Hair What I'm Saying
"Hair What I'm Saying" is created to share real life experiences with real people in the beauty industry to promote healthy relationships with consumers and Beautyprenuers. We will get into the nitty gritty of the backend of hair/salon business to help consumers understand why certain policies are implemented in order to sustain a healthy balanced salon environment for both parties, while consumers share their unprofessional and challenging experiences behind the chair. The goal is to bridge the gap to understand one another's perspective in hopes of clarity and unity.
Hair What I'm Saying
"The Science of Hair Loss: Insights from Trichologist, Aoife"
Watch Here on Youtube!
After witnessing a friend's struggle with hair loss during cancer treatment, Aoife, a trichologist from Austin, Texas, embarked on a journey of empathy and innovation in hair health. In our latest episode, she shares her personal story and offers insights into the world of trichology, emphasizing the necessity of understanding hair loss as a complex issue intertwined with overall health. We explore how factors such as childbirth, medication, and stress play pivotal roles in hair shedding, with Aoife providing enlightening anecdotes and expert commentary on why your hair might be sending you health warning signals.
Listeners can expect to uncover a wealth of knowledge on hair loss treatments, both traditional and holistic. From the intricacies of PRP injections to the hidden power of scalp massages and red light therapy, we discuss the myriad options available to those seeking to restore their hair and confidence. By addressing common misconceptions about hair care, we highlight the importance of personalized routines and the role of trichologists in crafting bespoke solutions that cater to individual needs. Aoife's compassionate approach underscores the importance of supporting clients emotionally through their hair restoration journey, offering relatable success stories that inspire perseverance and hope.
Our conversation also touches on practical strategies for maintaining a healthy scalp and hair, integrating lifestyle choices like diet, hydration, and stress management. Aoife provides actionable tips on adapting hair care routines to seasonal changes and the significance of incorporating skincare principles into hair care. This episode is a must-listen for anyone grappling with hair loss or those curious about the scientific and emotional facets of trichology, promising to equip listeners with the tools they need to reclaim control over their hair health and well-being.
Stay Connected with Aiofe by following the links below:
Website
aoifemariebeauty
ambersalonandheadspa
Do you have a story to share that’s worth our listeners hearing, please fill out the Listener Letters Form and tell us your story! We would love to hear from you!
Don't forget to follow Kinetra on Instagram @_hairwhatimsaying_ and check out her website Hair What I'm Saying for more.
Please leave a review and rate the show. Let us know how we are doing!
Welcome back to Hair what I'm Saying, the podcast where we dive into all things hair care, beauty and entrepreneurship. I'm your host, kenetra, and today we're tackling a topic that impacts so many hair loss. Joining me is Aoife, a certified trichologist based in Austin, texas, who specializes in identifying and treating hair and scalp disorders. Together, we'll explore the science behind the hair loss common causes, effective solutions and how you can reclaim your confidence and your strengths. So grab your headphones, get comfortable and let's get into it. Welcome to the Hair what I'm Saying podcast. I'm your host, kenetra Stewart, and today we have Aoife of Aoife Marie Beauty joining us, a trichologist located in Austin, texas. Welcome to the show. How are you? Hi, good, how are you? I'm good, I'm excited. I'm excited to have a trichologist on the show. Have you not had one before? No, I've never even had conversation with a trichologist. Oh my God.
Speaker 2:So when I saw you, I was like, ooh, this would be so great for my listeners who are, you know, struggling with hair loss and restoration.
Speaker 1:You can be able to share some gems and some tips 100% To help them Great. Can you share a bit about your journey to becoming a trichologist and what inspired your interest in the field?
Speaker 2:So my interest goes back. So I've been doing this since COVID times Okay, that's when I started going to school, because back then one of my best friends got diagnosed with cancer the age of 26 years old. Yeah, what kind of very skin long. She didn't even smoke, it was like totally left field, um. But when she was diagnosed she came to me and she was like so what do I do about like the hair situation? And like of all of the scary things that were happening, she was like most concerned with her hair, which is kind of wild to me because, like, hair is our life obviously.
Speaker 2:So, like of course, I would be concerned about my hair, but the fact that she was coming to me and she was like I don't know what to do, like let's talk about wigs, like how am I going to grow the hair back? So I was doing like a lot of research for her because I realized that our training doesn't cover hair loss at all. Oh see, really Right. Like, like you went to cosmetology school, did you guys cover hair loss? Oh, cosmetology, not trichologist. Yeah, yeah, yeah, cosmetology. I was about to say, well, trichology, oh, yeah, I asking hair questions, and this was before you were a trichologist.
Speaker 2:This was before I was a trichologist. I was like I don't know how to help you. Like I, truly I have no idea what's going to happen. So I was doing some Google research and I was like freaking out because I'm like, I'm a Virgo, so I like to have answers yeah, and I couldn't find answers.
Speaker 2:But instead I found trichology and so I found this whole like sector of you know, people come into this from like functional health. People come into this from the hairstyling world, just like this little bubble of people who only work with hair loss. Yes, um, and it was so inspiring to me and I I was so excited we are already locked down. So I was like, whatever you know, yeah, what if I just went to school real quick? Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1:That's how.
Speaker 2:I started into it Really just to help one person. And now here I am. I love how.
Speaker 1:I love, but then it's like for women it's really serious for us to like when it comes to our hair. When you said I could not believe that was the first thing that she was thinking about was, like how am I going to basically hold?
