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A Color Specialist

Styling Professional operating from California who excels at platinum tones. Among his clientele are Hollywood stars and Andie MacDowell.

What affordable item can't you live without?

My top pick is a microfibre towel, or even a soft cotton T-shirt to remove moisture from your strands. It's often overlooked how much stress a standard towel can do, notably with silver or chemically treated hair. This one small change can really minimize flyaways and damage. Another affordable staple is a large-gap comb, to use during washing. It shields your locks while removing knots and helps maintain the integrity of the individual hairs, especially after lightening.

Which investment truly pays off?

A professional-grade heat styling tool – made with advanced materials, with smart temperature control. Lightened strands can develop brassy tones or get damaged without the proper tool.

Which hair trend or treatment would you never recommend?

DIY bleaching. Internet videos often simplify it, but the actual fact is it’s one of the biggest gambles you can do to your hair. There are cases where individuals melt their hair, break it off or end up with bands of colour that are incredibly challenging to remedy. It's best to steer clear of long-term smoothing services on color-treated or grey hair. Such treatments are often excessively strong for weakened hair and can cause lasting harm or color changes.

What’s the most common mistake you see in your salon?

Clients selecting inappropriate items for their particular strand characteristics. Certain clients overapply colour-correcting purple shampoo until their blonde or grey strands looks lifeless and muted. A few overdo on strengthening conditioners and end up with stiff, brittle hair. Another significant problem is using hot tools sans safeguard. If you’re using styling appliances without a protective product, – notably with color-treated strands – you’re going to see discoloration, dehydration and damage.

What would you suggest for thinning hair?

Shedding demands a multifaceted plan. Topically, minoxidil is still one of the most effective treatments. I also recommend scalp serums with caffeine or peptides to boost blood flow and support follicle health. Using a scalp detox shampoo weekly helps remove residue and allows treatments to work more effectively. Internal support including clinical supplements have also shown great results. They work internally to benefit externally by correcting endocrine issues, tension and dietary insufficiencies.

For people looking for something more advanced, platelet-rich plasma treatments – where your own platelet-rich plasma is injected into the scalp – can be effective. That said, I always suggest getting a professional diagnosis beforehand. Thinning can be linked to medical conditions, and it’s important to identify the source rather than seeking quick fixes.

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A Hair and Scalp Specialist

Trichologist and brand president of Philip Kingsley centers and lines targeting thinning.

How often do you get your hair cut and coloured?

I get my hair cut every 10 to 12 weeks, but will trim off splits at home bi-weekly to maintain tip integrity, and have color touches every two months.

What affordable find is essential?

Toppik hair fibres are absolutely amazing if you have areas of scalp visibility. They attach using static to your strands, and it comes in a variety of shades, making it almost invisible. I used it myself in the postpartum period when I had significant shedding – and also now while experiencing some marked thinning after having a severe illness recently. Since hair is non-vital, it’s the initial area to show decline when your diet is lacking, so I would also recommend a well-rounded, nutrient-rich diet.

What justifies a higher investment?

If you have female pattern hair loss (FPHL), I’d say medicated treatments. Regarding increased shedding, or telogen effluvium, buying an retail solution is fine, but for FPHL you really do need medicated treatment to see the best results. I believe minoxidil mixed with supporting compounds – such as balancing elements, inhibitors and/or calming components – works best.

Which popular remedy is ineffective?

Using rosemary essential oil for thinning. It's ineffective. This idea originated from a limited 2015 research that compared the effects of 2% minoxidil to rosemary oil. A 2% strength minoxidil isn’t enough to do much for hereditary thinning in males, so the study is basically saying they provide similarly low results.

Also, high-dose biotin. Hardly anyone is biotin deficient, so taking it is unlikely to do your hair any good, and it can skew thyroid readings in blood tests.

Which error is most frequent?

I think the term “hair washing” should be changed to “scalp cleansing” – because the real aim of shampooing your hair is to rid your scalp of old oils, dead skin cells, sweat and environmental pollution. Many individuals refrain from cleansing as they think it’s harmful to their strands, when in fact the contrary is accurate – particularly with flaky scalp, which is aggravated by oil buildup. If natural oils stay on the head, they break down and become inflammatory.

Regrettably, follicular health and strand desires can differ, so it’s a balancing act. Provided you wash delicately and manage wet locks gently, it won’t be damaging to your strands.

What solutions do you suggest for thinning?

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 prefer not to use it or are unable, you could try collagen induction therapy (with a specialist), and perhaps injections or laser devices.

For TE, you need to do some detective work. Noticeable thinning usually relates to a health trigger. In some instances, the trigger is short-term – such as illness, infection or high stress – and it will improve spontaneously. Alternatively, endocrine issues or nutrient shortages may be the cause – the frequent culprits include iron stores, B12 and D insufficiency – and to {treat the hair loss you need to treat the cause|address shedding, target the underlying issue|combat thinning, focus