Plant-based? You’re not alone. According to data from research firm Ipsos Retail Performance, more than nine million Americans now eat a primarily plant-based diet, making vegetarian and vegan dieting more popular than ever before.
Eating a primarily plant-based diet offers numerous health benefits, including a reduced risk of developing serious medical issues such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and several types of cancer.
However, following a vegetarian or vegan diet that’s low in certain nutrients may increase your risk of developing nutritional deficiencies that can cause hair shedding.
Below, we’ve talked about how several different forms of hair loss can develop, as well as how some vegetarian and vegan diets may increase your risk of developing hair shedding due to a lack of nutrients such as protein, iron or other minerals.
We’ve also talked about what you can do if you follow a vegetarian or vegan diet to strengthen your hair, promote healthy hair growth and treat diet-related hair loss.
If you’ve ever let people know that you follow a vegetarian or vegan diet, you may have received comments about potential issues such as hair loss.
Although some vegetarians and vegans may develop hair loss, it’s important to understand that hair loss isn’t directly caused by a vegetarian or vegan diet.
When people talk about plant-based diets and hair loss, they generally aren’t talking about male pattern baldness -- the common form of male hair loss that can cause you to develop a receding hairline or bald spot as you get older.
Instead, they’re referring to a form of temporary hair loss that may develop when your diet lacks essential vitamins, minerals and/or other nutrients.
Although not all vegetarians or vegans develop nutritional deficiencies, you may be more at risk of developing some nutritional deficiencies if you follow a plant-based diet, such as a vegetarian or vegan diet.
Several nutritional deficiencies may cause hair loss. These include:
In addition to the nutritional deficiencies listed above, hair shedding can also develop as a result of crash dieting. You might notice increased shedding and hair loss if you follow a vegetarian or vegan diet to lose weight and reduce your calorie intake by a significant amount in the process.
If you’ve recently started a vegetarian or vegan diet and have noticed that your hair is falling out at a faster-than-normal pace, you may be able to prevent further hair loss and improve your hair growth by making changes to your eating habits. Try to:
If you follow a vegetarian or vegan diet and have noticeable hair loss that you think is related to your eating habits, it’s important to talk to a healthcare provider.
The most effective way to treat and reverse diet-related hair loss is to fix deficiencies in your diet using the steps listed above. However, you may also be able to use medication to stimulate hair growth and speed up the process of restoring your normal hair thickness and density.
Since diet-related hair loss isn’t caused by hormones, medications like finasteride have no effect on this form of hair loss and won’t speed up regrowth.
However, the topical hair loss medication minoxidil, which works by improving blood flow to your scalp and stimulating your hair follicles, may help to speed up the regrowth process and restore your hair faster.
You can learn more about minoxidil and how it works in our detailed guide to applying minoxidil for hair growth.
Finally, if you’re starting to lose your hair, it’s important to keep in mind that it may not be caused by a vegetarian or vegan diet.
The most common form of hair loss in men is referred to as hereditary hair loss, or male pattern baldness. This type of hair loss usually begins to develop in your 20s and 30s and isn’t related to your diet in any way.
Male pattern baldness is caused by a combination of genetic and hormonal factors, particularly the effects of a hormone called dihydrotestosterone, or DHT.
If you’re prone to male pattern baldness, making changes to your diet won’t slow down or stop your hair loss. However, this type of hair loss is treatable using medication.
Our complete guide to male pattern baldness provides more information on how male pattern baldness develops, common symptoms and the most effective, science-based treatments for stopping hair loss and restoring hair in affected areas of your scalp.
In addition to male pattern baldness, other factors that may cause hair loss include:
Our guide to the causes of hair loss goes into more detail about the numerous types of hair loss that may affect your scalp and the factors that can contribute to them.
While following a vegetarian or vegan diet won’t directly cause hair loss, you may have a higher risk of developing hair shedding if your diet lacks nutrients such as protein, iron or zinc.
You can reduce your risk of shedding hair by following a balanced vegetarian or vegan diet that includes these nutrients. This may require making some small changes to your eating habits or adding dietary supplements to your health routine.
If you already have hair loss and want to treat it, it’s best to talk to a healthcare provider to learn more about your options, including FDA-approved hair loss medications.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. The information contained herein is not a substitute for and should never be relied upon for professional medical advice. Always talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of any treatment.