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A Color Specialist

Styling Professional based in California who excels at grey hair. He works with Jane Fonda and well-known figures.

What affordable item can't you live without?

I highly recommend a soft fabric towel, or even a gentle tee to towel-dry your locks. It's often overlooked how much stress a typical terrycloth towel can do, especially to grey or color-processed hair. This one small change can really lessen brittleness and splitting. Another affordable staple is a wide-tooth comb, to use during washing. It protects the hair while detangling and helps keep the health of the strands, especially after lightening.

What item or service justifies the extra cost?

A high-quality styling iron – ceramic or tourmaline, with smart temperature control. Silver and light-coloured hair can develop brassy tones or get damaged without the correct device.

Which hair trend or treatment would you never recommend?

DIY bleaching. Social media makes it look easy, but the reality is it’s one of the most hazardous actions you can do to your hair. I’ve seen people melt their hair, experience breakage or end up with bands of colour that are extremely difficult to fix. I would also avoid chemical straightening processes on color-treated or grey hair. Such treatments are often excessively strong for delicate locks and can cause chronic issues or undesired tones.

What frequent error do you observe?

Individuals choosing unsuitable formulas for their hair type or colour. Certain clients overapply colour-correcting purple shampoo until their lightened locks looks drab and lacking shine. Others rely too much on protein-rich treatments and end up with rigid, fragile strands. A further common mistake is thermal styling minus a barrier. In cases where you employ hot tools or dryers without a heat protectant, – especially on pre-lightened hair – you’re going to see discoloration, dehydration and damage.

Which product, treatment or supplement would you recommend for hair loss?

Shedding demands a multifaceted plan. Topically, minoxidil is still one of the most effective treatments. I often suggest scalp formulas with active ingredients to stimulate circulation and promote root strength. Using a scalp detox shampoo weekly helps remove residue and allows treatments to work more effectively. Oral aids like specialized formulas have also shown positive outcomes. They work internally to benefit externally by correcting endocrine issues, stress and dietary insufficiencies.

In cases requiring advanced options, platelet-rich plasma treatments – where your own platelet-rich plasma is injected into the scalp – can be beneficial. That said, I always suggest consulting a skin or hair specialist initially. Thinning can be linked to medical conditions, and it’s important to identify the source rather than pursuing temporary solutions.

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A Hair and Scalp Specialist

Trichologist and head of a renowned clinic clinics and product ranges for hair loss.

How often do you get your hair cut and coloured?

I schedule cuts every ten to twelve weeks, but will remove split ends personally fortnightly to maintain tip integrity, and have color touches every two months.

Which low-cost item is a game-changer?

Toppik hair fibres are absolutely amazing if you have thinning spots. These particles bond to your existing hair, and it comes in a assortment of tones, making it virtually undetectable. I personally applied it after childbirth when I had significant shedding – and also presently during some significant shedding after having awful flu a few months ago. As hair isn’t an essential tissue, it’s the first part of you to suffer when your diet is lacking, so I would also recommend a healthy, varied eating plan.

What justifies a higher investment?

For those with genetic thinning in women, I’d say medicated treatments. When dealing with temporary hair loss, known as TE, buying an non-prescription item is fine, but for FPHL you really do need clinical interventions to see the optimal outcomes. From my perspective, minoxidil combined with additional ingredients – such as balancing elements, inhibitors and/or calming components – works best.

Which hair trend or treatment would you never recommend?

Rosemary extracts for shedding. It's ineffective. The whole thing stems from one small study done in 2015 that compared the effects of a mild minoxidil solution versus rosemary extract. A 2% strength minoxidil isn’t enough to do much for genetic balding in men, so the study is basically saying they provide similarly low results.

Likewise, mega-doses of biotin. Hardly anyone is biotin deficient, so using it may not benefit your strands, and it can skew thyroid readings in blood tests.

What’s the most common mistake you see?

In my view, we should rename "hair washing" to "scalp cleaning" – because the real aim of shampooing your hair is to clear away sebum, debris, sweat and pollutants. I notice clients skipping washes as they think it’s harmful to their strands, when in fact the reverse is correct – especially if you have dandruff, which is aggravated by oil buildup. If natural oils stay on the head, they deteriorate and lead to inflammation.

Unfortunately, what your scalp needs and what your hair likes don’t always align, so it’s a delicate equilibrium. Provided you wash delicately and manage wet locks gently, it shouldn't harm your hair.

Which options help with shedding?

For genetic thinning in women, start with minoxidil. It has the most robust evidence behind it and tends to work best when compounded with other hair-supportive actives. If you're interested in complementary therapies, or you choose to avoid it or cannot tolerate it, you could try micro-needling (under professional care), and perhaps PRP or low-level laser therapy.

With telogen effluvium, investigation is key. Increased hair loss often stems from an underlying issue. Occasionally, the reason is temporary – such as illness, infection or high stress – and it will improve spontaneously. In other cases, thyroid imbalances or vitamin/mineral deficiencies are the driving factor – the most common being ferritin (stored iron), vitamin B12 and vitamin D deficiency – and to {treat the hair loss you need to treat the cause|address shedding, target the underlying issue|combat thinning, focus