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Vedashree Patankar

Hair loss in diabetes


What do we equate with when we think of diabetes? No eating sugars, taking medicines, insulin? That's what I thought too when I was diagnosed.

But diabetes is complex and looks different for everyone in many ways. I do not claim to understand it completely but the last 8 years have taught me

to develop a keen sense of observation for the symptoms and reactions to diabetes.



The following is an anecdotal version of events - of missteps and making peace


Pre diagnosis - I had thick long straight hair. They were a source of pride for my mother and grandmother. But I never liked the oiling routine that came with maintaining the hair - I detested

the smell of coconut oil that grandmother insisted I apply. I can't recall exactly when I shifted to shampooing without applying oil but that became

the norm for me.


In 2012 - Age 15 my mother thought the way to salvage and take care of my hair would be to cut it short so they would grow longer.

I cut my hair short and the volume reduced. This was just 6 months before I would officially be diagnosed with type2. As time went by and I saw

the hair volume reduced but I chalked it up to the haircut.


Another curious thing was the speed of hair growth, it was at a snail's pace. Since the first chop I had not touched the hair. It took 2 years for the hair to

grow to shoulder level. This was the time that I started noticing that my straight hair would dry curly or wavy. I did not understand how that was happening, but it was still not

reason for alarm and I brushed it off under the "Weird things that happen to me" folder of my brain. No hairstyle worked for me, the hair had grown in this

sort of shaggy way and I was nervous to cut them again. The hair brush would have tufts of hair after brushing but within limits.


By 2014 I hated the way I looked, I grew very insecure. I saw people in college with beautiful straight long shiny hair. I wanted that, but what I had at the time (still do)

is wavy-curly at the end-short hair. In an attempt to replicate the women in college, I bought a straightner and proceeded to straighten my hair daily much to my

mother's horror. She would warn me of the effects of regular straightening but I paid no heed, finally I had shiny, straight hair. This continued into 2015 though I

stopped straightening it everyday.


This was when I was slowly slipping into a depressed state. I had failed an important exam, I did not wish to go to college. I sat at home all day feeling like an

absolute failure. I stopped taking care of myself, not taking medicines on time or not taking them at all sometimes, no exercise and certainly no hair straightening.

During this period, I saw a lot of hair loss - which I again attributed to something other than diabetes - stress. In hindsight it was a combination of stress and diabetes


Cut to 2017, I have daily hair loss, it's a part of me. My concerned parents take me to a skin specialist. He suggests that I start taking iron tablets as my iron levels were low and it is known to cause hair loss. I start the tablets - they are big, bulky and very expensive. But we persist - 3 months - 6 months - nothing changes. I grow despondent yet the specialist still recommends the iron tablets. I start trying different oils - vitamin E, argan oil or shampooing with reetha, shikekai


Nothing works. My confidence plummets - I start putting my hair in a bun constantly to avoid any conversation on why my hair was so thin. This leads to a receding hairline. It was embarrassing. Society puts so much pressure on women to have straight long thick hair but those are such unrealistic standards and we fall prey to them. I was ashamed of the hair.


By 2018, I had started researching on diabetes a lot more. Some journals spoke of the correlation and causation of hair loss and diabetes but for much older people. What about young type 2 diabetics?. I was slowly making my peace with diabetes and the hair. I was someone who would forever have diabetes and thinning hair. Then in 2019, I met a group of young diabetics. We discussed a myriad of issues and in due course the topic shifted to hair loss. Each and everyone spoke of some level of hair loss and thinning. I could'nt believe it. Was it a thing? Did young diabetes suffer rapid hair loss?


I kid you not I was elated for a very superficial reason that none of them had thick hair. But it highlighted a very important fact, young diabetes suffer hair loss due

due to diabetes (coupled with external conditions such as pollution, dismal food and sleep timings) and sometimes improper or uncontrolled diabetes. This entire account

of events may be depressing to read but it does come with a silver lining.


Armed with this information, I started taking medicines on time and having a fixed sleep schedule. Just these two changes reduced the amount of hair loss that I had. I still have thin wavy hair that is subject to breakage and hair fall but I am hopeful. I am hopeful that the changes I make are so my hair and body is healthy and it stops the hair loss, not because I want them to look a certain way to fit in.




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