As hair loss has no age limit, it can be embarrassing for clients (that's you) to cope with – we spoke to industry professionals who reveal what signs to look out for, tips on managing the problem and how to avoid any hair loss at all.

Leading trichologist Sally-Ann Tarver from The Cotswold Trichology Centre has plenty of experience at the cutting edge of diagnosis, treatment and advice on all aspects of hair loss and scalp problems. 

Sally told us it is estimated that one in four women suffer with hair loss and over half of men suffer significant hair thinning before the age of 40. 

She said: “Today I notice that a lot more people are becoming open to talking about hair loss, especially since the growth of the internet and social media. It is becoming easier for us to seek help, find out what we can do and to talk about it with trained professionals, supportive friends and family.

“When I began in Trichology, I did so because I recognized there were so many people suffering with hair loss who didn’t know where to go or what to do if they noticed something wrong. Most people would just speak to their hairdresser and it often felt like a much more of an embarrassing and sensitive subject back then.  As no one really talked about it, anyone who suffered from hair loss thought they were in the minority as the issue was not as widely discussed and accepted as it is today.”
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Sally provided us with the first 6 signs of hair loss and her top 6 tips on how to deal with these:

International brand Hairdreams specialise in professional hair lengthening and thickening systems. They told us that in line with the increasing average age of the population, the number of women and men suffering from hair loss is growing as well. According to recent studies, every other salon client currently suffers from hair loss already. Hairdreams is already very familiar with this growing segment and the client concerns with hair loss. In the face of enormously growing demand in this sector, Hairdreams has been working on innovative solutions for more hair volume for many years. 

Hairdreams’ technical advisor and trainer Sarah Sullivan told us most of the world-wide population will lose more hair than they ever imagined and will need professional services to help them restore their hair. She said: “Many people are unaware of the treatments and systems available to them, so awareness is key.”

Sarah explained that hair loss is a problem in both males and females and that diet – lack of vitamins required to aid hair growth, stress and the pressures of life in today’s current climate are all responsible for the problem. We asked Sarah if she sees hair loss as a problem only amongst the older generation or is it varied, to which she told us: “Both male and females are losing hair at a much younger age due to many environmental factors. The main reason stems from genetically predisposed hair loss and other influencing factors are stress, illness and malnutrition just to name a few. In all of these cases, the hormone DHT (Dihydrotestosteron) which is produced by our body causes the active roots to become dormant which decreases the production of growth.”

Hairdreams Stop & Grow and Microlines system is targeted at both male and females of any age, from 18 to 80 who are suffering from various types of hair loss.
For your clients to look after their hair as much as possible to try and prevent thinning/loss, Sarah suggested: “They should eat a well-balanced, healthy diet. Take supplements including vitamin B12, Iron and vitamin D, use good quality, professional hair care products to care for their hair and scalp and a good quality brush is important and always brush from the ends working your way to the roots to avoid breakage.”

Iain Sallis is one of the leading Trichologists in the UK. He is the director of the Hairmedic Trichologly clinics and co-founder of the International Trichology Congress. We picked his brain on hair, hype, health and the right hairbrush!

According to Iain, 1:3 of women suffer from hair thinning at some point in their life (diffused shedding or a general diminishment of the hair volume). Approximately 40% of women will suffer from a genetic form of hair thinning after the menopause.
Iain told us that he doesn’t think the problem is increasing: “I think we are becoming more aware of hair loss and we are at a position where there is more to help, so people will complain about it more. So, it’s not increasing, just a greater amount will seek treatment.”

Iain revealed that his clinic demographics show the main complaints for hair loss in men happen in their 20s and for women he has equal numbers of females in every decade from their 20s all the way to their 70s. He said: “For women it doesn’t matter when it happens, hair loss is devastating. For men, there is a tailing off in the 30-40s where there is a resignation and an acceptance that they are going thin on top.”

Iain gave us some tips for those in the early stages of hair loss: Get a diagnosis and seek advice from your GP, dermatologist or registered Trichologist. Iain said: “Hair loss isn’t just ‘one thing’ it is a multi-faceted health issue and so you need to find out what it is and correct or treat that issue.”

