Biotin supplements and hair loss after weight loss surgery
What it found
In 156 women who had sleeve gastrectomy, hair loss was common in the year after surgery, and biotin supplements seemed to help only a minority.
The authors say biotin provides low efficacy for preventing hair loss.
What they found
Studies in people
Hair loss was common
Hair loss was seen in 72% of the women after sleeve gastrectomy, which was 112 of the 156 patients. Most of them noticed it between the third and fourth month, and it lasted an average of 5.5 months.
No permanent hair loss
Permanent alopecia was not observed in any of the patients.
Biotin in deficient women
Of 22 women with hair loss and biotin deficiency who were prescribed 1000 mcg/day of biotin for 3 months, only 5 (23%) reported a remarkable decline in hair loss.
Biotin taken on their own
Another 29 women took 1000 mcg/day of biotin for an average of 2.5 months on their own, even though their blood biotin levels were optimal. Eleven (38%) of them reported a remarkable decline in hair loss.
No difference between groups
When the effect of biotin was compared in patients with and without biotin deficiency, there was no significant difference.
What the authors conclude
“It was found that biotin supplementation used to prevent hair loss does provide low efficacy.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say temporary hair loss after sleeve gastrectomy is common.
- They found that biotin supplementation used to prevent hair loss does provide low efficacy.
How it was done
The authors wanted to find out how often hair loss happens in patients who have laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, and whether taking biotin makes a difference to it.
They followed 156 women with obesity for 1 year after sleeve gastrectomy and checked them for vitamin deficiency before and after surgery. Hair loss was counted when a woman felt she was losing more hair than usual. Women with hair loss and biotin deficiency were given 1000 mcg/day of biotin for 3 months, and some other women took the same dose on their own for about 2.5 months.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This study followed women after surgery without a comparison group that did not take biotin, so it cannot prove that biotin caused any change in hair loss.
- Hair loss was based on what the women reported feeling, not on a measured hair count.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Obesity Center, Turkey; Nişantaşı University, Turkey
The paper
- Title
- Hair Loss After Sleeve Gastrectomy and Effect of Biotin Supplements
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Şen O, Türkçapar AG (2021). Hair Loss After Sleeve Gastrectomy and Effect of Biotin Supplements. Journal of laparoendoscopic & advanced surgical techniques. Part A. doi:10.1089/lap.2020.0468PubMed 32762597DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error