Most of the weight is going to come from water trapped between your hairs. The longer and wetter your hair, the more weight you'll gain. Even if you have long hair, it's unlikely that it would add more than a few ounces.
“Your skin is the largest organ in the body and absorbs fluid easily,” says Dr. Keith Kantor, a leading nutritionist and CEO of the Nutritional Addiction Mitigation Eating and Drinking (NAMED) program. “After a swim or a shower, your body can absorb 1 to 3 cups of water, increasing your true weight by a few pounds.”
Your hair weight will not add more than a few ounces to your overall body weight. Hair is not a living thing–it's only dead cells made of protein. The more hydrated you are, the heavier your hair will be. Hair retains water.
To begin with, the average hair strand weighs about 0.00015 ounces, which is extremely light. The next step is to determine how much hair you have on your head – though you likely have between 80,000 and 150,000 hairs, this number varies by hair color.
3. Do we really weigh more when we're soaking wet? Probably not. Any water on your body, or in your hair, probably wouldn't account for more than an ounce or two (1/16th or 1/8th of a pound).
Why Does My Weight Fluctuate So Much? Since many people can't eat enough in a day or two to actually gain 5 or 10 pounds, if you notice a dramatic increase on the scale, chances are it's due to water, says Anita Petruzzelli, M.D., owner and medical director of BodyLogicMD.
You have lost water weight due to the heat from the shower. Your body is trying to keep its temperature constant and attempts to do that by evaporative cooling (which doesn't work quite as well in the humid environment of a shower).
A single strand can potentially carry a weight of up to 100 grams; in theory, with proper technique, a full head of human hair could eventually hold between 5,600 kg and 8,400 kg (12,345 to 18,518 lbs) without breaking individual hairs or pulling out any follicles.
She told Science Friday that Rapunzel's hair, which is known in canon to be 70 feet long, would weigh between 60–80 lbs (or 27-36kg).
“Everyone's weight fluctuates throughout the day, and especially from morning to night,” says dietitian Anne Danahy, MS, RDN. “The average change is 2 to 5 pounds, and it's due to fluid shifts throughout the day.” If you see fluctuations of less than 5 pounds, you needn't worry.
You don't want your hair to weigh you down.
But having long hair (especially with zero layers) can bring heaviness to your look. Opting for a lob over long hair can open your chest and neckline, trading the heaviness of your old hair for a lighter look, Scarlett notes.
For the most accurate weight, weigh yourself first thing in the morning. “[Weighing yourself in the morning is most effective] because you've had adequate time to digest and process food (your 'overnight fast').
“Your weight won't be consistent if you weigh yourself on Friday and Monday,” she says. “Many people have a different routine on the weekends. They might eat out more, drink alcohol or snack more. Compare that to Friday, if you've been eating consistently for five days, and you'll see a big difference.”
Daily weigh-ins.
If you're really committed to losing weight, weighing yourself every day can be helpful. Research shows that people who weigh themselves every day have even more success with weight loss than those who weigh in once a week.
Conservatively, let us assume that Rapunzel has an even 100,000 composing her ponytail for Flynn Rider to climb, with each hair having a diameter of 60 μm and a strength on the order of 200 MPa. This results in a breaking load of over 10,000 lbs.
Although a single strand of hair looks very thin and fragile, it can carry a weight of up to 100 grams. This is because of the three-layered structure of the hair shaft and also the strong keratin fibers that make up the middle layer, or the cortex, of the hair strand.
This real-life Rapunzel's beauty routine is almost as long as her hair. Ukrainian beauty Alena Kravchenko has been growing out her nearly 6 feet of hair for five years — and washing it takes a full 60 minutes.
You should step on the scale first thing in the morning. That's when you'll get your most accurate weight because your body has had the overnight hours to digest and process whatever you ate and drank the day before.
Muscle is denser than fat, and as it is more compact within your body, as you gain muscle mass, you end up looking thinner, no matter your physical weight. So, if you've been doing a lot of strength training lately, it's likely this is the reason that you're looking fantastic but not dropping those numbers.
"We can weigh 5, 6, 7 pounds more at night than we do first thing in the morning," Hunnes says. Part of that is thanks to all the salt we consume throughout the day; the other part is that we may not have fully digested (and excreted) everything we at and drank that day yet.
You've gained muscle.
And here's an often overlooked fact: Muscle tissue is more dense than fat tissue. So as you gain more muscle and lose fat, you change your overall body composition, which can result in a higher weight, but a smaller figure and better health.
Overeating one day will not have much impact on your weight, but it will surely leave you feeling bloated. You can have an extra slice of your favorite cheesecake occasionally, but do not make this your habit. The next day, return to your fitness routine and everything will be fine.
Daily weight fluctuation is normal. The average adult's weight fluctuates up to 5 or 6 pounds per day. It all comes down to what and when you eat, drink, exercise, and even sleep. Read on to learn more about how these factors affect the scale and when to weigh yourself for the most accurate results.
Men can lop off nearly 2.5 lbs to account for their clothing while women can only subtract around 2.