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Change In Hair Texture

slacroix1

By slacroix1
in Coping with Celiac Disease

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slacroix1 Newbie
slacroix1
Posted

Since being gluten free 1 year now, I've noticed that my silky smooth hair immediately became very course about a month after following the diet. I keep cutting it and notice that the more I cut it the worse it gets. My bangs are just straight and "burnt" looking. In fact, innitially I thought I must have burned it opening the oven or something. My thyroid is fine, all vit b's, iron, zinc, are good. I switched to a gluten free shampoo & conditioner. I'm thinking maybe I need a protein drink, but why, never needed one before? Just recently I found out that I was still testing positive for celiac (meaning that I must be getting traces of gluten here and there). However, if it is due to the having gluten, how come my hair was fine before I started the diet. I guess I'm just frustrated b/c I've been following this diet and doing everything I thought was right and my numbers are not "normal". I'm hoping someone can offer some words of wisdom. thanks!

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Juliebove Rising Star
Juliebove
Posted

My daughter went from having thin, stick straight, dry hair to having the new hair (since changing her diet) come in thick and curly. That's weird. Now she has two kinds of hair. Makes it hard to style.

MollyBeth Contributor
MollyBeth
Posted

Hey Juliebove...If your daughter is close to the age of puberty at all this could be one of the reasons she has two different hair types. I was born and had blonde curly hair...then it was brown and straight by the age of five...then when I got into Jr. High and started going through puberty it started turning blonde again and it got very curly in the front and was still straight in the back. By the time I was 16 I had a full head of extremely curly hair.

Since going on the diet the only change I'venoticed is that my hair is growing faster...I'm guessing because my body is getting the nutrients it needs now.

ShayFL Enthusiast
ShayFL
Posted

My thryoid levels affect my hair texture. Low thyroid equals kinky course patches.

Before you decide your thyroid is "fine" read here:

www.stopthethyroidmadness.com

Get a copy of your Thyroid labs. If they didnt test TSH, FREE T-4, FREE T-3 and both antibodies, you didnt get adequate thyroid tests.

I was told I was "fine" for 12 years when I was very hypothyroid. When I finally got the proper treatment, the world became new again. :)

Ms. Skinny Chic Explorer
Ms. Skinny Chic
Posted
Since being gluten free 1 year now, I've noticed that my silky smooth hair immediately became very course about a month after following the diet. I keep cutting it and notice that the more I cut it the worse it gets. My bangs are just straight and "burnt" looking. In fact, innitially I thought I must have burned it opening the oven or something. My thyroid is fine, all vit b's, iron, zinc, are good. I switched to a gluten free shampoo & conditioner. I'm thinking maybe I need a protein drink, but why, never needed one before? Just recently I found out that I was still testing positive for celiac (meaning that I must be getting traces of gluten here and there). However, if it is due to the having gluten, how come my hair was fine before I started the diet. I guess I'm just frustrated b/c I've been following this diet and doing everything I thought was right and my numbers are not "normal". I'm hoping someone can offer some words of wisdom. thanks!

My hair has changed too and not for the better..

It was always very thin and fine.. Now, it is thick, dull and unruly..

The whole situation has turned into a real nightmare...

I really was wondering what happened to my hair.. Now, I know... this diet..

I am interested in finding out some new ways to manage my hair too...

  • 3 months later...
raisin Enthusiast
raisin
Posted

If you mean, by abnormal numbers, that your still scoring high on the anti-gluten-blood things.. You aren't doing the diet right for you. What is right for someone else, may not be enough for you. Have you explored other potential allergies? (would not effect your gluten scores, but could effect your hair) cross-contamination either directly in what you buy, or in your home? (many people have to de-gluten their home, and replace all of their pans, toaster, etc.)

I had to remove soy and potatoes from my diet and person care items before my hair would behave, and I found out that gluten was not removed from my life simply by buying "gluten free" labeled foods. I had to switch to Dedicated Line gluten-free foods, and gluten-free non-food items. I also found changing my shampoo to something very mild and hypoallergenic (not just gluten-free) helped my hair.

  • 1 month later...
r0ckah0l1c Apprentice
r0ckah0l1c
Posted

I find that its not so much the hair, but how it reacts to shampoos and conditioners...it's difficult to find the right balance it either seems too dry or too greasy and I have to add 2 different types of product to make my hair look some what decent. I have even had to begin getting hair trims every 4 weeks just to maintain it =/ 20$ a haircut is a pain every 4 weeks

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  • 1 month later...
jennalin Newbie
jennalin
Posted

Hi - I am new to this forum and am so relieved to have found it! To be able to read that I am not going crazy with my hair is such a relief! I have always felt that my hair was my crowning glory and would get so many compliments on it... It was always shiny and silky - thin, but there was so much of it. Where as I used to have to struggle to get a rubberband around it twice I now have to do it four times. The texture of my hair is something out of this world. It is thick, wirey, coarse. Some pieces just feel like they have been coated in cheap hairspray forever (does that make sense?). Randomly I have a some very curly pieces and other pieces so stick straight I can't even curl them. Myhair has always been a golden-y brown and now I have red pieces and jet black pieces! UGH! I haven't blown it dry or curled it in two weeks because it already feels so brittle. My hair comes half way down my chest and yet everywhere there are pieces only inches long. Even the end has no set length cause it is all split and broken! Can you tell I am sooo distraught over this? :) Sorry to whine so much. I am at my whits end though. Or should I say I am at my split ends (that was a bad joke! haahaa)