Speaker 1:on to my hair, if was the first thing that she was thinking about was like how am I gonna basically hold on to my hair? If, if I god forbid was diagnosed with anything, I would be so concerned with my hair, me too, me too. But you brought that into perspective for me, right. I would be really trying to figure out how am I gonna save my hair?
Speaker 2:right. What in the world right? So, and that's apparently a thing all women have, and also a little statistic for you women are going to lose their hair on average four times in their life. Okay, from like childbirth surgeries um postpartum grief, like we are just prone to losing our hair, yes, so I also think, as a hairstylist, I was doing a lot of extensions, okay, and I was realizing that girls that were coming to me for extensions had other things going on that you know. I like we probably shouldn't be putting extensions on this.
Speaker 1:So it wasn't medical related.
Speaker 2:You know, like girls just lose their hair. It's just kind of how it goes, and so I was. I was just had like a bunch of things where it's like a lot of people are losing their hair right now. How can I help?
Speaker 2:Okay, when you say for other reasons what were some of the reasons why they were losing their hair? Well, covid, people are losing their hair. Okay, ozempic so sorry, ladies, if you're on Ozempic. I'm glad you mentioned that you are going to lose your hair if you're on Ozempic because either the rapid weight loss is going to do it or if you're taking a medication that your body doesn't necessarily need're gonna end up shedding hair. Yes, anytime you start or stop a medication, you're gonna lose your hair. Yes, um, poor diet? Yep for sure lose your hair. If you're dehydrated, you're gonna lose your hair. Um, just, there's literally your hair is so sensitive it is you're gonna.
Speaker 1:It responds first. I always anything right feel like that I say it's a symptom.
Speaker 2:Yeah, especially as hairstylists right, we are the I always say like we're like the front lines, okay, because clients come to us and they're like, hey, like my hair of something else happening. Yes, for sure.
Speaker 1:Internally, internally, yeah for sure, and I know for my clients when it's a topical situation, like maybe tension alopecia, I can assist with that. But sometimes when it comes to diet or, like you mentioned, anything that has changed, sometimes they don't want to go see these other experts that you recommend them to.
Speaker 2:No, think like that's why I love that trichology is a thing now, because you know I have really bad skin and like going to a dermatologist is a process right, you have to get you have to go to a general practitioner, you have to get referred. You know like it's a. It's a huge process and it's very expensive in order to get answers. So I love having this other sector where it's like I'm a specialist in this one thing, like you can come to me and I can help you out Got you.
Speaker 1:Ok, that makes sense too, because I was, I'm always like why are you so hesitant? Here's the solution. Yeah, just go Right. Yeah, but, like you mentioned, it's a process and most people want that quick fix.
Speaker 2:You know, yeah. Or or they just don't think it's a serious. You know, like going to a doctor is like makes it a serious thing, or they might you know other things might come up with it, who knows? A lot of people are just scared of that.
Speaker 1:So yeah, for sure yeah, I can see that like having to learn other things outside of. It's just you losing your hair due to whatever. Facing the reality of something more serious.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:For sure, yeah, were there any personal experiences or stories that motivate you to pursue trichology, which I feel like you've already mentioned about your client?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I just feel like there's a lot of like I said like hair loss affects everybody. A lot of like I said like hair loss affects everybody. I've I've crossed so many people that are experiencing hair loss and like not having the answers for your clients is so. It's so like disheartening, like when you have a client in your chair and they're losing their hair and they're asking you why and you have to be like I don't know.
Speaker 1:Good luck yeah, yeah, I was. Uh, once I notice it's not topical, I always say you probably want to go get some blood work done, you know, just to see, because you'd be surprised Low iron or whatever it could be.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, literally it could literally affect your hair. You know, I actually had a client who, I think for about three months she was contacting me. Well, the first time she ever came to me she was like oh, my hair won't grow. And I'm asking her all the questions that we ask the clients, like are you on any medication? You know, has your diet changed, whatever? And she was like no, but I noticed that she just wasn't consistent with cuts and trims or whatever.
Speaker 1:And I'm like oh you can, your hair seems fine. I'm checking integrity. And I'm like oh you can, your hair seems fine. I'm checking the integrity. Your scalp looks great. It can grow or it can retain length right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it is so funny, because that is such a like half of my job when I do hair loss consultations is like, yeah, actually, like your scalp is fine. Yeah, I'm like, I'm looking at it right now. Yeah, she is doing great. However, I do see that your hair is breaking off and like for listeners at home, if you look at the ends of your hair, okay, and if you see any little white dots, do you know? I'm talking about those little bulbs? Yeah, yeah, that's called trichorexis nodosa. That is, heat damage it, that's so. What happens is what is that called again.
Speaker 2:Say that again. Trichorexis nodosa gotcha I never heard of it. It is a hair disorder, okay, but but it's 100% heat damage. It's when you apply heat on the hair and it forms a moisture bubble inside of the hair and that moisture bubble there's no healing, it, it's just going to snap off. Oh, my goodness, I like to give my clients that because you really don't want to shame them, especially when it's coming down to hey, like your hair is not growing because you're breaking it off. You know, like you have to be very gentle about it. Like it's not because people don't want to take accountability, which is fine. I don't either, like I don't want anyone to come, you know, to feel like I'm coming at them in like an accusatory way.
