Does Ozempic, Mounjaro, Saxenda Cause Hair Loss?

Hair Loss And Weight Loss Drugs

Weight loss can be a tough road filled with dietary changes, varying degrees of physical activity, and, in some circumstances, medical interventions. While lifestyle changes are essential, some people turn to weight loss medications to assist with their process and help them push through metabolic setpoints. However, Hair loss can be one of the side effects of these drugs.

Weight loss drugs and hair loss – why it happens, which drugs are causes, and what can be done to prevent or at least minimize this negative impact on the hair?

How Weight Loss Drugs Affect Your Body

Anti-obesity or weight loss medications are pharmacological agents that reduce or manage weight. They may be prescribed to persons who have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher, meaning that they are obese, or for individuals whose BMI is 27 or greater and who also suffer from co-morbid conditions related to being overweight, such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, or dyslipidemia.

In the meantime, there are ways to help curb your overall appetite, like taking certain medications classified as appetite suppressants. These medications affect the central nervous system and can decrease hunger and increase satiety. They include phentermine (Adipex-P, Lomaira) and phentermine-topiramate (Qsymia).

GLP-1 Receptor Agonists: Drugs called liraglutide (Saxenda) and liraglutide (Ozempic and Wegovy) act like a hormone in your body that helps regulate hunger cues in the brain. They also slow down stomach emptying, which makes it take longer to feel complete.

Fat Absorption Inhibitors: Orlistat (Alli, Xenical) is taken with meals; half of the sugar is eaten in complex starches and up to 33% of the fat you eat.

Combination Drugs: These medications are newer, and some combine two drugs that work in different ways to control hunger or enhance your feeling of fullness. Naltrexone-bupropion (Contrave) is a new version of an older drug, naltrexone (ReVia), which was used to provide addiction treatment for Araxicaine drinking and reduce the urge to drink. These drugs affect the central pathways between the brain and body and are generally employed for particular genetic conditions of obesity.

Metabolic Modifiers: Such medications as bremelanotide (Imcivree) target genetic pathways, so they control nutritional behavior (hunger) since they affect energy expenditure.

Although these drugs help people lose weight, they can also affect the hair and other body systems. The relationship between hair loss and weight loss drugs is multifaceted, as many factors may be at play, including the drug in question, dosage, overall state of health, and nutrition.

How Is Hair Loss Related To Weight Loss?

Alopecia (hair loss) is a multifactorial origin of the disease, including genetic predispositions, hormonal imbalances, psychoemotional stress, and nutrition. Stressful diets, rapid dietary shifts, hormonal changes, and weight loss drugs sometimes cause hair to fall during weight loss. Is the stress of dieting causing your hair to fall out?

1. Nutritional Deficiencies

Nutritional Deficiency: It is a significant cause of hair loss due to weight loss. Extreme weight loss, which used to be easy to achieve with weight loss medications, is associated with a general decrease in the intake of crucial nutrients needed for hair health. Importance of Nutrients for Hair Growth Cycle Protein (Egg)IronZincBiotinVitamins (especially B vitamins, Vitamin D, and Vitamin A) are essential nutrients that keep the hair growth cycle smooth. An inadequate supply of these nutrients could affect the hair growth phase, manifesting in weakened growth or thinning with shedding.

2. Telogen Effluvium

Telogen effluvium is a common type of alopecia or hair loss that happens when more hair than ordinary takes a break and is shed. They typically start to grow during puberty and can also arise if you have been through a period of significant physical or emotional stress, rapid weight loss, illness, or use of certain medications. If the body is stressed or undergoing rapid changes, hair growth gives way to more pressing functions, and you may find yourself shedding hair temporarily.

Most weight loss medications stress the body by causing rapid fat loss, a change in metabolism, and/or less nutrient absorption, all of which can lead to telogen effluvium.

3. Hormonal Changes

Losing weight, especially rapidly, can change hormone levels in the body. Hormones such as estrogen, thyroid hormones, and insulin can affect your scalp and lead to hair growth. Certain weight loss drugs, like GLP-1 receptor agonists like liraglutide and liraglutide, change hormone levels in ways that are not supposed to happen, which can hurt hair health.

4. Adverse Effects of Weight Loss Pills

Some weight loss medications also directly cause side effects that can lead to hair loss. For instance, certain medications may impair nutrient absorption in the intestines or decrease appetite, resulting in decreased food consumption and reducing the intake of essential nutrients necessary for maintaining hair health and function.

Different Weight-Lowering Drugs and Their Effect on Hair Loss

1. Phentermine (Adipex-P, Lomaira) and Phentermine-Topiramate (Qsymia)

Phentermine Phentermine is a stimulant that reduces appetite by influencing the central nervous system. It is sometimes used on its own and at a lower dose (particularly for people with certain health conditions) and, when combined with topiramate (as Qsymia), enhances the effects of appetite suppression to help promote weight loss.

Phentermine Hair Loss Causes: Phentermine can cause rapid weight loss, sometimes leading to nutritional deficiencies and triggering telogen effluvium. Further, there are accounts of topiramate-mediated hair thinning that, while rare, the drug may alter mineral and nutrient balance in the body.

2. GLP-1 receptor agonists (liraglutide – Saxenda, Ozempic and Wegovy)

These drugs are similar to the hormone GLP-1, which reduces hunger and caloric intake. They help slow down stomach emptying, decreasing hunger and increasing satiety, ultimately causing weight loss.

Liraglutide and semaglutide suppress the appetite, diminishing nutrient intake significantly. This speedy weight loss could lead to hair loss, resulting in a lack of necessary vitamins and minerals for hair growth. Moreover, the weight loss that these medications cause may bring on telogen effluvium.

3. Orlistat (Alli, Xenical)

Orlistat blocks the amount of fat your intestine absorbs from digested food, helping promote weight loss when combined with a low-calorie diet.

Orlistat, a weight-reduction drug, prevents the absorption of fats in the human body and reduces Vitamins A, D, E, and K, known as hair-conducive vitamins. Low levels of these vitamins can also lead to thinning hair and even hair loss.

4. Naltrexone-Bupropion (Contrave)

This drug combo hits the brain’s reward system and appetite-suppressing pathway, causing you to feel satisfied; the company says it doesn’t have a long-term effect on your feelings of fullness following a meal.

Possible Hair Loss Triggers: While Contrave is infrequently associated with hair loss; telogen effluvium can result from rapid weight loss due to appetite suppression. Finally, an antidepressant, bupropion, has been indicated in a few isolated cases of hair loss, which appears to have no precise mechanism.

5. Setmelanotide (Imcivree)

Setmelanotide helps people with three rare genetic conditions that cause obesity to keep off the weight. It does this by working on the melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R) pathway, which controls hunger and energy use.

What can you do if you lose your hair and you use weight loss drugs?

Optimising Nutritional Status

A balanced diet can help you give your body all the necessary nutrients. Center your diet around lean proteins, green vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats. Focus on nutrients that contribute to good hair health, like:

• Iron, Red meat, Spinach and Lentils. Hair loss is one of the many symptoms of iron deficiency.
• Biotin, a B vitamin that may assist with hair growth, is found in eggs, nuts, and seeds.
• Zinc is found in meat, shellfish, and legumes (such as chickpeas) and is essential for supporting overall hair follicle health.
• Vitamin D, derived from the sun, fatty fish, and added vitamin food, is essential for the hair follicle cycle.
• Keratin, a protein, makes up each strand of hair.