I lost three stone on Mounjaro and got down to a perfect size 10… but the jabs made my hair fall out and left me with bald patches. Here’s exactly how I overcame the side-effect and now look better than ever: NADINE DORRIES

As the Christmas party invitations begin to line up on the mantelpiece, I find myself looking forward to the festivities in a way that is most unexpected. I had imagined I’d be dreading the rigmarole of getting dressed up for a whirl of social gatherings, wanting to hide away from the world. But instead, I find myself aglow with anticipation and, dare I say it, renewed self-confidence.

It has probably been ten long years since I’ve been able to dress up in clothes which made me feel proud. I’ve recently lost almost three stone on Mounjaro and it has changed my life. But there is no garment to be bought, no amount of perfect size 10 dresses that can make you feel glamorous when you’ve suffered dramatic hair loss as a result of said dramatic weight loss.

As any woman knows, hair is very much bound up with our sense of self and femininity. When it dwindles, it can leave you feeling distressed and, if you’re anything like me, crying in the shower every morning.

I’m 68, Liverpool Irish; we are proud. My diminishing locks made me feel anything but. I’m the first to admit, I am a tad vain and my appearance matters to me. So the last thing I wanted was to socialise and risk others noticing the bald patches.

Another unwelcome surprise was just how much effort, time, money and self-discipline is required to make any noticeable impact on your follicles. But you can – and will – if you know what you’re doing.

In recent months, after dogged research and visits to a trichologist, I have managed not only to stop the strands falling from my scalp but encourage impressive regrowth, too.

As a result, I can now head out to parties minus the clip-in hair extensions – and embrace the festive season full throttle.

It was in the depths of January while watching TV and absent-mindedly running my fingers through my hair that I first felt an entire clump come away in my fingers. I almost screamed in shock and jumped up to check what was happening in the mirror above the fireplace. As I gently tugged at my locks, more strands fell away.

When I stood in the shower the following morning, I felt yet more hair slide from my scalp and stick to my body like a chiffon veil which repulsed me.

I had been through a phase of hair loss in the past when I was pre-menopausal and had been under a great deal of stress. It had, frankly, been terrifying. When your hair spontaneously decides to part company with your follicle beds, what guarantees do you have that it will ever grow back again?

We have all met women who sadly find themselves with incredibly thin hair or, worse, balding. Panicked, I convinced myself I would be partly bald for ever. I felt as though it had aged me by ten years and that the first thing anyone would notice about me would be my shiny pink scalp.

It was most noticeable on the crown of my head and the front parting. I could feel the cold on my head far more than usual.

Embarrassed, I invested in a beanie and tried hair extensions, too. (Big mistake: they were blindingly obvious and, if anything, probably made the situation worse.)

Meanwhile, excuse the pun, but I guessed the root cause almost immediately. I wasn’t under undue stress but I had embarked on Mounjaro injections in June 2024 and had been on the drug for months. I had lost the weight rapidly.

You have zero appetite or desire for food on Mounjaro and zero interest in a healthy diet. I ate out of necessity, and I ate whatever was convenient. A packet of crisps, a biscuit, half a bar of chocolate… what did it matter? I was still losing weight.

It appears now, however, that it did matter, a great deal. Truly, I should have known better.

A former nurse, I had ensured I checked out every possible side effect before injecting myself with Mounjaro for the first time.

As well as scouring the websites of all the major prescribers, I carefully read the NHS guidance on the drugs. So I wasn’t surprised when I experienced nausea, heartburn, diarrhoea and constipation. At one point I was so fatigued I fainted for the first time in my life and injured my knee from falling to the ground. It still bothers me to this day.

The drug companies don’t list hair loss as a side effect. It would seem that even though weight-loss drugs do not directly cause hair loss, the rapid reduction in weight can result in a temporary loss of hair.

The word temporary seemed debatable at first. I tried vitamins and a healthier diet and, although I had managed to halt the balding, that appeared to be all. Hair grows at half an inch per month so, after a couple of months, I thought I would have seen a bit of a fuzz around the hair line, felt patches of stubble… but there was nothing.

Dismayed, I sought the help of a local trichologist, Sally-Ann Traver at The Cotswold Trichology Centre. She told me: ‘I have had ladies come into clinic who’d been eating 5,000 calories a day before they started on the weight-loss jabs and then they were eating 500. They had lost as much as five stone. That’s a big shock to the system and hair loss is an established indicator that the body is under stress or suffering from inadequate nutrition.’

