I just finished my 3rd month of Induction and my hair has been falling out for about a month. First I noticed it on my clothes, and then it really became bad. When I'm in the shower washing my hair, I have LOTS of strands in my fingers and my brush gets full of hair. I am getting very worried. I have thin hair as it is, and it is REALLY thin now. If this keeps up, I wont have any left and I am NOT exaggerating! I posted about this 3 weeks ago and someone suggested taking Atkins Essential Oils. I bought those and it doesnt seem to be helping. Someone else sent me an article that this is normal for low carb diets and it should stop falling out and growing back. It's not! I am taking all my supplements, a mutivitamin, calcium w/magnesium, potassium, b-complex, vitamin c, an antioxidant, C Q-10, and L-Lysine.
This is the one diet that I have felt great on and its working. I am afraid I may have to give it up!!!
Can someone please help me? Is anyone else experiencing this??? Maybe I should go to Phase 2 and get off Induction.

Personally I have come to the conclusion that if mine keeps falling out this way, I am going to cut it really short, and invest in a wig till it decides to grow back. LOL This is the first diet I have ever been on that works, and that I feel good on. I figure that sooner or later my hair will decide to do as well as the rest of me. In the meantime there is fake hair. LOL

Here is the article that was sent to me.

Solving The Mystery of Hair Loss

I just reread it and I am going to make sure I do the things suggested. I did run out of L-Carnitine about a week ago, so I'm going to buy more today and make sure I'm getting all my calories in and up my protein. I dont want fake hair, I like mine.
I'm going to try not to stress too much and hopefully it will start to grow back in a few months like the article says. I dont think the Sinead O'Connor look would suit me.

Mine was thinning greatly too - it lasted for about 4 months. Take your vitamins and oils - it will pass. I know that is not much comfort right now, but it WILL pass.

Thank you Talon. How long did you stay on Induction? Do you think I should go to Phase 2? I really would like to do Induction for the full 6 months because I have so much to lose, but I'm afraid I'll be bald by then!

Hey Zora,

I have been loosing a lot of mine too. First I thought it was because my hair was getting so long. I was supposed to go and get it cut today but I didn't. I stil may try to run over there and get it done. I hope you find a way to resolve the problem...

Take care and keep me informed.

Karen

This link doesn't go anywhere... am I missing something?

I was on induction for about 4 months. I really don't think the induction was the culprit (I was taking vitamins), but I think it is the shock to your system going from burning carbs to burning fats. Any stress on your system can cause hair loss, this way of eating is just another stress. As you've probably read, the hair loss usually comes several months after the initial stessor. So right now if you stopped this diet, it wouldn't matter, you'd still lose some more hair.

I cam to the conclusion that I'd rather have thin shorter hair, as long as I would be heathier and live longer in the long run.

jun - Sorry about that. I should have tested the link after I posted it. It works now.

Thanks for the reassurances everyone. I am already taking Atkins Essential Oils and I bought some Flax Oil and more L-Carnitine today.
Hopefully that will help.

Zora,

Some food for thought.

Three things might be going on besides the 'stress' of dieting.

1) You aren't getting enough carbohydrates to supply all the glucose needed by brain, nerve and red blood cells. If your protein intake is not high enough, certain amino acids are then pulled from non-essential cells (mostly hair, skin, nails, and muscles) to be changed to glucose by your liver and sent into your blood. Remember, fatty acids from stored or dietary fats can be changed to energy that can be used by most cells, but not by brain, nerve, or red blood cells. Remedy: Increase carb intake.

2) An increase in animal fat intake can supply more cholesterol, which may increase your testosterone production. An enzyme produced in the prostate, adrenal glands, and by the hair follicles -- 5-alpha reductase -- changes testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). A low blood glucose level stimulates your adrenal glands.
DHT shrinks your hair follicles so new hairs are baby-like -- shorter, thinner, less firmly attached to your scalp -- or kills them.
Remedy: Saw palmetto, an herb shown to prevent conversion of testosterone to DHT. Make sure your blood glucose level remains normal.

