Hair loss on a GLP-1: 7.1 percent of women on Zepbound and 0.5 percent of men
Hair loss reached 7.1 percent of women and 0.5 percent of men on Zepbound, in the clinical trials printed on its FDA label. Women on placebo reported it at 1.3 percent. In the clinical trials that compared the two Wegovy doses, its label reads 5.4 percent of women at 2.4 mg and 8.4 percent at 7.2 mg. Both labels say the reactions were associated with weight reduction. GLP Chart read both on DailyMed, revised June and August 2026.
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| Label and dose | Who was in the trial | On the drug | On placebo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wegovy 2.4 mg (June 2026 label) | adults with obesity or overweight, n=2,116 | 3% | 1% (n=1,261) |
| Wegovy 2.4 mg (June 2026 label, dose-comparison trials) | adults with obesity in the two clinical trials comparing the maintenance doses, n=304 | 3% | 1% (n=303) |
| Wegovy 7.2 mg (June 2026 label, dose-comparison trials) | adults with obesity in the two clinical trials comparing the maintenance doses, n=1,311 | 6% | 1% (n=303) |
| Zepbound 5 mg (August 2026 label) | adults with obesity or overweight, n=630 | 5% | 1% (n=958) |
| Zepbound 10 mg (August 2026 label) | adults with obesity or overweight, n=948 | 4% | 1% (n=958) |
| Zepbound 15 mg (August 2026 label) | adults with obesity or overweight, n=941 | 5% | 1% (n=958) |
The September 3 genetic study measured men only
Researchers at NYU Langone Health, writing in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology on September 3, 2026, report that men who already carry the genetic risk for androgenetic alopecia, the inherited pattern along the top and front of the scalp, have a 7 percent added risk of hair loss if they use a GLP-1. The researchers did not follow patients on the drugs. They read public genetic databases, among them eQTLGen (31,684 mostly White men and women) and the Complex Traits Genetics group set (205,327 mostly White men), and used variation in the GLP1R gene as a stand-in for GLP-1 activity. The 7 percent held after they discounted hypertension, and again when they checked it against insulin resistance and lowered testosterone. Senior investigator Lynn Petukhova called it the first genetic link between GLP-1 use and an increased risk of male-pattern hair loss from androgenetic alopecia, an association long suspected but until now not shown scientifically.
Both weight-management labels run the other way and report hair loss far more often in women than in men. The split by sex is in the table below. The researchers say they could not include women because male-pattern hair loss is well studied in the genetics literature and hair loss in women is not. Petukhova says she plans to test whether the link holds in women.
Source: NYU Langone Health, September 3, 2026.
The pooled rate hides a fourteen-fold gap
Both labels split the hair loss row by sex, in the text under their tables.
| Arm | Trials | Everyone | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wegovy 2.4 mg | Wegovy, the pooled weight-reduction trials | 3.3% | 4% | 0.9% |
| Placebo | Wegovy, the pooled weight-reduction trials | 1% | 2% | 0% |
| Wegovy 7.2 mg | Wegovy, the two clinical trials comparing 2.4 mg with 7.2 mg | 5.8% | 8.4% | 0.2% |
| Wegovy 2.4 mg | Wegovy, the two clinical trials comparing 2.4 mg with 7.2 mg | 3.3% | 5.4% | 0% |
| Placebo | Wegovy, the two clinical trials comparing 2.4 mg with 7.2 mg | 1% | 1.5% | 0% |
| Zepbound | Zepbound, the pooled weight-reduction trials | Not stated | 7.1% | 0.5% |
| Placebo | Zepbound, the pooled weight-reduction trials | Not stated | 1.3% | 0% |
On Zepbound the row reads 7.1 percent in women and 0.5 percent in men, a fourteen-fold gap on the same arm. On Wegovy at 7.2 mg it reads 8.4 percent in women and 0.2 percent in men. The pooled figure describes neither group.
1.3 percent of the women on placebo reported hair loss and none of the men did, so the male figures sit almost on top of the background rate while the female ones sit well above it.
The one thing the labels say about the cause
Both documents make the same single statement. Novo Nordisk writes: Hair loss adverse reactions in WEGOVY injection-treated patients were associated with weight reduction.
Lilly writes: Hair loss adverse reactions in ZEPBOUND-treated patients were associated with weight reduction.
That is the whole clinical attribution on either label. Neither names a mechanism, gives a recovery time or tells a prescriber to do anything about it.
Ozempic and Mounjaro print no hair loss row and no hair loss paragraph. Their tables only list reactions reported by at least 5 percent of treated adults, and hair loss did not clear that cut in the diabetes clinical trials.
What a slower ladder costs
Neither label says what the slower route costs. On some programs the lower dose is the cheaper one and on others the price does not move at all.
| Drug | Cheapest program we track | At the maintenance dose | At the top dose it publishes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wegovy | Knownwell | $299 a month | Publishes one figure only |
| Zepbound | Sam's Club Member Health | $399 a month | $449 a month, with refills inside 45 days |
LifeMD charges $200 a month more at the top of its ladder than at the dose you stay on. Ask the program what it charges at each dose before you agree to climb.
