What are JAK inhibitors & how can they be used to treat Alopecia Areata? Dr Jemma Boyle has has alopecia since she was 10 years old, which began as small bald patches which she says could be easily hidden. By her late teens, it began to get worse & more obvious. At the age of 30, she first lost all of her hair. This then grew back, then she lost it again. She is a Doctor who specialises in breast surgery & cancer research, who has been using JAK inhibitors to treat her own...

The facts about scalp cooling Claire Paxman, the brand ambassador & Director of global education for Paxman scalp cooling, the global leader in scalp cooling. Claire shares how it was her Mum having breast cancer in the 90's that first made her aware of scalp cooling, when she tried the cold cap. Her Mum went on to lose her battle with cancer at just 44. She was 14 when she had to shave all her Mum's hair off, which was a devastating experience for her. Her Grandfather invented the...

How mindset can help you through hairloss Sonia Magnier has been in the hair industry since she was 15, became a Mum at 18 and opened her salon at 22, which she had for 20 years! By the age of 24, she had 2 kids and 15 staff to manage. She felt the salon was consuming her life, she was overwhelmed & had no tools to manage her stress. Sonia found a life coach & began looking at holistic ways to help her manage her life and work. This led her to want to help other salon owners with...

Hair testing ~ How to really get to know your hair Dr Jonathan Palmer has a PHD from Imperial College and works in Biotechnology. He has worked for cancer research and blood testing, and has now founded Hair Knowhow. Dr Palmer describes himself as an experimentalist, who has been passionate about science since he got his first telescope at 7 years old. He uses tests designed for product development, producing results for people who want to know about their hair health. These hair tests...

Can breathwork help improve hair health? Sandra Withers is a body balance breath coach. At the age of 50 she decided to leave the corporate world and her position as Company Director which made her feel unfulfilled. COVID gave her time to stop and reflect on her life. She began to explore subconscious transformation & became a coach, working with limiting beliefs and promote health & wellbeing. Reiki & breathwork helped her to work with clients to clear energy blocks. We look...

How to Cut it ~ The Network for Hair Professionals W/ Dom Lehane Dom Lehane has been in the hairdressing industry for 37 years. He is a 4th generation hairdresser from Northamptonshire, who now spends most of his time podcasting and building a community. Dom began his career working at Trevor Sorbie in London, and has been surrounded by hairdressers his whole life, including his wife! He has always been passionate about fostering connections, and has created a brand new network called...

Hair loss provision on the NHS Dr Archana Rao is a dermatologist with an interest in perimenopause, menopause and hair and skin disorders. She trained in India and retrained in the UK, specialising in biological treatments. She runs a trichology clinic within Kingston Hospital, where she has worked hard to establish that hair loss is a medical need, not just a cosmetic one. She now has a waiting list of around 18 months, proving that there is a huge demand for her expertise. Dr Rao has...

Can we reverse going grey? Interesting cases from New York Penny James is the only board certified Trichologist in New York City. She has been a hairstylist for years, and, after experiencing hair loss herself studied trichology. Now she combines Beauty and Science within her atelier. She finds awareness a struggle, as not enough people know what a trichologist is, and she wants it to become more well known, as long as campaigning for regulation within the industry. Penny has seen some...

From experiencing alopecia to opening a leading online trichology clinic Claire suffered from alopecia areata at 27, which she puts down to stress. She lost over 90% of her hair in a matter of weeks. She describes the feeling of shame she felt, which led her to develop an alcohol addiction. She has now recovered, but this condition led her to study trichology and spurred her on to opening her own clinic. Due to COVID, she began seeing patients online, and this became so popular that she...

Alopecia Areata Incognita, Epidermolysis Bullosa Simplex & Pili Torti Lottie lives in West Yorkshire. She has a rare skin condition called epidermolysis bullosa simplex, which she has had since childhood, which had a big impact on her life. Then just as that started to improve, at the age of 14 she developed alopecia areata incognita. She also has pili torti. She began working in the hair loss industry when she was asked to take over Verve hair loss salon in 2020, where she used to be...

Upholding professional standards in the industry ~ The future of Trichology Neil Harvey is the Chairman of the Institute of Trichologists. He has a background in hairdressing, hair replacement services, products and education, which eventually led to him training in trichology. His aim is to create a better future for Trichologists, patients, and the Institute. He was spurred on to take the position as chair because of the faith that his peers had in him to put him forward for the...

Persistent Chemotherapy Induced Alopecia Jo had chemotherapy and radiotherapy in 2017, following breast cancer. She has had a double mastectomy and a hysterectomy, which plunged her into medically induced menopause. She also lost her hair due to the treatment. She had been advised that this would probably happen, but was given the impression that it would grow back. She was not really given any information or advice regarding the cold cap, and after treatment, her hair didn't really start...

