"Becoming vegan has made my hair fall in just a few weeks"

Musician Jessica Drue started donating eggs and dairy a few weeks after the birth of her daughter Kayla-Ria in October 2013.

"Kayla was born very allergic to milk and eggs," says Jessica. "It was so bad that I had to stop eating dairy products because they went into breast milk and made it very sick."

Jessica, 24, who lives in North London, has decided to remove all traces of dairy products from her home. "I was terrified of cross-contamination, so I got rid of it completely and stopped eating it myself. At first, I was still eating meat and fish. "

But then she made the decision to switch to a vegan diet. "More and more people I knew were trying it," she says. "I said to myself:" I do not have any more dairy products, I can stop the meat as well. "

So last April, Jessica stopped eating animal products overnight. "At first I felt better and more energetic. But then, things have changed, "she says.

In a few months, she began to feel lethargic and needed several alarms to get up in the morning. Disturbingly, she noticed that large amounts of her hair were coming out in clumps.

"I've always had thick, healthy hair with bouncy curls," she says. "But a few weeks after becoming a vegan, he started to fall, not in obvious bald areas, but in total enlightenment.

"It came out in large quantities on a brush and I had" moved "throughout the house, leaving me with thinner areas, especially at the front of the head, which made me aware of me. I felt like I looked old, but I'm only 20 years old. "

Protein, keratin, is an essential component of hair – to produce keratin, the body needs amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins found in meat and fish. These can also be found in a vegan diet – sourced from sources such as beans, lentils, chickpeas, and soy-milk and yogurt substitutes – but Jessica admits she's not in the mood. had not done enough to replace animal sources of amino acids.

Since then, she has been diagnosed with the smell of telogen, a type of hair loss characterized by hair loss all over her head, and she is trying to improve her vegan diet.

Although hair loss is generally perceived as a male problem and an "inevitable" part of aging, it is also an important problem for women, with nearly eight million in the UK having experienced some hair loss, according to a 2015 survey by trichologist Philip Kingsley.

More than 80% of Trichologist Steve O'Brien's clients are women. And he claims that the hair conditions that cause baldness are more common in women than in men – while almost all male baldness has a genetic cause, "there are many more reasons why women lose hair" he explains. "Drugs, low iron, poor diet or thyroid disorders, to name a few."

Stress can also be a factor, says Dr. Martin Wade, consulting dermatologist at the London Skin And Hair Clinic. "Although hair loss is not always clearly triggered, with a single form, the telogen effluvium, one often finds a precipitating cause, such as disease."

A diet that is very low in amino acids can cause hair loss or brightening, says Iain Sallis, director of the Institute of Trichologists. Hair loss can occur when a person suddenly eliminates these sources of his diet.

Dr. Wade adds that "in the past 18 months, he has seen many patients with hair loss due to a lack of iron, and often found that the recent adoption of a diet vegan was to blame. He says: "When some of my patients remove the meat proteins from their diet, they do not replace them with enough plant-based protein and, as a result, they lose their hair."

Although the problem of female hair loss is common, it is often ignored or dismissed by doctors, and many do not realize the harmful psychological impact it can have on women, according to Iain Sallis.

"The effects can be devastating," he says. "This deprives women of their trust and yet general practitioners often see it as a frivolous concern."

The concern about the problem – and the fact that it will be permanent – can exacerbate the problem, says Steve O'Brien, based at the London Center of Trichology.

"Stress can precipitate hair loss and then women become even more stressed, they will become bald – then it becomes a vicious circle."

The treatment depends on the cause of the hair loss.

The most common condition is hair loss in women, or androgenetic alopecia, of the same type as men.

Genetic and hormonal factors play a role and it is often linked to other conditions, explains Steve O'Brien. Polycystic ovary syndrome is a common cause. The ovaries enlarge and overlap with bags filled with fluid that prevent normal ovulation.

It is caused by a hormonal imbalance, especially an excess of testosterone, a male hormone.

"The increased amount of male hormones – androgens – is the leading cause of this type of baldness in women," he says.

"Hair loss in women is often treated with the contraceptive pill, with spironolactone [also used to treat acne] or sometimes with finasteride [a male baldness drug], all of which work by blocking androgens, "says Dr. Wade.

"Another option is topical or oral minoxidil, which helps the blood to circulate in the hair follicles.

"With the smell of telogen, we often find that something" shocked "the hair cycle, rather than damaging the follicles themselves, causing more hair to shed. Treatment of the cause usually leads to complete recovery of the hair. "

Steroids are another treatment option – they are used when inflammatory autoimmune diseases are to blame. Here, the immune system mistakenly recognizes hair follicles as a threat and attacks them.

This can lead to alopecia areata, where hair falls in places. He may push back – although the problem may come back.

Amanda Dunseath, 32, a receptionist in Chorley, Lancashire, was diagnosed with alopecia areata six years ago.

"I have hair now," said Amanda, "but I never know when they will fall."

While she is confident and smiling when she welcomes guests to work, she was so conscious of herself that she was confined to the home.

It started one night while she was preparing to go out. A friend was styling me when she told me that I had a bald spot. I thought she was joking, but she took a picture and showed me. "

Amanda had a size patch of a size 10p at the back of her head.

The next morning she saw tufts of her long brown hair on the pillow.

"It was awful," she says. "I burst into tears." Her GP sent her to a dermatologist and ordered her to have blood tests to rule out other conditions, such as thyroid problems that could cause hair loss.

The blood tests came back clear and his dermatologist diagnosed alopecia areata.

"They said that they did not know what had caused it and that there was no cure," she said.

"I had just landed a new job as a maternal assistant, but I was so ashamed of my resignation, staying home and refusing to go out. I felt ugly and awful.

As a rule, alopecia areata is treated with topical or injectable steroids to attenuate the immune response.

Amanda has had some success with steroids. A few weeks after his first shots, hair began to grow back.

"I was absolutely thrilled," she says. "All my friends met men, but I was too scared to go out. My hair loss meant that I would put my life on hold. "

A few months later, encouraged by the return of at least some of her hair, she joined an online dating agency and met 36-year-old Martin Green.

Five years later, Amanda and Martin are engaged.

Dr. Wade stated that anyone suffering from hair loss should consult their GP: "They can refer you to a dermatologist. Getting an accurate diagnosis is the first step. '