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Can Veganism cause hair loss?

  • Writer: Emanuele Bortolotto
    Emanuele Bortolotto
  • Jul 20
  • 7 min read

Updated: Aug 31


I think we can all agree that there are certain universal moments of quiet, domestic horror that unite humanity. Finding a forgotten, liquified vegetable in the back of your fridge. Realizing you’ve been walking around all day with a piece of spinach in your teeth. And, of course, the unique and chilling horror of seeing a clump of your own hair on your pillow in the morning.

My mind immediately flashes to a frantic, internal courtroom drama. In the defendant’s chair sits my diet, looking smug in its green, leafy righteousness. The prosecution, a shadowy figure who looks suspiciously like my concerned aunt, presents Exhibit A: the hairbrush, which now resembles a small, furry woodland creature. The accusation hangs heavy in the air: is my noble, plant-based diet staging a coup on my scalp? Is this the price I pay for caring about animals?

It’s a terrifying thought, one that sends many of us down a late night internet rabbit hole of dubious articles and panicked forum posts. So today, I’m putting on my detective hat to ask the question once and for all: can veganism cause hair loss? Or have we been blaming the wrong culprit all along?


The Core Misunderstanding: It's Not the 'Vegan', It's the 'Diet'


Before we go any further, let me shout this from the rooftops: a well-planned, sensible, whole-food vegan diet will not make your hair fall out. The ethical philosophy of veganism itself has absolutely no beef with your hair follicles. The real villain here is not the absence of meat, but the absence of nutrients. A poorly planned diet of any kind is the true follicular assassin.

We need to make a crucial distinction between two very different archetypes: the "Whole Food Vegan" and the "Junk Food Vegan." The Whole Food Vegan builds their life on a foundation of fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, and seeds. Their diet is a vibrant, bustling city of micronutrients. The Junk Food Vegan, on the other hand, survives on a beige and lonely island of potato crisps, sugary sodas, white pasta, and vegan cookies. While technically vegan, this diet is a nutritional ghost town. You see this archetype all over the internet, a hero in the comment sections but a villain to their own pancreas.

If you fall into the latter category, your body will eventually start making some tough executive decisions to conserve resources. And in the corporate hierarchy of your body's functions, hair growth is, unfortunately, an unpaid intern. It’s the first thing to get cut when budgets are tight.


The Science of a Single Hair: A Tiny, Demanding Factory


To understand why this happens, we need to quickly look at the life of a single hair. It’s not just sitting there; it’s going through a dramatic three-act play.

  1. The Anagen Phase (The Growing Part): This is the long, happy period where your hair is actively growing. It can last for years. Your hair follicle is a busy little factory, churning out keratin to build the hair shaft. This phase requires a ton of energy and resources.

  2. The Catagen Phase (The Weird Transition Part): A brief, awkward phase where the hair follicle shrinks and detaches from its blood supply. It’s like the factory is shutting down for a short holiday.

  3. The Telogen Phase (The Resting & Shedding Part): The hair just chills for a few months before the follicle finally pushes it out to make way for a new hair. This is the natural shedding you see every day.


A nutritional deficiency or a sudden shock to your system (like drastic calorie restriction) can prematurely push a large number of your hairs from the growing phase into the resting phase. A few months later, all those hairs are shed at once. This is a condition called telogen effluvium, and it’s the most common reason for diet-related hair shedding. Your body, in its infinite wisdom, panicked and decided to shut down all the non-essential hair factories at once.


The League of Follicle-Friendly Nutrients


To keep the hair factories open and humming along, you need to provide them with a steady supply of key raw materials. Think of them as a team of essential workers.


Protein: The Master Builder


This is the most obvious one. Your hair is literally made of a protein called keratin. If you don't consume enough protein, your body cannot physically build new hair. It's like trying to build a castle out of thin air. You need the bricks. A common mistake is not getting enough complete protein, which contains all nine essential amino acids. While most plant foods contain some of these, it's important to eat a variety—like combining rice and beans, or enjoying complete protein sources like tofu, tempeh, quinoa, and seitan—to ensure you’re giving your body the full set of blueprints.