Compare every program at its real maintenance price →
The dose moves it on one molecule and not the other
Wegovy's label carries a second table comparing its two maintenance doses. Hair loss reads 3 percent at 2.4 mg and 6 percent at 7.2 mg, a doubling, against 1 percent on placebo.
Zepbound's three doses do nothing of the kind. The row reads 5 percent at 5 mg, 4 percent at 10 mg and 5 percent at 15 mg. Flat, within a point, across a three-fold dose range.
What the labels print about hair loss
- Neither label tells a prescriber to change anything for it. What the Wegovy label records instead is what its clinical trials did, counted in events rather than in patients, at 7.2 mg:
In the 7.2 mg group one event led to stopping the drug for good, one to a temporary interruption and five to a dose reduction. None of those happened in the 2.4 mg or placebo groups.
Wegovy label, section 6.1 - The Zepbound label records the same kind of fact for its own trials:
No Zepbound-treated patient stopped the drug because of hair loss. One placebo-treated patient did.
Zepbound label, section 6.1 - No label in this set names a shampoo, a vitamin, a supplement or anything else to take for it.Wegovy, Zepbound, Ozempic and Mounjaro labels
- The dose sentences both labels carry are about tolerating a dose, and both attribute these reactions to weight reduction instead, so neither document connects a dose change to this row. The sex split the labels do print reads 7.1 percent of women on Zepbound against 1.3 percent of women on placebo, and 4 percent of women at 2.4 mg against 2 percent of women on placebo in Wegovy's pooled trials.Wegovy label, sections 2 and 6.1 and Zepbound label, sections 2 and 6.1
How long it lasts
Neither label says whether the hair grows back. Both record what their clinical trials measured while the drug was being given, and neither followed the reaction past that.Wegovy label, section 6.1 and Zepbound label, section 6.1
What the programs charge
None of the cash programs we track sets its price by the dose. Shed lists $199 a month, the same figure at every dose. Strut Health lists $149 a month, with auto-refill. Medvi lists $299 a month, after $179 for the first month.
Frequently asked questions
Does Wegovy cause hair loss?
The label lists it. Its table reads 3 percent at 2.4 mg against 1 percent on placebo, and its text splits that into 4 percent of women and 0.9 percent of men. On what caused it the label says one thing: Hair loss adverse reactions in WEGOVY injection-treated patients were associated with weight reduction.
Does Zepbound cause hair loss?
The label lists it at 5 percent on 5 mg, 4 percent on 10 mg and 5 percent on 15 mg, against 1 percent on placebo. Its text splits that into 7.1 percent of women and 0.5 percent of men. The row does not climb with the dose.
Why is there no figure for Ozempic and Mounjaro?
Their tables only print reactions reported by at least 5 percent of treated adults. Hair loss did not clear that cut in the diabetes clinical trials, so those labels carry no row for it. A rate under 5 percent is invisible on those tables.
Does a higher dose mean more hair loss?
On semaglutide yes: 3 percent at 2.4 mg and 6 percent at 7.2 mg on the label's comparison table, and 8.4 percent of women at the higher dose. On tirzepatide no: 5, 4 and 5 percent across the three Zepbound doses.
Does the hair loss stop if you stay on the drug?
Neither label answers that. What they do report is what the clinical trials did: No Zepbound-treated patient stopped the drug because of hair loss. One placebo-treated patient did. In the 7.2 mg group one event led to stopping the drug for good, one to a temporary interruption and five to a dose reduction. None of those happened in the 2.4 mg or placebo groups.
What does the label say to do about it?
Nothing about hair specifically. What the two weight-management labels give a prescriber is the dose lever. Wegovy's says to consider delaying escalation for 4 weeks if a dose is not tolerated. Zepbound's says to consider a lower maintenance dosage.
Does holding at a lower dose cost less?
It depends on the program. Some publish one price at every dose and some charge more at each step up, so the same clinical decision saves money on one plan and nothing on another.
Every dosage sentence on this page is written to a prescriber, not to you. Holding a dose, dropping back or stopping changes what the drug is doing. Take the label language to the appointment.
Sources
Evidence checked August 31, 2026
Every figure above is taken from the document beside it, the FDA label or the trial that produced it, so you can read the source instead of trusting us. No clinician reviews these pages. What that means.
- The 3 percent Wegovy figure, the 3 against 6 percent comparison at 2.4 mg and 7.2 mg, the sex split of 8.4 against 0.2 percent, and the sentence attributing the reactions to weight reductionFDA prescribing information for Wegovy, injection and tablets (DailyMed, revised June 2026)
- The Zepbound rates at 5 mg, 10 mg and 15 mg, the 7.1 against 0.5 percent sex split, and that no treated patient stopped the drug over itFDA prescribing information for Zepbound (DailyMed, revised August 2026)
- That Ozempic and Mounjaro print no hair loss row, and the 5 percent cut on both tables that explains itFDA prescribing information for Ozempic injection (DailyMed, revised June 2026)