Speaker 2:Yeah because they're coming to you with a problem. So I just I'd like to educate them. Like that is that looks like heat damage. That's trichorexis nodosa. I love there is no healing for it, like you're gonna have to just cut that off and start again. But I also don't recommend clients putting heat on their hair more than once a week Period. For sure. A lot of my job, too, is teaching people how to air style their hair. You know. Let it dry. Naturally, do other methods of drying it to lay off the heat, because I found out people are using heat on their hair so often and that's what's breaking their hair off.
Speaker 1:That's what's breaking their hair off. And her problem wasn't even heat. She was a very low maintenance client. Interesting, yeah, her problem was just not cutting the dead ends off, so it was just breaking off. But then we uh, actually her hair started growing.
Speaker 1:When she started coming consistently or retaining length, it was already growing, and we got her down to about a little past her shoulders, and then it started thinning out, and she was like I don't know what's going on. My hair is thinning. I don't know what to do. She was like I'm not heat styling. In between the times that I'm coming to see you, the only heat I apply to my hair is when you do it. We couldn't figure it out and I was like, okay, just go to the doctor and just see, make sure it's not something in your blood. And this went on for like three months. You know what it is. She was like the only thing that's changed is I started that Ozempic shot, and that's what it was. And as soon as she stopped taking that shot, then the hair started, you know, becoming more full. It took some time, though, if you want to talk.
Speaker 2:Okay, talking about Ozempic? Yeah, just because I know this is a hot topic right now. Yes, talk about it, girl. Yeah, let's go into the ozempic talk, yeah. So that triggers something called telogen effluvium. Okay, that happens three months after you start a medication, okay.
Speaker 2:So a lot of the times people don't understand that that's why their hair is falling out, because you know they're like I've been taking the shot for three months, like there's no way that it's that it takes time. It takes anything with hair loss, like whether it's a treatment for growth or falling out. Three months is like the sweet spot, so you might not notice that you have any hair loss until the three month mark and then it's gonna have a shut out. With telogen effluvium you can shed up to 75 of your hair. Omg 75 is so dramatic.
Speaker 2:I've never seen that's a lie. I have seen that before, but like that is absolute worst case scenario, gotcha. So if you're, if you're a listener at home and you're on it, the good thing about telogen effluvium is it always comes back. I think it's like it has a 90 retention rate. It fixes itself and it just it's all about finding balance. I would say your body, your body's fighting for equilibrium so hard. Your hair is non-essential to life, so if there's something else going on in your body, your hair is going to be the one that takes the L yeah.
Speaker 1:Every single time. I always say if you want to know what's going on with you internally, your hair is going to dry, snitch every time. I know. Have you want to know what's going on with you internally? Your hair is going to dry, snitch every time I know.
Speaker 2:Have you ever colored someone's hair and you can hold it out and you can see like, basically like tree, tree rings and you can see exactly like the different things have been happening in their life.
Speaker 1:I think it's really cool for sure, even whenever you're losing hair and it's growing back and that new hair is coming in, you can see like at what point. Where did the breaking start?
Speaker 2:Yeah, because it's so thin everywhere else and the new grow is so thick what you can also do is hold the hair out and you can kind of shake it a little bit and you can shake out some of the long hair. So you can see, like exactly where, like because hair is going to fall out roughly around the same time, exactly where, like because hair is going to fall out roughly around the same time. It's not exact like hairs are going to fall out sporadically, but you can kind of see like this is this hair is three months old. Yeah, right, so I can see that the treatment that we did on you is working, because you have three inches of new growth right of new hairs. Um, also, if you're wanting to see if your hair is hair growth or breakage, look look at the ends of the hair. If it's pointy, that's new hair. If it's a blunt, flat end, that's breakage.
Speaker 1:Oh, I'm learning. Yeah, yeah, I love that Okay.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so you can hold them up.
Speaker 1:So when it's pointing, that's a good indication.
Speaker 2:Yes, but when it's blunt, that's breakage. Yes, especially around the hairline. I like to just like take extra time to like go through someone's hairline, because these hairs get ripped out left, right, center we are so rough on the front of our hair. Yeah, like glasses, ponytails, slicking it back so you can just go around and like really see if that's breakage.
Speaker 1:Yeah, or new growth Got you. I'm learning too. Okay, for those unfamiliar, what is trichologist and how does your work differ from that of a dermatologist or a hairstylist?
Speaker 2:So as a trichologist, I am not a doctor.
Speaker 2:I'm not going to give medical advice. I do not diagnose. I'm more of like I call it like a hair therapist. Okay, right, like I can read your blood work. I can get blood work ordered for you so you can bring it to me and we can read it and we can look through and we can kind of see, like what levels are off. I can do a hair tissue mineral analysis so I can send your hair off to a lab and get back some results and I can read it and like tell you what's going on. I'm also a hairstylist, so I kind of like walk that line of doing both.
Speaker 2:But I always like to make it clear your hair and your scalp are different. Right, you have to treat them totally different. Things that are good for your hair may not be good for your scalp and things that are good for your scalp are not good for your hair. But what I like about this little sector is like if you're going to go to a dermatologist, they're gonna, because I've been to a dermatologist for hair loss. They're gonna offer you minoxidil, which is a foam. You have to apply that foam every single day and as a hairstylist I know that's unrealistic.
Speaker 1:I just know my clients aren't going to do that right for sure, like yeah, it's even the you know, because it's going to make your hair look greasy.
Speaker 2:It's going to. It doesn't look very good Like it makes it sticky and hard to style. So I just know, realistically, no one's going to do that for three months, right? That's 90 days of ugly hair, even if it's going to improve the hair?
Speaker 1:they still would. Would you do it?