Why your mindset is so important Belinda Hillman says she is very aware of what it is like to feel 'less than', describing herself as a bit of a lost teen who was living in a bedsit at the age of just 16. The hairdressing industry helped her to turn her life around, going from a council estate to working on a cruise ship and travelling the world. She then went on to own a salon, but felt that she needed more help with her own mental health so as not to feel isolated. She then created the...

Why consistent habits and the right advice are paramount to regaining healthy hair. Karis is 35 and lives in Kent. She began experiencing issues with her hair three years ago, when she had noticeable shedding which led to visible thinning. She describes her life at the time as very stressful and difficult, a relationship breaking down and facing many challenges led to her not taking care of herself as well as she could have.  She began to notice a large amount of hair in her brush and in...

Integrating wigs & hair systems into your Salon business ~ could it work for you? Aileen Maher is in Kildare, Ireland. She is a hairdresser who has had salons for over 25 years. She became an educator, working for brands such as Joico & Alfaparf. After a client got cancer & needed help, she began to take an interest in hair loss & hair systems. She now helps clients with all kinds of alopecia including thinning hair, Genetic alopecia, cicatricia & frontal fibrosing...

How to look after your hair & scalp in winter Jill Lee, a hairstylist of 25 years, qualified as a trichologist with USTI over a year ago. Trichologists are not very commonly known in America, and she loves being able to help her clients on a deeper level. Jill tells all on how winter can have an impact on the hair  & scalp - what does it need? We discuss how you might want to change or add to your product range to help to give moisture and nourish the hair. Is winter shedding real...

The future of Afro hair & textured hair education Jacqui Mcintosh is the European director of education for Avlon Europe and a specialist in texture management. She is an educator, mentor, coach & trichologist. When training, she made it her aim to focus on every aspect of hairdressing to gain a huge amount of knowledge, and has kept learning & growing throughout her career. During her time working for global brands as a consultant and educator she became a platform artist and...

David Barreto began to notice is hair thinning at the age of just 20, and by the time he was 22, this had began to be quite noticeable. He tried various treatments, but did not see any markable improvement. This led him to look into genetic hair loss, where he found that there has been a lot of research done that hadn't been put into use in commercial products. He wanted to bridge the gap between science and commercial products. He wanted to create products that used natural solutions,...

Time for another season break!  I really hope you enjoyed all the guests for season 6. We will be back in a few weeks with tons more great guests! Support the showConnect with Hair therapy: Facebook Instagram Twitter Clubhouse- @Hair.Therapy Donate towards the podcast Start your own podcast Hair & Scalp Salon Specialist Course ~ Book now to become an expert!

How colitis related hair loss led to a career in wigs  Hediye Garcia has a background in hair, and was on the path to studying to be an educator when she began to experience hair loss. She was simultaneously suffering from Alopecia Areata and Telogen Effluvium, which she originally put down to stress, but further investigation showed deficiencies in folic acid and iron. Hediye was puzzled as to how she could have become anaemic when she follows a very healthy Mediterranean style diet, and...

How can blood tests be used in hair loss diagnosis? Tolu Blooms, the fine hair coach is a trichologist and has a salon in  Lagos, Nigeria, where she takes a holistic approach to hair. She explains how 'protective' hairstyles that may be popular can be detrimental to hair health and shares her philosophy that hairstyles should never be painful! Tolu invited a Trichologist into her salon to train her staff, and this was what sparked her curiosity to study the science of the hair &...

Would you employ an ex offender? ~ How hairdressing changes lives Diane, a Hairdresser & Lecturer, works in HMP SEND in Guildford. She delivers the Hairdressing NVQ levels 1-3 in partnership with Milton Keynes College.  After training to become an educator so that she could give something back to the industry, she now has an extremely rewarding job role where she can literally help to change someone's future. We look at how the programme is so valuable within the prison, and how...

Building a strategy to thrive in your business ~ not just survive  Maddi Cook is 34, and after being a hairdresser for 12 years, and after suffering from sciatica, having back surgery gave her an opportunity to change the focus of her career to helping others in the industry with her brand Boss your Salon. She shares her knowledge on how we can protect ourselves for the future, and how to put measures in place in case something goes wrong. Maddi gives her insight into the importance of...

Can menopause cause hair loss? Tina Edwin, is married 51 year old Mum of two, lives in Kent. She is a marketing manager for Capital Space, with 9 Business Centres across Kent, Essex, Croydon & Milton Keynes. She shares her story of how after symptoms of perimenopause began at age 44, she began to experience problems with her hair. She first noticed a small bald spot on her crown that her husband pointed out, and the hair loss began to get worse. She went to the GP who diagnosed her...