I was diagnosed with Celiacs at the beginning of January and went Gluten Free then although have had about 3 slips that I know of. However, It is becoming more and more clear to me that I really need to be more carefully. I do not get a reaction from eating gluten so I don't know if what I am eating is bad for me and I should avoid it in the future... I almost wish I did (no, not really.) But for example, I have been eating marshmallows all these months because I had read that they are OK and I read the ingredient list and everything was fine. I always buy the Wegmans brand. But just last week for the first time I notice there was no "G" on the front of the bag, which they label for all their gluten free foods with. So great! I wrote them and they got right back to me and said that due to cross contamination the manufacturer wasn't confident saying it is gluten-free. I haven't been checking everything that is not Dedicated and labeled gluten-free. I just read the ingredients but I don't call and ask about cross contamination. Should I be?

My Doctor said it takes about 4-6 months for hair damage (like from malnutrition) to catch up with you. This would be month six on the diet but shouldn't it be better? Even with a tiny bit of gluten at least I am not sick like I was when I was losing weight drastically and not eating anything... I don't know what I am looking for... a magic cure? Has anyone found anything that has helped. I take a gluten free multi-vitamin and vitamin D supplement and have had all my levels checked. I also use Dove shampoo and conditioner. It is just really frustrating and is a self-confidence killer.

Any suggestions - thanks just for letting me get it all out...

Jenna, Buffalo, NY

  • 3 weeks later...
Serversymptoms Contributor
Serversymptoms
Posted

Oh wow, I didn't know this was popular with celiacs. I know I losted my good hair texture as I got older and always question what happen to it, and would see the hairtexture go on and off throughout middle school. This is also the period I know my health started to turn bad. So now after going on a gluten free diet ( I haven't been gluten free for a full month yet, I keep going on and off... starting today I will at least try to stay away from gluten for a month and see what improvements are done) my normal hair texture is starting to grow back, what could this be? Is it likely I'm celiac ( have symtoms related to celiac).

17 years

I read hair texture can change through menopause, is there a stage males hairtexture may change?

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    • SamAlvi
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      By SamAlvi · Posted

      Thanks again for the detailed explanation. Just to clarify, I actually did have my initial tests done while I was still consuming gluten. I stopped eating gluten only after those tests were completed, and it has now been about 70 days since I went gluten-free. I understand the limitations around diagnosing NCGS and the importance of antibody testing and biopsy for celiac disease. Unfortunately, where I live, access to comprehensive testing (including total IgA and endoscopy with biopsy) is limited, which makes things more complicated. Your explanation about small-bowel damage, nutrient absorption, and iron-deficiency anemia still aligns closely with my history, and it’s been very helpful in understanding what may be going on. I don't wanna get Endoscopy and I can't start eating Gluten again because it's hurt really with severe diarrhea.  I appreciate you taking the time to share such detailed and informative guidance. Thank you so much for this detailed and thoughtful response. I really appreciate you pointing out the relationship between anemia and antibody patterns, and how the high DGP IgG still supports celiac disease in my case. A gluten challenge isn’t something I feel safe attempting due to how severe my reactions were, so your suggestion about genetic testing makes a lot of sense. I’ll look into whether HLA testing is available where I live and discuss it with my doctor. I also appreciate you mentioning gastrointestinal beriberi and thiamine deficiency. This isn’t something any of my doctors have discussed with me, and given my symptoms and nutritional history, it’s definitely worth raising with them. I’ll also ask about correcting deficiencies more comprehensively, including B vitamins alongside iron. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and taking the time to help. I’ll update the forum as I make progress.
    • knitty kitty
      Son's legs shaking

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    • lizzie42
      Son's legs shaking

      By lizzie42 · Posted

      Neither of them were anemic 6 months after the Celiac diagnosis. His other vitamin levels (d, B12) were never low. My daughters levels were normal after the first 6 months. Is the thiamine test just called thiamine? 
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      Son's legs shaking

      By knitty kitty · Posted

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    • lizzie42
      Son's legs shaking

      By lizzie42 · Posted

      Thank you! That's helpful. My kids eat very little processed food. Tons of fruit, vegetables, cheese, eggs and occasional red meat. We do a lot of rice and bean bowls, stir fry, etc.  Do you think with all the fruits and vegetables they need a vitamin supplement? I feel like their diet is pretty healthy and balanced with very limited processed food. The only processed food they eat regularly is a bowl of Cheerios here and there.  Could shaking legs be a symptom of just a one-time gluten exposure? I guess there's no way to know for sure if they're getting absolutely zero exposure because they do go to school a couple times a week. We do homeschool but my son does a shared school 2x a week and my daughter does a morning Pre-K 3 x a week.  At home our entire house is strictly gluten free and it is extremely rare for us to eat out. If we eat at someone else's house I usually just bring their food. When we have play dates we bring all the snacks, etc. I try to be really careful since they're still growing. They also, of course, catch kids viruses all the time so I  want to make sure I know whether they're just sick or they've had gluten. It can be pretty confusing when they're pretty young to even be explaining their symptoms! 
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