Dermatologist warns hair loss as side effect of GLP-1meds
FAMILY. TONIGHT, ONLY ON NEWSCENTER FIVE. MARIA. ALL RIGHT. SEE YOU THEN, JESSICA. THANK YOU. THERE’S AN ALARMING LINK BETWEEN LOSING WEIGHT AND LOSING HAIR, LOSING WEIGHT AND LOSING HAIR. AND DOCTORS SAY THAT THEY ARE GETTING ANXIOUS CALLS FROM PATIENTS TAKING THOSE GLP ONES. SO JOINING US RIGHT NOW IS DOCTOR FARAH MUSTAFA, DERMATOLOGIST AT TUFTS MEDICAL CENTER. SO SO DOCTOR A, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US TODAY. AND B, HAVE YOU HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT THIS SIDE EFFECT BEFORE? YES. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME. I AM RUN A HAIR LOSS CLINIC AT TUFTS MEDICAL CENTER. SO WE SEE HAIR LOSS FROM ALL COMERS. AND WE HAVE BEEN SEEING AN INCREASED NUMBER OF PATIENTS WHO ARE COMING IN ON GLP ONE DRUGS THAT ARE COMING IN FOR RAPID INCREASE IN HAIR SHEDDING AND HAIR LOSS. SO YOU’RE THE EXPERT. HOW DO YOU KNOW IT’S THE GLP ONE AND NOT SOMETHING ELSE? WELL, WE ACTUALLY DON’T HAVE ENOUGH EVIDENCE TO SAY THAT THERE’S A DIRECT TOXIC EFFECT FROM THESE MEDICATIONS. I THINK RATHER, THE PATIENTS ARE LOSING WEIGHT AT A RAPID PACE, WHICH WE KNOW IS A KNOWN TRIGGER FOR TELOGEN EFFLUVIUM OR A TYPE OF HAIR LOSS WHERE THERE’S INCREASED SHEDDING. DOCTOR, LET ME ASK YOU THIS QUESTION, THOUGH. OTHER THAN, YOU KNOW, LOGIC SAYS IF IT IF IT HURTS, DON’T DO IT. LOGIC SAYS IF IT IF IT’S HAPPENING, THEN STOP THE MEDICATION. BUT ARE THERE ANY OTHER TREATMENTS OR ANY TREATMENTS THAT YOU MIGHT RECOMMEND INSTEAD? ABSOLUTELY. I MEAN, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT PATIENTS ARE REACHING THEIR OPTIMAL HEALTH GOALS ON THIS MEDICATION. SO SOME THINGS WE CAN TRULY TRY TO DO TO MITIGATE IS SLOWING DOWN THE RATE OF WEIGHT LOSS. SO WE’RE OFTEN SEEING THIS IN PATIENTS THAT ARE HAVING REALLY DRAMATIC SHIFTS IN THEIR WEIGHT. IT MIGHT BE BECAUSE THEY’RE SO NOW BEING SO RESTRICTED IN TERMS OF THE AMOUNT OF FOOD THAT THEY’RE EATING, THAT THERE’S SOME NUTRITIONAL DEFICIENCY HAPPENING. SO WE CAN CHECK THOSE THINGS. WE CAN TRY AND SLOW DOWN THE DOSAGE OR DECREASE THE DOSAGE ON THE MEDICATION. AND THERE ARE OTHER MEDICATIONS WE OFFER FOR HAIR LOSS AND HAIR SHEDDING IN GENERAL, SUCH AS TOPICAL MINOXIDIL AND SOMETIMES ORAL MINOXIDIL. THAT WILL HELP TRY AND COMBAT THIS TYPE OF INCREASED HAIR SHEDDING FROM THE FROM THE RAPID WEIGHT LOSS. SO BOTTOM LINE, DOCTOR, IF SOMEONE’S CONCERNED ABOUT THIS, WHAT SHOULD THEY DO? YES. SO DEFINITELY TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR ABOUT IT. THERE ARE THINGS IF YOU’RE REACHING A GOAL WEIGHT THEN THEN IT WOULD PROBABLY BE AN APPROPRIATE TIME TO DECREASE THE DOSE. AND THAT CAN DEFINITELY HELP GET A, YOU KNOW, CHECK SOME BASIC BLOOD WORK TO MAKE SURE YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE MICRONUTRIENTS ARE DOING OKAY. VITAMIN D LEVELS, IRON LEVELS. THESE ARE THINGS THAT CAN TEND TO CONTRIBUTE TO HAIR SHEDDING, PARTICULARLY IF SOMEONE IS TAKING IN A LOT LESS FOOD THAN THEY WERE PREVIOUSLY. AND THEN SEEING A BOARD CERTIFIED DERMATOLOGIST HAVING US CHECK OUT YOUR SCALP AND SEEING IF THERE’S ANYTHING ELSE THAT’S CONTRIBUTING AND POTENTIALLY THAT WE CAN ADDRESS IN THE CLINIC, EITHER WITH A TOPICAL OVER THE COUNTER MEDICATION OR PRESCRIPTION MEDICATION THAT CAN HELP GET YOU THROUGH THAT SHEDDING EVENT. ALL RIGHT, DOCTOR MUSTAFA, WE EN
Dermatologist warns hair loss as side effect of GLP-1meds
Updated: 4:57 PM EST Nov 19, 2025
Dermatologists say patients taking GLP-1 weight-loss drugs have reported hair loss. Dr. Farah Moustafa of Tufts Medical Center discusses causes and options.
Dermatologists say patients taking GLP-1 weight-loss drugs have reported hair loss. Dr. Farah Moustafa of Tufts Medical Center discusses causes and options.