Iain spoke about Tangle Teezer’s new Fine & Fragile hairbrush which causes less stress and breakage on more fragile hair. He said: “This concept that you can ‘take care of what you have’ as part of the hair health regime is really important for the person with fine or damaged hair as they really try to do everything they can to help. If they are using the wrong brush daily (several times a day) this may cause unnecessary breakage and damage to the hair, inadvertently making their situation worse.”

Hayley Jennings and Jessica Patrick, Co-Directors at Unlimited Hairloss Solutions, explained that the most common form of hair loss is Androgenetic Alopecia (male pattern baldness), a genetic condition which can commence in men at any age. However, they also added: “8 Million women in the UK suffer from hair loss and one in eight is under the age of 35.”

Hayley and Jessica told us that a deficiency in certain nutrients and an imbalanced diet can lead to bad scalp health, poor hair growth, thinning brittle and damaged locks, and even hair loss. Jessica said: “Of course there are so many other factors that affect hair growth and can cause hair loss – from medical reasons to emotional factors – but it’s important to recognise the role that diet can play to and it is one of the things that we frequently discuss with our clients suffering from a range of hair loss symptoms at Unlimited Hairloss Solutions.”

The co-directors touched on the fact that a vegan lifestyle (plant-based diet) has surged in popularity, with the number of vegans in the UK rising by approximately 360% over the past decade.

Jessica and Hayley told us: “While there are many proven benefits to adopting a plant-based diet and removing certain animal-based products from a diet, cutting out major food groups can often have a negative impact on the hair’s overall health. For example, vegans sometimes fail to maintain a good balance of certain minerals such as zinc. Zinc is hugely important for hair growth, and a lack of it could lead to hair loss. 

We asked the directors at Unlimited Hairloss Solutions for tips they would offer to those who are in the early stages of hair loss. They explained: “If your client’s hair loss or thinning is not overly visible and is likely to be temporary, such as post-partum hair loss, you may wish to advise on a new cut or style that will help to hide the thinning areas. A change of colour can also be incredibly effective at disguising hair that has become finer.

“You should also advise on any professional treatments they could try to help boost the condition of their hair in order to make it appear fuller, as well as which products to use in order to help the hair look thicker. If the loss is very visible, or shows no signs of slowing down, then a new style may not be enough to create the appearance of a fuller head of hair. In that case you may want to recommend that your client speaks to a hair loss expert for advice on hair replacement methods and techniques. This would be particularly advisable if you notice that your client is becoming affected emotionally by the situation.”

Jessica and Hayley explained that as a result of the above, approaching the subject of hair loss with a client is something that shouldn’t be delayed. They said: “While it may be a sensitive subject, armed with useful information and the correct approach you will be helping your client step in the direction of hair restoration that can truly transform both how they look and how they feel. As their stylist, that should be your ultimate goal.”

It is clear from the experts we have spoken to that there are varying figures on the amount of people suffering from hair loss. Importantly though, these figures show that it is an issue that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later and there are ways to combat and overcome it. As your clients’ most valued advisor when it comes to their hair, you have a duty to know the tell tale signs of hair loss and advise them accordingly.
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This article is from The Salon Magazine

Here's the short list.  Click the article from Byrdie to get the full list of “Need to Know” tips for going blonde.

1) The Many Shades of Blonde
Look around at women with blonde hair, and you'll notice how many shades of blonde there are. There's strawberry blonde, dirty blonde, bronde, platinum blonde, honey blonde, and even brown hair with blonde highlights.

If you're thinking about going blonde or brightening up your natural color, there are a number of things to consider before you head to the salon. This hair color can be high maintenance and you have a few options when it comes to the process. You'll also want to protect your hair to keep it shining and beautiful.

As we explore beautiful blonde women as inspiration, we'll also pass along useful tips that will help you make the best decisions for your new color.

2)  A Gorgeous Icy Blonde
Some magazines advise you to darken your hair for fall and winter, but this isn't necessary. Blonde hair can remain very blonde—even icy blonde—into the colder months as long as your skin tone is flattering against the color. You can also pair your blonde with bright lips for a more festive look.