Speaker 2:Yes, you would do it, you would have bad hair for 90 days.
Speaker 1:Bad hair for 90 days? I sure would. I would be so eager to get my hair back. I'm like, okay, that's 90 days, I can sacrifice, I'll be okay.
Speaker 2:Well, and the thing with minoxidil, too, is, once you stop, it stops as well. So it's really just like an ongoing thing, right? So I just know it's unrealistic. Minoxidil is also toxic to pets, oh so, if you got pissed, probably shouldn't be taking. Yeah, right, yeah, because it's topical. Um, it's like I just like to put point that out because I feel like no one else is talking about it, because, like in cosmetology school.
Speaker 1:It's like this great thing, fda approved. It's the only thing that's fda approved that will grow your hair.
Speaker 2:We have a couple other things, so like it's fine, um, but it is toxic to pets. Don't let your pet anywhere near it while it's wet. Let it dry down before you go to bed, because if you go to bed with it wet on your head and then, like your cat, sleeps on your pillow, it's toxic. You know, and you know, I'm not going to do anything that's going to affect my cat right, absolutely for sure period.
Speaker 1:And then you that's a medical bill for your cat. Now right, medical bill.
Speaker 2:Right now you got a medical bill they're also going to offer, like prp, which, if you guys don't know what prp is, they take blood out of your body, spin it, get the growth factors and inject them back into your scalp. So luckily now we have synthetic versions of that. We have plant-based what is it called? Growth factors? Okay, I always get that wrong, because growth factor seems like I don't know, like an intense word for it. Really. You think so, not intense. Actually, it's probably the opposite. Growth factors just seems like a very simple way of putting it. But we have plant-based options now and you don't necessarily have to get them injected. So there's just like other options now. But I do feel like in the dermatology sector, since they deal with all skin, not just hair and scalp, they're really stuck on a couple procedures, whereas through a more holistic way, there are so many other avenues we can take.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay, so do you feel like the dermatology approach is more aggressive?
Speaker 2:Yeah, okay, aggressive is a good, the dermatology approach is more aggressive. Yeah, okay, aggressive is a good word for it. And it's very expensive. Like PRP treatments are going to run you thousands of dollars and they're normally not covered by insurance Because, like I said, hair is not essential to life, so it's actually really hard to get anything covered.
Speaker 1:Okay, I did not. I know one of my clients. I did refer to a dermatologist, and she opted out because she felt like the treatment was too aggressive Not in the way that you are explaining it, though, but more in a way of she wanted to start treatment that day.
Speaker 2:You know I'm ready.
Speaker 1:She's like I want today, or the dermatologist was more aggressive about the approach and she was more kind of hesitant. You know, I think she wanted maybe just more of a consultation, I don't know Just to learn about what's going on with her. But not necessarily, you know, proceed with treatment right then and there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I don't know. Also, getting shots in your scalp freaks me out. I'm not going to lie. Yeah, I know, I don't like shots at all. In my head.
Speaker 1:I'm not gonna lie. Yeah, I know I don't like shots at all, so in my head area, like in your head, that's too much. But I would do it if I had to. I'm not gonna lie. Oh my gosh. What are some misconceptions people have about the role of a trichologist?
Speaker 2:oh, that's a good one. I feel like there's not very misconceptions, because no one knows what it is yet.
Speaker 2:So I feel like the misconception is people don't know what I do. They don't know what I offer Because, like you said, I actually I offer a lot of hair loss consultations. The way that that works is someone will come into me. I have them fill out this extremely, extremely long form. So that form has like family history. I want to know about your diet. I want to know about your life, like are you a stressed person? Do you have children? How old are the kids? I want to know about your hormonal cycle, because hormones play a huge role in hair loss. So we're going to go through all that.
Speaker 2:Then we have the option. So that's kind of more of like talking it through, and then I get my scope and I scope the scalp and I look at what's going on, um, so I can see what's happening. So you get kind of immediate like we can talk it through answers. Okay, then we can order blood work or a hair tissue mineral analysis if you want to go a little bit deeper into it. But that's like I, I give everyone the option, right. It's like if you want the simple consultation, because you just want to feel seen and heard, because it's emotional and you just want someone to validate especially when I look at your scalp, I can say like, yeah, look, this is what a healthy follicle looks like, because everyone has at least one healthy follicle.
Speaker 2:A healthy follicle has several hairs that come out of it. They're all around the same diameter. The scalp looks nice and clean. And then I can look at the parts of hair that they're a little bit more concerned with and I can really tell them like, yeah, I'm validating you, like you are experiencing hair loss right here. Um, then I give them a very simple routine to go home with. Yes, I actually write a huge report of what we talked about products I recommend um, I even I've started sending a little calendar too of like a weekly routine. So it's like Monday you're going to wash your hair with this. Tuesday you're going to let it sit. Wednesday you're going to do like a derma roll. Sunday you're going to do like a detox set, right. So you have all the answers of just a very simple, classic routine to go off of, and then I give recommendations of like more aggressive things.
Speaker 1:I love that because sometimes you just don't know what to you know what to do, but I like how you simplify for your clients, so it's like on Monday I know exactly what I'm doing, on Tuesday, instead of like giving them all these instructions and it becomes overwhelming trying to figure out. Okay, what do I? I don't even remember, what do I? Even I?
