Mounjaro almost balded me…but thanks to a strict five-step hair routine it’s finally growing back
A Darlington woman who shed four stone on Mounjaro has revealed she paid a hefty price for the slimmed frame – she lost 50 per cent of her hair.
Dara Smith, 34, used the ‘King Kong’ injections between January and December last year, and noticed clumps falling out after upping her dose to 12mg – the second highest strength.
‘It would be all over my clothes and on my bedding, it just wouldn’t stop,’ said the content creator.
The problem was most obvious in the shower, or while brushing her hair, she added.
‘I was really upset when I realised that Mounjaro was the cause of my hair loss, as I’d had such a positive journey with the jab until that point.
‘It was really the last thing I expected to happen as I’d never heard anyone talking about it back then.’
Studies show that patients who use the injections, known as GLP-1 agonists, face 40-70 per cent risk of hair loss.
Debra Smith had far thicker hair before she began using Mounjaro at the start of last year
Studies show that the blockbuster jabs can increase the risk of hair loss by up to 70 per cent
It’s thought that the reduced intake of nutrients that are vital for hair growth, such as protein, iron and zinc, can trigger the problem.
Hair shedding often becomes noticeable a few months after medication is first taken, so it can seem disconnected from starting the drugs.
It’s thought that around 1.6 million Britons use weight loss injections like Mounjaro, Ozempic and Wegovy. The majority of patients obtain private prescriptions.
Ms Smith began taking Mounjaro in January 2025, at a weight of roughly 13 stone.
She’d tried countless times to eat healthier but always fell back into making ‘wrong choices’ and struggled to stick to a regular exercise routine.
‘I wasn’t very educated on what a proper diet entailed, and I had a million excuses as to why I couldn’t stick to things,’ she said.
After hearing her work colleagues discussing Mounjaro, she decided to look into weight loss injections herself and ordered a 2.5mg dose from an online pharmacy.
She lost 10 pounds in the first week.
‘After 25 hours my food noises completely stopped,’ she recalled.
‘I didn’t really have any side effects except a headache every now and then,’
Like many patients, she gradually increased the dosage until she was on 12 mg of the drug.
By August 2025, she had lost three stone and five pounds, bringing her down nine-and-a-half stone.
The shedding was most obvious when brushing her hair or in the shower, Ms Smith said
It wasn’t until Ms Smith had a three week pause from the medication that her hair grew again
It was around this time she noticed the thinning – and later shedding – of her hair.
Suspecting that her protein intake could be behind the problem, she began drinking protein shakes and eating high-protein bars with the aim of consuming 100g of the nutrient per day.
Official guidance states that adult women need around 45g of protein per day, on average.
Ms Smith began using rosemary oil and pumpkin seed extract – and taking collagen and biotin – but her hair loss continued.
‘The damage was done, it was too late,’ she said. ‘Nothing I did helped.’
Despite her concern, Ms Smith continued taking Mounjaro until December 2025, when she reached her goal weight of eight-and-a-half stone.
She decided to take a break from the jab in the hope of resolving the hair loss.
As soon as she stopped, her hair stopped shedding.
But at the end of January this year she decided to re-start the medication, concerned that her weight would creep back up.
Oddly, she has experienced no hair loss so far.
What’s more, she’s managed to grow back 20 per cent of the loss which she claims is down to following a strict hair care routine.
Ms Smith takes two hair growth supplements and a scoop of collagen powder daily, and uses a rosemary and rice water spray on her scalp five times a week.
The content creator has lost a total of four stone over the last 18 months
She also uses specialist shampoo designed to encourage hair growth.
Some studies suggest rosemary oil may improve hair growth in people with hair loss by stimulating hair follicles, but the evidence is limited.
Meanwhile, experts say collagen powders and hair growth supplements are unlikely to work unless a nutrient deficiency has been identified.
But Ms Smith believes these methods have contributed to her hair growing back.
‘There’s now so much growth throughout my whole hair,’ she said. ‘But I still only have about 70 per cent of the hair I had before I lost weight.’
She added: ‘For anyone who’s starting Mounjaro, make sure to work out your nutrient requirements from day one.
‘Despite the hair loss, going on Mounjaro was one of the best decisions of my life.
‘It’s completely changed my mindset and made me so much more confident.
‘Losing hair was a downside, but one I could cope with.’
