Eating disorder and hair regrowth

**lucid** · May 21st, 2018, 07:03 PM

Yes, I was underweight (12% body fat) and lost tons of hair. It takes a long time to regrow... I didn't see much regrowth until after a year - it will take time.

Now it's been 2.5 years, and the longest regrowth is armpit length, but most is around shoulder length. The rest of my hair is tailbone length.

Here you can see my regrowth

**winnifred17** · May 27th, 2018, 10:14 AM

Originally Posted by Beckstar

It's a slow climb back because the rest of your body will get the extra nutrients first. I've lost a fair amount of hair due to disordered eating history. It'll come back. Mine did.

Thanks for your response. How long did it take for yours to grow back? Was each individual strand thinner and then slowly got thick again?

**winnifred17** · May 27th, 2018, 10:17 AM

Originally Posted by lucid

Yes, I was underweight (12% body fat) and lost tons of hair. It takes a long time to regrow... I didn't see much regrowth until after a year - it will take time.

Now it's been 2.5 years, and the longest regrowth is armpit length, but most is around shoulder length. The rest of my hair is tailbone length.

Here you can see my regrowth

Is your hair naturally fine or did it get thinner with being underweight? It looks great!!

**winnifred17** · May 27th, 2018, 10:21 AM

Originally Posted by Otempura

Hey girl I've been there and you have hope, I promise. A few years ago I got very stressed out (worked at a bank) and was starving myself... Searched out Pro-Ana on the internet, drank black coffee to keep the hunger pangs at bay, I burned anywhere from 500-800 calories a day, and restricted my calories heavily (started at 1500, tightened up to 1200... then ended up eating anwhere from 500-600 calories a day, all while calculating how many calories I burned as closely as possible....) Took 3 different kinds of diet pills...

Dropped from 230+ down to 130 in a little over 5 months.

Lots of stress, plus malnutrition and the damage from the diet pills was making my hair fall out. It was pretty discoraging. What's worse was I was bleaching my hair at the same time, to get it to a light orange-ish color.

For me I ended up dying it back to my original color and chopping it off to above ear length (I actually got a bob...) Biotin plus food in general (ANY food is better than none) helped the hair start to grow back and thicken up. I struggled a bit (and still do struggle) with binge eating as a result of the mental effects of the anorexia (bit complicated that) but if you get the nutrients back in your diet then the hair on your head will start to improve drastically. Unfortnuately the eyebrows may take a bit longer :/

Baby your hair, eat nutrient rich foods and trust me, it'll help. You may have to cut though because those kinds of big restrictions will put a toll on any hair you have grown. It really depends on how badly the lack of food effected the health of your hair. Also don't stress! You don't need to worry about the hair never growing; it will grow, trust me, it just may take time.

(sorry for the rant, I think this is the most I've ever written on this website.)

Thanks so much for your support. Is your hair now back to the state it was in before you went through that period of not eating well? Did each individual strand become thin and then thicken up again once you had better nutrition?

**winnifred17** · May 27th, 2018, 10:31 AM

Originally Posted by lapushka

Not to disappoint you, but it takes *years*. I was once on the brink of anorexia, for about 6 months that I wasn't eating right. I lost 1/3 of my hair thickness, and the last 3 months I lost my period. It's when my mom noticed (because I bled heavily, she always noticed in the laundry). She then told me to either shape up or she would not hesitate taking me to the doctor. I shaped up, but the hair had to grow back in (it's like starting from a shaved head with the hair that has to grow back), and it took a few years for that hair to be at around shoulder or a little past.

It's not like snapping your fingers and your hair is "back". That is not how it goes. AND your body has to recover too; something that also doesn't happen overnight.

I'm happy for you that your hair grew back. Did each strand become thin and then thicken up again with better nutrition or did you simply lose hair strands?

**lucid** · May 27th, 2018, 10:49 AM

Originally Posted by winnifred17

Is your hair naturally fine or did it get thinner with being underweight? It looks great!!

My hair is naturally fine (individual strand thickness) and pretty thin (below average thickness). My hair didn't get finer when I was underweight (at least not noticeably), but it got thinner - especially around the hairline and sides (at least it was more noticeable there).

It got so thin there that people started commenting about it... it looks normal again now, so it the fullness came back. Of course it takes years for the thickness to travel down (the rest of my hair is at tailbone), but it's not the end of the world.

Hairloss was extremely stressful though, it's a horrible thing to experience...

**lapushka** · May 27th, 2018, 10:52 AM

Originally Posted by winnifred17

I'm happy for you that your hair grew back. Did each strand become thin and then thicken up again with better nutrition or did you simply lose hair strands?

No. You seem to think the strands go thin for some reason. They didn't for me. I just lost hair. Hair strands can't get thinner, or they grow out thinner at the root area. Hair is pretty much dead so the hair you have isn't going to change.

**winnifred17** · May 27th, 2018, 10:58 AM

Originally Posted by lapushka

No. You seem to think the strands go thin for some reason. They didn't for me. I just lost hair. Hair strands can't get thinner, or they grow out thinner at the root area. Hair is pretty much dead so the hair you have isn't going to change.

Yes sorry! Not being clear. I meant the hair as it grows out might be able to grow out thicker. I guess I'm just hoping for the best at this point.

**lucid** · May 27th, 2018, 11:41 AM

Originally Posted by winnifred17

Yes sorry! Not being clear. I meant the hair as it grows out might be able to grow out thicker. I guess I'm just hoping for the best at this point.

I only have anecdotal evidence for this, but my understanding is that if you are malnourished and/or underweight for a prolonged period of time, you can (and most likely will) experience hairloss, and you may experience each strand getting thinner as well (the new part that grows from your scalp, not the already grown out strands).

When you become healthy again, the hair will regain overall thickness and strand thickness (the stands will have to regrow from the scalp, so it will take time). It seems like the most severe cases aren't able to regain 100% of the thickness, but most will.

**lapushka** · May 27th, 2018, 01:31 PM

Originally Posted by winnifred17

Yes sorry! Not being clear. I meant the hair as it grows out might be able to grow out thicker. I guess I'm just hoping for the best at this point.

Totally understandable, and I'm sorry I didn't understand correctly.

I hope you're doing OK!

I lost about 1/3 of my hair, and I wasn't even anorexic, I was borderline for 6 months, lost my period the last 3 months, so it was getting dire. And that was enough to wreak such havoc. So imagine if it is full-blown and you aren't nourished properly. I wish you all the best in your recovery.

And BTW, my hair is iii now and 4.25 inches circumference, that's quite a bit of thickness. It all grew in just fine when I was fine again!