Speaker 2:even need to do like. That's why I also like it written down, because, like, I'll follow something if it's written down. Right, but right if I'm going home with 16 products, no one's going home 16 products. But you know, like if someone's recommending that I get everything, I give them all of my recommendations. I say just take what you can like, we're gonna start small. I've always found that starting more simply is better and easier, because then you can like work your way back a little bit. You know, just add on one, one or two things every month, yes, and it's also, like whenever you are starting something new.
Speaker 1:It's like this additional thing in your schedule that you have to make time for, as if we're not already busy. So the more simplified approach will probably you know they will likely do it.
Speaker 2:Right, you know all about consistency, right? If you're consistent, I would rather you do something very simple consistently than do the full routine once a month, right, because that's not going to work. It's not going to do anything if you're not doing the at-home stuff, right?
Speaker 1:for sure. What are the most common types of hair loss you encounter in your practice?
Speaker 2:I encounter a little bit of everything. So, with men androgenetic alopecia or male pattern baldness that affects I think it's like between 75% and 85% of men. Okay, it's so prevalent and everyone knows what it looks like like the hairline starts to recede or they start to get like a little wispy patch on the back. Um, that is a genetic mutation, so it affects a lot of men. I see that a lot, and then I see a lot of telogen effluvium with women. So, like I said, that's childbirth, hormonal changes, medication changes.
Speaker 2:So with those, we just kind of it's like a fun mystery game where I have someone fill out all this information and we just have to work our way back to like okay, so what was happening three months ago? What about three months before that? When did you start noticing that you were losing hair? And let's work our way back, because you have to figure out the root cause of the hair loss before you can deal with it. For sure, because if you don't, a lot of people just want to skip ahead to like the hair growth serums and like the derma rolling and like the growth factors treatments. But if we don't stop why your hair is falling out, then you're going to be trapped in this like baby hairs forever situation where you're going to be growing new hair but you're going to be losing hair at the same time, so you're not really retaining much of anything.
Speaker 2:Right, because if you don't address the underlying issue, it's just going to keep happening.
Speaker 1:Absolutely yeah. You have to target the problem in order to fix it. For sure. How does stress, diet or lifestyle affect?
Speaker 2:their health? Oh my gosh, that is such a good question because that's like the missing piece. I think people don't consider when they're worried about their hair falling out. It affects everything. So I always tell clients hair is non-essential to living right. You can be bald and alive still and still be okay.
Speaker 1:And have a brain you love Hard to feel something.
Speaker 2:For sure. Yeah, it's not going to be that huge of an issue. But since your hair is non-essential to living, if you have any imbalance anywhere else in your body, like, for example, protein, is a huge one Because, honestly, not a lot of people get enough protein in their diet your body is going to prioritize that protein going to your muscles and going to your heart or wherever needs protein. It's going to prioritize sending that where you need it. So you might notice that your hair is getting brittle because your hair is not getting enough protein.
Speaker 1:The extra goes to your hair not getting enough protein Right so much.
Speaker 2:The extra goes to your hair. Same thing with water, right? A lot of my clients are really dehydrated and that comes back in the scans every single time, because your body is going to send that water to your kidneys, because that's where it needs it to live, right? So that's when you start to notice the flaky scalp, right? Yeah, a lot of that has to do with dehydration. A lot of people want to. They come to me and they're like my scalp is so flaky. I'm so sorry and I'm like well, have you drank water today? You know plain water. I mean, I'm bad because I have an iced coffee with me right now but you probably get your water in too, right you?
Speaker 2:just have to make sure that you're taking care of like your body portion. Yeah, because whatever's left over is going to go to your hair. That's actually like. I wish I should have brought my before pictures because my hair looks, honestly, this is the best it's probably ever looked. I was once I started switching over to because I was vegan, okay, for many years.
Speaker 2:Um, I started eating meat last year, so the vegan was not helping your hair it was I'm just, I was just a bad vegan because I was just eating like a lot of carbs, right, I was just bad. Oh my gosh, you know, like you go out to eat, you can only get like bread right, yes, yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1:Like. No meat for protein, right, no protein, or like a salad with no protein, right, um?
Speaker 2:so I was really noticing like my hair wasn't a shiny, it was dull. I was I. So when I did these scans myself on myself, it was actually very eye-opening of like, oh, you haven't gotten enough protein in your body, probably ever oh my goodness right, it's crazy, it's all lifestyle changes make like the world of difference so, um, we definitely know dehydration, not drinking enough water, getting enough fluids.
Speaker 1:Um, the diet, what are some uh foods that uh clients or anyone can eat? You know that can help with protein. You know what we know meat is protein, but I guess like what I like is like quick snacks oh, I love it right?
Speaker 2:yeah, um, let me think, because I just go to costco and I like look up, there's actually like a tiktoker that talks about like protein snacks and I love them. Yeah, um, just prioritizing like healthy fats as well as healthy fats are going to help hydrate, like omega like omega. Like, yeah, like omega yeah, like avocados, a lot of nuts. Trail mix isn't a great like easy snack. Those little meat sticks are a great snack as long as you're getting, like the zero sugar, healthier ones. Yeah, there's so many like cute little protein snacks now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because you know sometimes you need. You just need something quick.
Speaker 2:I keep a lot of protein shakes in my salon as well. I make a protein coffee so I just do like a protein shake with like two shots of espresso in it.
Speaker 1:So good? Oh, my goodness, because I think sometimes the approach of trying to intentionally incorporate, you know, these certain ingredients into our foods in order to get the nutrition that we need, it's just not like another thing. Yeah, so you just be like I'm not doing it today. No, for real, you know, there's already so much to balance, you know, and that's why I'm like what are some snacks where you can just grab and go? Also, just like taking multivitamins.
