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GLP-1 hair loss

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Reference and calculator, not medical advice. This page explains how something works; it does not tell you what to take. Last reviewed August 2026.

Hair loss is not an internet rumour about these medications — it is printed in the labelling, with numbers. Zepbound lists it among the reactions reported in at least 5% of patients. Wegovy puts it in the adverse-reaction table alongside nausea and constipation. What almost no summary of this topic tells you is what those numbers actually say, which is more specific and more reassuring than the anecdotes.

What each label actually reports

Incidence figures come from the adverse-reaction sections of the prescribing information. The two weight-management products report trial data; the diabetes products list alopecia only as a postmarketing report.

ProductReported inWomenMen
Wegovy SemaglutideClinical trials4%0.9%
Zepbound TirzepatideClinical trials7.1%0.5%
Ozempic SemaglutidePostmarketing reports onlyno denominatorno denominator
Mounjaro TirzepatidePostmarketing reports onlyno denominatorno denominator
Rybelsus Semaglutide (oral)Postmarketing reports onlyno denominatorno denominator
Saxenda LiraglutidePostmarketing reports onlyno denominatorno denominator
Trulicity DulaglutidePostmarketing reports onlyno denominatorno denominator

A postmarketing entry means the reaction has been reported after approval but the label gives no rate, because spontaneous reports have no denominator. It is not evidence that the rate is lower — only that it was not measured. Every figure above is checked against the label linked at the foot of this page.

Three things stand out. First, both labels that report trial data attribute the effect the same way: the reactions "were associated with weight reduction" — the labels tie it to losing weight quickly, not to the molecule. Second, the sex difference is enormous and consistent across both products. Third, in the Zepbound trials nobody stopped treatment because of it; the single discontinuation for hair loss was in the placebo group.

The clearest number in any of the labels

Wegovy trials, women only, same measurement across three arms. Rate rises with dose while the label attributes the effect to weight reduction rather than to the drug.

Men in the same trials: 0% · 0% · 0.2%. The sex difference is larger than the dose difference, which is the part almost no summary of this topic mentions.

Why the women’s figure for 2.4 mg differs from the table above: these three arms come from the 7.2 mg trial programme, while the other figure is pooled from three earlier weight-management trials. Both are in the label and both report 3.3% overall at 2.4 mg — the sex split differs because the trial populations do. Both are shown rather than picking the more striking one.

The dose-response pattern above is the most informative number in any of these documents, because it is the same trial system measuring the same thing at three exposures. Note what it does not settle: higher doses also produce faster weight loss, so a rate that climbs with dose is equally consistent with the label's own explanation. The data cannot separate those two, and neither can this page.

Common questions

Why do the diabetes products have no numbers?
Ozempic, Mounjaro, Trulicity, Rybelsus and Saxenda list alopecia only in the postmarketing section — reports collected after approval, with no denominator and no placebo group. That is not evidence of a lower rate. It means it was not measured the way the weight-management trials measured it.
Is it permanent?
The labels do not say, in either direction. They record how often it was reported and how many people stopped treatment over it, and nothing about duration or regrowth. Anyone telling you a definite answer is going beyond the source documents.
Does it mean the medication is damaging me?
The labels attribute it to weight reduction rather than to the drug directly, and in the Zepbound trials it caused no discontinuations. What it means for you specifically is a question for the person who prescribed it, who can also check whether something unrelated is going on.
What did the trials actually count?
Patient-reported adverse reactions of hair loss during the trial period, not hair counts or clinical assessment. That is worth knowing: it captures what people noticed and reported, which is the same thing you would be doing.

Sources and last review

This page is general reference rather than a dosing table, so it quotes no figures from a label. Nothing here is reviewed by a clinician, and this site does not employ one — which is exactly why what I do publish stays traceable to its source.

Transcribed from the labels above and checked by me — Gavin, who builds this site, takes a GLP-1, and is not a clinician. Last reviewed August 2026. Found an error? [email protected] — I treat corrections as bugs. How this site is built and funded.

Citing this page

The figures here are transcribed from FDA-approved labels and each links to its source. If you are writing about this, quote the label rather than this site where you can — and if this page saved you the transcription, a link is appreciated.

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