Though my weight loss had been not been in that league – at just over 5ft, I had gone up to 10st 10lbs and sought to lose two stone on account of discovering I was pre-diabetic, had fatty liver disease and high cholesterol – my body had clearly suffered a similar shock to the system.

And I had thin, fine hair like my father to start with. A cruel trick of hereditary genetics considering my mother, who’s almost 90, has a head of hair so thick she needs a weekly visit from a hairdresser.

I was concerned that the longer my hair follicles lay dormant, the more reluctant they would be to spring back into life. I could feel it was impacting on my confidence and it made me feel down.

So, over the next couple months, I doubled down on my efforts. And it began to pay off.

I can now see the regrowth like a fuzzy halo around my scalp and, when I run my fingers through my hair, I’m no longer terrified at what will come out.

I reckon I will see the full benefits of everything I’m doing in another six months, but already the progress has been enough to restore my spirits.

So how did I do it? Here are my top tips to regain your luscious locks post-weight loss…

NUTRITION

I began with my diet. I googled the best foods to encourage hair growth and everything I read focused on increasing my vitamin B intake, which is essential for hair growth, as is iron, which carries oxygen to your hair cells, helping them to grow and repair, and Biotin, which helps with keratin production.

I’m not a big meat eater so I made Friday night steak night. Not cheap, but the best way to get the iron I needed. I also added more eggs and green leafy vegetables such as cavolo nero kale and made the occasional green smoothie. I also avoided foods high in sugar, but didn’t stop my nightly intake of dark chocolate. After all, it contains not only fibre but iron, minerals and antioxidants, too. What is life without chocolate anyway?

SUPPLEMENTS

Next I started taking the Ancient and Brave collagen supplement, which costs around £25 per month. I have no cast iron proof if this has helped but everyone, including Davina McCall, says it does. Consistency appears to be key so I pop a dose into my coffee every morning.

I’ve been through a number of different supplements, from the specialist menopausal vitamins, Centred, to vitamins in a tonic drink. I now take B vitamins and Biotin like clockwork, every single day.

My GP told me I was taking too low a dose of my HRT oestrogen gel which, as far as I’m concerned, is the elixir of femininity and youth, so I upped it from three pumps a day to four. As well as boosting my hair, I noticed that I started sleeping better, too . 

SHAMPOOS

A friend put me on to the Philip Kingsley haircare density range, which I checked out in Boots in Battersea Power Station, and you can buy online.

I looked it up on the internet and the reviews were extremely positive. I bought the shampoo and conditioner (about £30 each) and the nighttime scalp drops (about £50) which I rubbed in every night before bed. I can’t stress enough the importance of consistency. It’s no use using one bottle of shampoo and hoping that’s it – it’s a long road.

ROSEMARY OIL

I write my regular Daily Mail column on a Monday, which means, apart from a dog walk, I don’t set foot outdoors all day. I rub the Rosemary oil into my scalp in the morning and through to the ends, put on a beanie and then shampoo it out after I’ve filed my copy late afternoon. I actually swear by this routine. After just three weeks, I could feel the difference in the condition and thickness of my hair.

HIGHLIGHTS

My hair is a platinum white, and I haven’t had it coloured for years. It was Sally-Ann who told me that having highlights would actually help thicken the hair strands. So I had some to match the colour of my hair, and she was right.

THE GAME CHANGER

The real game changer for me has been the infra-red Theradome Pro LH80 laser hair cap that Sally-Ann loaned me (it would have cost me £900 to buy). It uses state-of-the art laser phototherapy to stimulate the base of the hair follicles at a cellular level. It not only stops hair loss, but it thickens the hair follicles and promotes new growth.

It’s warm, it’s comfortable and, above all, it’s easy to use. All you have to do is place it on your head, press the button and carry on with whatever you were doing. I use it for 20 minutes every other night. It feels as though everything else I am doing is being turbo-boosted by this infra-red cap. It’s as if I can hear the hair growing.

It’s not cheap, but I’ve been using it for three months and am amazed at the regrowth.

I’ll report back in six months when hopefully my hair will be looking better than ever. 

www.theradomeforhairloss.co.uk