Speaker 2:You know, just like, really, I know like like no one wants to take a multivitamin, but they really do work. You can get you know, if you're B vitamin deficient, that's a big one for hair loss. Zinc is another big one for hair loss. So, just like, take care of your body. Like I hate saying it like this, but you know sample well, it's like, and you know what you need to do, right? You, everyone knows what they need to do. Um, it's just prioritizing it and like putting your health before I don't know other things you know like is your health more important than like scrolling on your phone?
Speaker 2:no see, because we can do that for hours. I could do that for seven hours a day.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and in those seven hours it would take what 30 minutes.
Speaker 2:Right to cook a good meal.
Speaker 1:Oh my goodness. Are there any specific medical conditions or genetic factors that predispose people to hair loss?
Speaker 2:Yes, so the big one is androgenetic alopecia, which is it's a female pattern hair loss and male pattern baldness. That is a genetic mutation. It is a genetic. It's a mutation of the 5-AR enzyme, if you guys want to get like far into it. Basically, what it does is it breaks testosterone down in a weird way that sends it to your hair follicles.
Speaker 1:Okay, what about the female pattern? I know about the male pattern. It's the same. It's the same, it's the same balding spots.
Speaker 2:So on women it looks different. Okay, so the first thing that you'll see if a woman's experiencing this is her hair is going to get really, really oily very fast. Okay, right, like, have you had those clients? It's like they wash their hair in the morning, by night it's still oily.
Speaker 1:No, my clients their hair is always dry. I don't have any really oily hair clients. It's always my hair is so dry I mean that's a good thing.
Speaker 2:It's a good thing they haven't run into this, or it's like their part is getting a little bit wider. That's another big, big telltale sign.
Speaker 1:I have seen that and her hair was oily.
Speaker 2:Yeah, okay, all right yeah, okay, yeah, I'm like, yeah, as, as you say, the symptoms like it comes up so your pores get wider or it just starts to get wispier on, like the very top of the head, yes, yeah, so what that's called? That's called miniaturization, so the testosterone attaches itself to your hair follicle and then it chokes out that hair follicle so that hair is going to get skinnier and skinnier and skinnier. So I think it's most prevalent on men, because we've all seen the man who you're like baby, just shave it, like right, like don't even try to help. But you know what I like? You see them and you're like you are holding on to those 10 hairs like with your whole life. But that's like a good way to like, that's what it looks like at its most extreme, like the hairs just keep getting smaller and smaller and smaller and wispier and wispier.
Speaker 2:They're more spread apart until eventually the dht has choked out that hair follicle and the hair follicles dormant. Can you let our listeners know what is dht? Dht is dihydrotestosterone, so testosterone gets broken down by this enzyme and it turns into DHT. Gotcha, this is the most prevalent hair loss for everybody because it's genetic. It can be helped with a supplement. That's it.
Speaker 1:There is DHT inhibiting supplements.
Speaker 2:There's also. I'm more of a holistic person in general, just because I just feel like it works and I like using it. So there's like pumpkin seed oil or stinging nettle, like there are natural ingredients that help counteract the DHT. You can take them orally or apply them topically. I was going to ask which one would be best. I mean, if you're wanting to be aggressive with it, I would do both oh both.
Speaker 2:For sure, yeah, be best I mean, if you're wanting to be aggressive with it, I would do both. Oh, both. Okay, now for sure. Yeah, because you can see dht. Like if I scope someone's scalp, you can see dht. What does it look like? It's yellow. It's like a yellowy, like sticky substance. Oh yeah, so you can. You can see it on the scalp, which is really cool, yeah I'm learning so much. You're about to get a scope and start looking at people so I did used to do that really, yeah, I did.
Speaker 1:Um, whenever you mentioned DHT, that's what I was like can you explain to our listeners what it is? Because I am very familiar with that terminology and what it is. But, um, I only went surface level but for you, as a trichologist, like you've done the actual, you have the education you know. I went deep. Yeah, you went deep and I just kind of stayed on the surface level, like when you mentioned pumpkin seed oil. I know about pumpkin seed oil helping to reverse DHT and those things, but I know a lot of listeners don't. So it's like you know, with your profession and being that this is your line of work and mine's just mostly focused on hair care, yeah, and not in the depths of yours.
Speaker 2:Also interesting because I feel like a lot of brands like have have started entering the hair loss world yeah, they have, so it's great because we're getting a lot of education. Um, it's actually great because I've been helping some brands like work out their education to make sure it's correct, because I did take a class and the educator said something and I was like, hey, so that's like actually like, not true so how was that?
Speaker 1:did they?
Speaker 2:receive it. Yeah, it was actually great. Um, I was like yeah, I just like, like, I'm just saying this as like I don't want you to spread like misinformation around absolutely, and I appreciate you for doing it and I'm glad that they received it well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there was no ego involved, like you said, like you got the education from somewhere. I love that. This is like becoming a thing that we can talk about. I think hairstylists, like I said, that we're on the front lines. Yeah, clients are going to come to you before they're going to go to a doctor.
Speaker 1:That's true. So, like everyone, should have a base level, absolutely for sure what are some effective treatments or solutions you recommend for common hair loss issues?
