How I got my hair back into good condition after gastric bypass surgery

One of the side effects that happens to many people following any kind of bariatric surgery is a large amount of hair loss. I had an absolute mop of hair before my gastric bypass surgery and wasn’t too worried about losing some hair before my surgery but oh my gosh, the amount of hair loss took me by surprise.

My hair has always been one of the things that I’ve always really liked about myself, regardless of my weight. It was around four months after my gastric bypass that it started coming out in noticeable amounts. It got to the point where the amount of hair I could normally accumulate in my hairbrush over a week was coming out in a day.

My hair loss carried on for a few months and when it got really thin and I had basically convinced myself that I was going to go bald it finally slowed down and the amount of hair that was falling out normalised again. I was glad it had stopped falling out but my post surgery hair woes were not over.

I’ve always had long hair and because I like it long I’ve never really kept myself to a regular schedule of getting my hair cut. After my hair loss calmed down I thought that would be that but my hair, two years out from my surgery, was in horrendous condition. I put this down to the fact that I colour it myself but I eventually figured out that it just wasn’t right.

My hair was so dry and frizzy and it got to the point that no matter what I used on it it never looked any good. I think that while my hair loss had slowed down the hair that was growing in that first year to 18 months after my surgery wasn’t able to grow in the best conditions and it was rubbish.

About six months ago I set out on a mission to get my hair back in good condition. I decided I would get regular haircuts and the first one I went and got I chopped a good 20-30 centimeters off the bottom of my hair. I think this must have been most of the stuff that had been growing while my body was in insane weight loss mode and this alone made a noticeable difference.

I have, for at least the last nine months, been trying numerous different shampoos, conditioners and other hair products to try and find the holy grail for my hair. Some of the shampoos and conditioners would make a bit of a difference for a while but none of the other serums or leave in conditioners really helped. I went through a lot of different products and was not satisfied and then I saw my favourite skincare brand was releasing a new range of hair products. I have reviewed Essano’s body lotion on my blog here already.

I had a lucky streak winning stuff on social media and I ended up winning a set of the new Essano shampoo and conditioner off their Instagram page. I was sent the Argan Oil formula for dry hair and my hair loves it. I then got the serum from the same range in the Beauty Review Beauty Vault and have been using the three in conjunction for the last six or so weeks and my hair has never looked better.

If you’re struggling with the condition of your hair after surgery you will be able to get it back on form. I needed a decent haircut, then making sure I get it trimmed regularly and to find the right products to give it everything it needs to get it back to good condition. My hair still doesn’t have the huge volume and amount I used to have pre surgery but it’s soft, my curls have returned and it looks great, most of the time anyway.

Have you noticed lots of hair loss after bariatric surgery? What steps did you take to get your hair back to good condition again?