a weight loss journey, whether through dieting or weight loss injections, they should also be getting nutritional support. Collaborating closely with a nutritionist to ensure they consume sufficient protein and vegetables is crucial and can have a significant impact.

If your clients are receiving weight management support from medical professionals, they should ideally already be doing this. Regular iron testing, with a focus on monthly monitoring of ferritin levels if possible, will help ensure optimal hair and scalp health.

Incorporating scalp tonics into your haircare routine can be highly beneficial. Maintaining a healthy scalp significantly enhances hair health! These tonics can be used daily and are suitable for application on both wet and dry hair. Personally, I find this to be a fantastic option, as it allows the product to remain on the scalp for maximum benefits without needing to rinse it out.

This is one of my absolute favourites, Champo Pitta Growth Serum. Click here to check it out.

One suggestion we can all adopt is to start taking a daily multivitamin. While I've discussed iron testing before, using a multivitamin with higher iron content or taking iron supplements can benefit the overall health of skin, hair, and nails.

Click here to take a look at one of my personal favourites.

Visiting the gym regularly can be incredibly beneficial. Developing the habit of going offers numerous advantages beyond just exercising and building muscle!

It's crucial to remember that health encompasses far more than just weight. Adopting a holistic perspective on health is essential for long-term well-being.

What do you think? Is there anything here that you've experienced as a hairdresser? Anything that's surprised you? Anything that you're going to discuss with your clients?

I'm always keen to share knowledge with other people in the industry, so get in touch if you'd like to chat about anything I've shared here.