3)  The Light Blonde
If you examine a child's hair that has never been colored, you'll see many shades of color. For the most natural looking blonde hair, opt for highlights instead of all-over color and ask your colorist to paint in a couple of different shades. You can do lowlights and highlights, too, for added dimension.

4)  Blonde Highlights and Lowlights
Hair that is just one color can be monochrome and dull. Mixing in lowlights and highlights can give your blonde hair definition, leaving it more natural looking.

The balayage technique works well for highlights and may be a better choice than foils because it's painted in. When it comes to getting great highlights, it's best to leave the job to a professional.

5)  Highlighting Natural Blonde
You will make a good blonde if you had blonde hair as a kid. When getting your hair colored, your stylist should take your natural base into consideration. Naturally blonde hair—even dirty blonde like Beth Ostrosky Stern's hair—is the perfect base for highlights.

If you don't have naturally blonde hair (and let's be honest, few women do), you may have to endure a process to go blonde. Some women with dark hair have to go to the salon twice, once for bleaching and again for color.
 
Click here for tips 6 thru 24.

Let’s be honest: Hairstylists know way too much for their own good. Imagine your own hairstylist driving home at the end of the day, tired not only because she’s stood on her feet and exercised more muscles in the arms, hands, and fingers than a non-stylist could ever imagine, but also because she’s spent hours listening to her clients and providing advice about a wide range of emotional problems. Hairstylists are the go-to therapist for countless men and women, providing two services – a haircut and therapy – that everyone needs on a fairly regular basis.

Recently, I talked with a friend who’s a hairstylist, and she shared her experience of listening to clients’ personal problems and subsequently dishing out some much-needed advice. I’d heard from others stylists who’ve cut my (low-maintenance) hair over the years that they often feel like therapists, but I never understood the lengths to which clients at the salon reveal personal details until my own stylist friend gave me some examples. I started thinking about why men and women would feel so comfortable sharing such personal – and often painful details – of their lives with someone who hasn’t received mental health training, and I came up with a few simple reasons.

First, reflect for a moment about the physical positions a stylist and client maintain during a hair-cutting session: they’re not facing each other. The client looks into the mirror and can see the reflection of the stylist standing behind, but it’s far less threatening than the dynamic in psychotherapy in which the therapist sits across from the client and looks directly into the client’s eyes. In other words, the mirror creates the illusion of distance which makes the client feel more comfortable as he or she shares deeply personal details.

The position each maintains also makes questions the stylist asks less intrusive. For example, if a stylist asks into the mirror, “Why would you do that?!” it’s much less off-putting than if a therapist in a serious-looking office were to ask the same thing. Simply put, the physical positions at the salon put some clients at greater ease than the traditional therapist-client positioning in a therapy office provides.

Second, most people need to talk to some degree about conflicts they have in their lives, but they don’t necessarily want to go deep. (Come to think of it, sharing your sins with your stylist isn’t that different from a quick trip to Confession where a congregant drops a bombshell behind a closed door with a priest, and goes back out into the world feeling better - and absolved - ten minutes later.) At the salon, a client can share tawdry details but not have to worry that the stylist will hold them accountable and encourage them to change their negative behavior.

In therapy, of course, the therapist feels the pressure to remove the negative behavior. In traditional therapy, a client spends forty-five minutes exploring the motivations for bad behavior and client and therapist work together on increasing accountability and mapping out a plan for change. For someone who wants to talk a little – but not a lot – about what’s going wrong in life, the hair salon provides a helpful band-aid as opposed to the harder work – the metaphoric surgery – that comes with longer-term psychotherapy.

Finally, men and women get personal and share – or overshare? – with a hairstylist because stylists, quite honestly, are fun. They often have big, extravagant personalities, and they’ve fine-tuned and crafted their sense of humor after spending thousands of hours mastering the art of conversation while clients sit in their chairs. In contrast to a life-of-the-party stylist, therapists can seem a little…boring. And if “boring” is not the right word, “appropriate” certainly is.

While people want their therapists to be professional, stylists have the freedom to be serious and catty, or outrageous and sweet, in turns. If these professions were culinary dishes, the stylist would be spicy and aromatic, while the therapist would be healthful and low-calorie. Hairstylists are like girlfriends you want to have cocktails with, while therapists are like dependable parents you want to sit next to at Thanksgiving dinner.