Speaker 2:um, I like derma rolling. Okay. So derma rolling is like using. It's like a little, looks like a pizza cutter. It has like little tiny needles on it. Do it hurt? It does not hurt. It does not hurt at all. If you're doing it at home, on yourself, just get 0.5. That is plenty. So what you can do is you can roll around your areas of concern, because your hair is held onto your head by white blood cells. So these white blood cells are the things that are going to go to different parts of your body that need it. Right, they're stem cells. So it's like, for example, water is like the huge one, okay. So if you're really dehydrated and you're not getting enough water, some of your white blood cells might just be traveling down there. Or a better example is childbirth. Right, your white blood cells are leaving your scalp because they're going to go down to your uterus and they're going to get to work. Dermarolling causes a fake injury on the top of your head. So the white blood cells no one go back to right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it does work, like the science behind that does definitely work. Derma rolling using a hair growth serum on those parts derma rolling it in is going to help it penetrate a little bit deeper. Um, scalp massage is actually huge. I feel like that's not talked about enough and it's free Like you can do this right while you're listening to this podcast. I know that's right Massage your scalp. Just make sure that you're actually moving the scalp against your skull, because the hair or the blood on top of your scalp is dormant. It doesn't have a ton of circulation up there, so you just want to like manually get it going. That's a good one. Red light therapy have you heard of that? I have heard of red light therapy. Yes, red light therapy is fda approved okay, so when I.
Speaker 2:So that's when, like, we have other other options. Um, you just need to use it 15 minutes a day. I have a stand in the salon that I use and I have a stand at home that I use. Okay, I just sit under it 15 minutes a day. You can do that Absolutely. Yeah, cause that one's really good. Cause that one actually helps wake up dormant follicles as well, because it promotes photo biostimulation. So a good way to like, think about it, cause I know you guys probably don't know what photo biostimulation is. That's crazy. But, like, if you think about a plant photosynthesis, okay, right, yes, plants use sunlight to turn over their cells and grow faster. Right, same thing for your scalp.
Speaker 2:Oh, the red light therapy is doing that, the red light therapy is going to promote photobiostimulation, which means it's going to help turn cells over faster. So it's actually really good for muscle recovery. A lot of athletes use it on specific muscles. It's good for your skin because it's going to help anti-age. It's helping the cells turn over a little bit faster.
Speaker 1:That's what I heard of red light therapy, mostly used on skin.
Speaker 2:Great With the masks yeah, okay, okay. And it's good for hair yeah, so it's a win-win-win.
Speaker 1:Okay, girl, I feel like I'm in class. That's girl, I feel like I'm in class, that's good. It's so much information.
Speaker 2:Are there any new or emerging technologies in trichology that are making a big impact? I would say us having growth factors that are not coming from your own blood is huge, right, because there are different ways that we can like put that on the scalp, like I do it with mesotherapy, which it's a non-invasive's, like a needle-free way to like get the growth factors to go into your scalp. Um, people can do it with microneedling. Um, hairstylists, under our license, we cannot microneedle. So I'm just saying that for anyone who's not in texas, because every other state can do it except for us. You can derma, roll it in, you can apply it topically. There are so many different ways that we can now use this technology of basically using stem cells to our advantage in an effective and not very expensive way. Okay, I love that I'm always so quick to refer my clients to dermatologists.
Speaker 1:I'm like I'm always so quick to refer my clients to dermatologists.
Speaker 2:I'm like, oh, maybe you should just go see a trichologist.
Speaker 1:How do you determine the best treatment plan for each client?
Speaker 2:Ooh it is totally different for every client, right. So what I do with clients is we're going to start. It just depends on how severe their hair loss is, what they've already tried and what they're willing to do. Ok, because this is a team effort, I can only do so much like. My job really is making recommendations, and I can do treatments Right. I actually own like the Japanese head spa. Have you seen this?
Speaker 1:It's so good, I love. I want you to talk more about that too, like you know, informing the listeners what that is, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, so the Japanese Head Spa we'll just go that. If you guys have seen it on the internet, it's like you lay down on this bed. It's basically getting a facial for your scalp. So think about like what you get in a facial, right? You get like like the massage stimulation. You can do a derma roll session. We can exfoliate, you can do it for hair growth, you can do it for relaxation. A lot of people just come in and fall asleep on the table.
Speaker 1:How long is it an hour?
Speaker 2:yes, yeah like an hour of like the warm water coming over you. It's absolutely amazing. So, like I said, it determines where they're at and what they're willing to do, because it's absolutely amazing. So, like I said, it determines where they're at and what they're willing to do, because it's a team effort. So I can only do certain things, but if they're not going home and doing the rest of it, it's not going to work. So that's how everyone's um treatment gets determined.
Speaker 2:For example, like men who come to me and they say that they have hair loss and I say okay, so I want you to take the supplement every day. I want you to use this red light therapy for 15 minutes a day and every three days. I want you to apply this topically. So many times they go too much. I'm not going to do all that, right? They like literally tell me that it's way too much work for them, which is crazy to me. I'm like do you you do you want my help or not? Yeah, that's kind of minimal, right?
Speaker 2:So that's how, like people's um, I just gauge it off of what you're willing to do because, honestly, everyone's at a different stage. Some people will strip back their routine like I'll look at all of their hair care and be like, okay, all of this can go under your sink for a while. We're just going to do simple moisturizing, simple conditioner and this one scalp serum and we're going to start here. We're going to dial it back and start very simple. Some people I can jump all the way to. Here is like a nine-step routine that you're going to do twice a week, so it really just depends on how committed they are.
Speaker 1:How?
