Whether you started a vegan diet to lose a few pounds or because you believe in the ethics behind it, losing your hair was not a part of the plan. Hair loss is terrible, especially when you first notice that your hair is thinning or falling out. Your first thought might be that it's your diet causing hair fall but before you feel defeated and go back to your old diet, let's explore vegan hair loss and how you can fix it while sticking to your new diet.

Any restrictive diet can cause hair loss if you ignore your nutrient intake. A vegan diet is full of whole foods, but with growing numbers of plant-based consumers, companies are increasing the production of vegan foods. This means more cookies, faux meats, ice cream, chips, and other treats – all made without animal byproducts. While these do taste good, if you are not finding a balance in your nutrition, you might start seeing some hair loss.

What you eat directly impacts your health, so if you are experiencing vegan hair loss it might be that you are not getting adequate nutrition which can wreak havoc on your hormones and body causing hair loss.

The potential causes of hair loss on a vegan diet include:

• Iron deficiency
• Nutrition imbalance
• Hormonal imbalance

As mentioned above, on a vegan diet you completely cut out all animal products including dairy, meat, and honey. While you can still get protein and calcium from plant foods, if you are not tracking your nutrition you might be coming up short.

Your food can be divided into micro and macro nutrients. Your macronutrients are carbs, fats, and proteins. While your micronutrients are divided into minerals, microminerals, and both water and fat soluble vitamins. Your body needs a balance of both macronutrients and micronutrients in order to stay healthy. If you are not getting the right foods in your diet you will experience hormonal issues, nutrient deficiencies, and eventually hair loss.

When enjoying a vegan diet, here are the nutrients you need to add to your plant-based plate to avoid vegan hair loss:

• Protein
• Calcium
• Zinc
• Iron
• Omega-3 fats
• B12
• Vitamin D

If you are not being mindful of these nutrients then you might start to experience nutrient deficiencies or hormonal issues which in turn can cause vegan hair loss

Not eating meat will not make your hair fall out as long as you are watching your intake of protein, B12, and iron. You can get the proper nutrition on a vegetarian or vegan diet, you just need to be mindful of what you are eating.

Yes, some supplementation on a vegan diet can be beneficial for your health. Depending on how you eat, adding in supplementation for iron, vitamin D, B12, iodine, omega-3, and zinc can be helpful. If you are not sure whether or not you need to supplement, try tracking your food intake for a few weeks. Using calorie tracking apps, like MyFitnessPal, is a great way to see what micronutrients you might need some added support with.

In order to support healthy hair on a vegan diet, you should pay close attention to what you eat and also grab a quality multivitamin if necessary. If you prefer to get all of your nutrition from your diet, you can focus on certain foods to ensure you are getting the right nutrition.

Protein: Add plenty of beans, legumes, tofu, and peas. It is actually fairly easy to get protein on a vegan diet as long as you consume these foods. You can also grab a vegan protein powder as well.

Calcium: To up your calcium intake add some broccoli, cabbage, fortified cereals, and soy foods to your plate.

Zinc: For zinc intake, grab tasty nuts, seeds, beans, oatmeal, tofu, and spinach.

Iron: Iron can be a little tougher to find, but if you eat plenty of blackstrap molasses, lentils, tofu, and tempeh you are well on your way to hitting the right iron numbers.

Omega-3 Fats: To increase your omega-3 fatty acid intake try adding hemp seeds, flaxseeds, chia seeds, and brussel sprouts to your diet.  

B12: B12 can be replaced with a supplement or by increasing your intake of mushrooms, tempeh, nutritional yeast, and fortified cereals.

Vitamin D: If you need more vitamin D try adding in orange juice, plant milk, and get outside for some extra sun time.

The best foods for vegan hair growth are tofu, beans, greens, nuts, seeds, lentils, and plant milks.

If you are already experiencing hair loss, getting the right nutrition is the first way you should start focusing on hair growth. Once you have ensured that you are getting the proper vitamins and minerals, you can try out vegan hair growth remedies to restore your hair. There are plenty of hair growth remedies out there, but not all of them are vegan. This guide will help you find the right hair growth therapies for your vegan lifestyle.

Getting a hair growth supplement is a great way to boost your nutrient intake and supply your body with the right vitamins and herbs necessary for hair restoration. There are thousands of supplements out there, but not all of them are vegan. Knowing where the vitamins and minerals are sourced, will help you determine the best vegan hair growth supplement to buy. These days, if a supplement is vegan friendly it will most likely let you know on the bottles label, but some animal products might be hiding in your vitamins:

• Fillers
• Animal-sourced B12
• Gelatin
• Collagen
• Hyaluronic acid

So now you know what to look out for in your supplements, but what nutrients do you need in your hair growth supplement for the best results? Well, typically you should look for a hair growth vitamin that includes vitamin C, vitamin A, iron, zinc, B vitamins, and biotin.

Yes, biotin is vegan but only if you source your biotin through plant-based foods or through a vegan supplement.

Vegan hair growth shampoos are a great way to ensure the health of your scalp and existing hair and there are plenty of cruelty-free brands available. Hair growth shampoo can help improve hair health, block DHT, and strengthen weak strands. If you would like to try a vegan hair growth shampoo, just look for bottles with the cruelty-free label. This means they do not use animal-based ingredients and that they do not test on animals.

Low-level laser therapy or LLLT is a natural hair growth therapy that uses laser light to regenerate old hair cells and encourage hair growth. This hair growth method works great alongside a healthy lifestyle and you can even use hair growth supplements and shampoos, while enjoying the benefits of laser cap hair growth.

Restoring vegan hair loss can be a struggle, but it doesn't have to be. A well-planned vegan diet full of healthy foods will help you restore hair loss along with the added support of supplements and hair growth therapies like LLLT.