As a therapist who tries to be open-minded, I believe there is value in sharing your thoughts and feelings with hairstylists – even if they haven’t been trained in mental health issues. The truth is that many of the people we listen to the most haven’t had any mental health training at all (Oprah, anyone?), but their experiences have taught them an awful lot about human behavior. Similarly, hairstylists spend hours listening to clients and often have helpful feedback to share.

The ultimate point is to talk openly about what’s bothering you so that your anxieties don’t negatively impact your life. My only hope is that you seek out a trained mental health professional if the emotional problem you’re dealing becomes a pattern and requires more time than a monthly haircut allows you.
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This is from Psychology Today

An article I shared with you a while back on balding and hair loss caught the attention of Kayla from Tuck, an organization devoted to promoting sleep health awareness.  They recently discovered that by the age of fifty, 50% of men and 40% of women will experience androgenetic alopecia.  They put a very comprehensive report together examining the connection between sleep and hair health and asked if I would share it with you.  Of course I said yes. 

Here are a few take-aways from their report:

• Most people have about 100,000 hairs on their head.
• Healthy hair falls out at a rate of about 50-100 telogen strands a day.
• Men and women are impacted differently by androgenetic alopecia, which is why the resultant hair loss is categorized as “male pattern” or “female pattern”.
• There is a significant three-way link among hair loss, stress, and sleep loss.
• Sleep deprivation causes people to anticipate the worst in situations, increasing stress through excessive worrying.
• There’s a connection between sleep apnea and hair loss.
• There is some evidence that melatonin also helps control the circadian cycle (the sleep-wake cycle that repeats roughly every 24 hours) of hair follicles.
• All medications come with side effects, and many hair loss drugs have challenging ones.
• Not everyone is a candidate for surgical hair loss treatment.  There are also side effects associated with these procedures, despite their relative safety.
• Create excellent sleep hygiene and achieving better sleep.
• Relaxation techniques such as mindfulness and meditation are useful skills to learn.

 
Below is the link to their full report on...

Can Sleeping Better Slow Down Hair Loss?

By the age of fifty, 50% of men and 40% of women will experience androgenetic alopecia (male and female-pattern hair loss), while many others every year suffer from some other form of hair loss.

The emotional toll is enough to make some people want to do nothing but hide in bed. As it turns out, there might be something to that: hair loss and sleep are connected on multiple levels. From the impact of sleep apnea to the role of circadian cycles, there is much to learn from the relationship between hair loss (particularly androgenetic alopecia) and sleep.

We’ve put together the article below to explain hair loss, illuminate the relationship between hair loss and sleep, and inform you of your options in treating both hair loss and sleep dysfunction.

Keep reading to learn more

Summer is officially here...!!!
(Those of you who vacationed in Europe last month
definitely found that out.)

I know some months it may seem like I’m repeating myself here, but two common concerns from you while sitting in my chair are about going grey and thinning hair.  I’ve tried to include information on both of those topics.  This month just happens to be a little more focused on thinning hair and hair loss.

There is so much research being done on hair loss in the areas of diagnosing, treating, and even new science that is actually growing human hair follicles. 

I recently received an email from Tuck, an organization devoted to promoting sleep health awareness.   They did some pretty extensive research on sleep and hair loss and asked if I would share their findings with you.  Turns out there is a connection between sleep (or the lack of) and hair loss.   

Have you wondered if wearing a hat contributed to hair loss?   Well, dermatologists say…

I mentioned growing human hair follicles, right.   Columbia University is using 3D printing to grow human hair follicles.  This is a really exciting development for hair restoration.  Check out the article I have for you about this research.   

Some of you are considered going blonde.  Not only is it a haircolor decision, it's also lifestyle changing.  Be sure to read the “Need to Know” tips for going blonde.  

Hey, did you know San Francisco has a Crosstown trail now?    It officially opened last month.   There are maps, and apps, and websites to help you plan your city hike.  Check it out below.  

I also have articles on etiquette rules you might be breaking, cool-girl waves, haircuts & face shapes, and more.

Take a browse through this month’s newsletter for all of the above and more.

Enjoy!