3) An increased intake of animal fat causes sebaceous glands to increase production of sebum. In your scalp, these oil glands release oil directly into the shaft portion of the hair follicle. The extra oil can clog the follicle and cause it to swell, reducing blood flow (and oxygen and nutrients carried in blood) to it. The swelling may also cause more 5-alpha reductase to be made by the hair follicle, meaning more DHT.
Remedy: If your hair feels or looks more oily, shampoo daily. Don't apply conditioner, hair spray, etc. Use children's spray-on hair detangler, instead.

Hope this helps.

my hair is really short ( as you can see in my av) , but I agree, mine seems to be falling out more and more each month I stay on track with this woe! UGH! what a woman to do?

Nutro - Thank you for the information. I am going to up my carbs and my protein and start using Fitday again so I can track what I'm consuming. I think I'm going to add in strawberries to my diet. Not sure if that will help, but I suppose I should start moving towards Phase 2. I will also continue to take my crap load of vitamins and supplements.
I started using a new shampoo, conditioner, and also a spray leave on conditioner at the beginning of July. Something my hair stylist suggested to help stop excessive hair loss, but it isn't making a difference as of yet. It's called Nioxin. The back of the bottle states that it helps cleanse away toxins and DHT. I think I will stop using the conditioners for awhile and see what happens. I use some hairspray (not a lot) on top as my hair is so fine that if I didnt, it would be all over.
I dont think all this worrying over it is helping either. All I can do is try all the tips. If it gets too thin, I'll have to wear it up more often. Thanks again.

Zora,

When I've had the problem of falling/thinning hair and nails that easily break, I took the Saw Palmetto and supplemented my protein intake with "100% Whey Protein Vanilla" from Optimum Nutrition www.optimumnutrition.com.

I prefer whey protein because there's no issue of phytic acid preventing absorption of minerals, like there is with soy protein.

I chose vanilla because I can mix it into a lot of different things, but I usually stir it into about 6 oz. of water and drink it down.

Also, there's no yucky taste, like with other protein supplements I've tried.

The company just upped the protein content of the product. Now there's 23 grams of high quality protein in each serving, about have of it is branched-chain amino acids, which are the ones pulled from tissue protein when blood glucose is low.

This stuff also contains Aminogen, which increases the bioavailability of the amino acids.

It has ony 2 grams of carbs, and also comes in chocolate.

I thought I'd tell you about it because the extra protein REALLY made a difference in my hair and nails.

A 2lb. container holds 32 servings. The website wants 19.99 for it, which is exactly what I paid at the local health food store, and saved the $6 s&h charge.

Even though the company's customers are nearly all body builders, you'll see there's a zillion products to support the high-protein/low-carb WOE if you visit the site.

To find this specific product, you'll need to type in "100% Whey Protein" in the search bar; the URL of each page is the same as the home page.

In case anyone's wondering, no, I am not affiliated with the company in any way other than as a customer fond of their very nutritious products.

I lost a fair amount of hair the first time I LC'ed (1999), and unfortunately it never grew back to the thickness it once had. However, this time I've had no hair loss at all...if anything, I seem to have a bit more hair these days. I attribute this to:

a) slower weight loss than last time resulting in less shock to the body. I lost 23 lbs in about 4 weeks before, and right after that my hair started falling out in droves.

b) I am taking supplements this time--nothing specifically for hair, but again, I think that giving myself adequate nutrients is preventing stress on the body.

Then again, my hair is just fine but my TOM has been an absolute mess. Maybe the stress is just happening further south this time.

Emily

Hi Zora,

Whoa, you've lost a lot of weight! Congrats! I'd bet twenty bucks that your hair loss is a result of the *speed* of weight loss, and not on your food choices. I hope your hair settles down soon.

nutrobion, I'm curious where you found your information that the brain can't go carb-less. AFIAK, that's a myth. Dr Atkins, the docs that wrote the 'Go' diet, and (I'm pretty sure) the Drs Eades all claim that ketones are not only perfectly useful to the brain, but often the preferred fuel. If that weren't the case, how could the people of Inuit, Masai and other nearly-carb-free cultures survive? (And they're not bald. )