Iron: The Oxygen Courier


Iron is the diligent delivery driver of your body, responsible for creating hemoglobin, which carries oxygen in your bloodstream. Your hair follicles need a constant supply of oxygen to function and grow. When iron is low (a condition known as anemia), those deliveries become less frequent. The hair factory slows down production due to a lack of supplies. The key with plant-based iron (non-heme iron) is that it's less easily absorbed than iron from meat. Therefore, you must employ its cheerful sidekick: Vitamin C. Eating iron-rich foods like lentils, spinach, and tofu alongside vitamin C-rich foods like bell peppers, citrus fruits, or strawberries dramatically increases how much iron your body can actually use.


Zinc: The Unsung Hero


Zinc is the quiet, hardworking manager of the hair factory. It plays a crucial role in hair tissue growth and repair and helps keep the oil glands around the follicles working correctly. A zinc deficiency can directly damage the structure of the hair follicle itself. Great vegan sources include pumpkin seeds, lentils, chickpeas, and walnuts. It's worth noting that compounds called phytates in legumes and grains can slightly inhibit zinc absorption, but simple methods like soaking, sprouting, or fermenting your beans and grains can help mitigate this.


Biotin & B12: The Support Staff


Biotin (Vitamin B7) is famously known as the "hair vitamin." It assists in the production of keratin. While true deficiency is rare, ensuring you get enough from sources like sunflower seeds, almonds, and sweet potatoes is always a good idea. B12 is another story. Every vegan must supplement with B12. While its direct link to hair loss is secondary, a severe deficiency can cause anemia, which, as we learned from our friend Iron, is bad news for your hair.


Questions from the Internet: "What are the first signs of hair loss from nutrient deficiency?"


Unlike male pattern baldness, which often starts with a receding hairline or a bald spot, hair loss from a nutritional deficiency typically presents as diffuse thinning. This means you’ll notice a general decrease in hair volume all over your head rather than in one specific spot. You might find your ponytail feels thinner, your scalp is more visible under bright lights, or you’re seeing that alarming amount of hair in your brush or shower drain. It’s a general "lessening" of your hair's former glory.


Questions from the Internet: "How long does it take for hair to grow back after fixing a deficiency?"


I have good news and bad news. The good news is that this type of hair loss is almost always reversible. The bad news is that it requires patience. Remember that three-act hair cycle? Once you correct the nutritional deficiency, the follicles that were prematurely pushed into the "resting" phase need to finish their cycle and shed before the new, healthy hair can start its "growing" phase. This means you might continue to see some shedding for a few months even after you've fixed your diet. It typically takes 3 to 6 months to see a noticeable improvement in new growth and thickness. You have to play the long game.




A Practical Action Plan to Keep Your Hair on Your Head


Feeling ready to fight back? Here is your simple, four-point plan of attack.

  1. Diversify Your Plate. I cannot say this enough. Eat a wide variety of whole plant foods. Every different fruit, vegetable, bean, and grain offers a unique profile of vitamins and minerals. This is your best defense.

  2. Always Play Matchmaker. Pair your iron with Vitamin C. No exceptions. It’s the easiest, most effective way to boost the absorption of this crucial mineral.

  3. Make Protein the Protagonist. Don't treat protein like a side character. Build every single one of your meals around a high-quality protein source. Your hair is begging you.

  4. Supplement Smartly. Take your B12. It's not optional. For other supplements like iron, get a blood test first. Supplementing a nutrient you’re not deficient in is at best a waste of money and at worst, potentially harmful.


The Conclusion: It's About Planning, Not Panic


So, let's return to the courtroom. Is your vegan diet guilty of conspiring against your hair? Absolutely not. The verdict is in, and it's a clear acquittal. A thoughtful, planned, and varied vegan diet provides everything your hair needs to thrive.

The real culprit is nutritional neglect. The power to have healthy hair on a vegan diet isn’t found in a magic pill or an expensive shampoo; it’s found in your grocery cart and your weekly meal plan. You are not a victim of your diet; you are the architect of it.

Now that your hair is secure, you can tackle other great vegan mysteries, like [“Why Does My Tofu Always Taste Like Cardboard?”].


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