Crash Diet and Female Hair Loss

In the passed 3 weeks my hair has been falling out. I know it is from crash dieting. Last week I started eating better (more calories) and taking vitimins. How long is my hair going to continue to fall out in large quantities. I am 46 years old, female. I have always had beautiful thick hair. It is at least 50% thinner now than it was three weeks ago. Please help me with this.

Thank you very much

A crash diet, as you have found out the hard way, is unhealthy. It can lead to malnutrition and stress your body in many ways — in your case, your hair fell out. Unfortunately, such stress can set off a cascade of events that may be hard to reverse. If you were genetically predisposed to hair loss, the stress of the crash diet may have kicked started your hair loss. If this is the case, this is hard to reverse. The only thing you can do is get yourself on a balanced diet and even consider getting a regular physical exam by your doctor. I cannot say if your hair will grow back but you will know in about 6 months or so. Only time can tell.