Speaker 2:committed what they're looking for. A lot of people are catching hair loss really early these days, which is amazing. So, like for them, it's just preventative. Yes.
Speaker 1:And some people.
Speaker 2:it's like we're trying to grow your hair back, so it's a little bit more intense.
Speaker 1:The process a lot longer too, for sure. What are your views on nioxin? I like nioxin Good. What are your views on nioxin?
Speaker 2:I like nioxin.
Speaker 1:Good. I hear so many different. You know so many misconceptions out there and from my personal experience I think it's great.
Speaker 2:Yeah, nioxin is one of the. There are like a few really good brands that I'm like. They've done the research. They've worked with dermatologists, trichologists, like they've worked with literally everybody, so I'm here for it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay, good, good, I'm glad you solidify that for me, because my daughter, uh, she has some, you know, very minor dry scalp. You know issues or concerns, but it consistently kept coming back and there was nothing we could really do. I'm like, well, we can't apply oil to it because, depending on what, what type of dryness this is, it's gonna make it worse. So I was like I'm just gonna go get some nioxin yeah, and I did and it worked, yeah.
Speaker 1:But then I talked to, uh, one of my she's like an older cosmetologist. She was like nioxin is so aggressive and your daughter she's so young and I was just like, but it's the only thing that's helping.
Speaker 2:I also feel like especially talking to people who've, like been in the industry for a long time. Things have changed. You know like if you think about the chemicals that they were using on their hair versus the chemicals we're using on our hair, they're totally different.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2:I give it a stamp of approval, Okay good, Because I'm like that's not a thing.
Speaker 2:And if it works, it works. It's the only thing that worked for her. So I was like okay, can hair loss be reversed, or or is it always about management? It just depends. Depends on what they're willing to do at home. Um, I have seen amazing things, yeah, with it being reversed, but I've also seen people who are stuck in like the same spot for a long time because they're not willing to go home and do the rest of the work. So that also goes back to like, what are you willing? What are you willing to do?
Speaker 2:But both it's like a lot of catching it early is so important as well, just for, like, management. It's so much easier to keep hair on your head than grow it back. For sure, yeah, so you can do. Yeah, you absolutely can't bring it back. Of course, they're like there are outliers, so it's like um, alopecia areata is an autoimmune disorder that's just going to continue to flare up. Like that's not something that really anyone can help, because autoimmune is autoimmune. Like if your body is going to continually attack the hair, eventually it's not going to be able to regenerate, because that's happening internally.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that happened to one of my clients. She had alopecia areata and I told her I was like, is something going on internally, you know?
Speaker 2:and she found out she had lupus I was, I was going to say it always alopecia areata is like that's the big one to me that I can't help because that has to be what about a dermatologist? Can a dermatologist help you? I would send them fully just to their general practitioner. Oh, Because they need to get their thyroid checked. They need to get like. They might have lupus, they might be hypothyroidism, they might have Hashimoto's Like.
Speaker 1:When I was in school for hair loss we learned there are so many very intense things that it could be and that just needs to be handed off to a doctor and then, once the dying of the dog doctor, once the doctor diagnosed, is it safe to go see a dermatologist or? Yeah, I feel like that one is really under, like just a general doctor's scope if they wanted to grow their hair back or it just won't grow back that one it.
Speaker 2:If it's gonna grow back, it'll grow back by itself. You can get steroid shots in your scalp, but I'm pretty sure a general doctor is the one that does the steroid shots. Okay, gotcha, all right, I know that one.
Speaker 1:That one sucks, sorry, I know I'm like is there a solution? Tell me a solution. What can people do daily to maintain healthy hair and scalp?
Speaker 2:I always say start, start small, right, I like to. My motto is like I'm gonna meet you where you are, right, I'm not gonna we're not gonna jump ahead, we're not gonna like make this a huge, intense process. We're gonna meet where you are. Are you taking multivitamin? Are you drinking enough water? Okay, those are just base level Right. Maintaining a healthy scalp is just maintaining a healthy body. So, if you don't have any hair loss issues that, like we're presently working with but it's something that you might be like a little anxious about just taking care of your body is going to do it enough. Are you getting enough exercise? Exercise promotes circulation. Circulation is going to promote hair growth, right?
Speaker 1:absolutely are you getting sunlight? Vitamin d vitamin d is an amazing vitamin.
Speaker 2:Vitamin d okay, uh, that's one for me, that's noted for me, but like, are you just taking care of your general body? Are you moisturizing your scalp? Your scalp and hair, like I said, are symptoms of something else that's happening. I just want to drill that in. Yeah, it's a symptom. You have dry scalp. That's a symptom you're either dehydrated or something externally is like throwing you off or the seasons are changing, which is like yeah, you know, like you can't help that, but it is a symptom gotcha.
Speaker 1:Are there specific products or ingredients? Ingredients you suggest avoiding to minimize hair damage or loss.
Speaker 2:I mean sulfates in general, I really.
Speaker 1:So like, what about Crap Selsun Blue?
Speaker 2:That's good if it's actual dandruff.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:So there is a difference between dandruff and dry scalp? Okay, dandruff is. So there is a difference between dandruff and dry scalp. Okay, dandruff is a fungus, like if you guys look at just look at pictures of dandruff um, it's yellow or it's greenish and it's typically gooey and like gooey oily texture.
Speaker 2:That is a fully a fungus. Um, selsun blue can get rid of that. But if, if you just have like flaky scalp, like it's white flakes, they're pretty small, that's just dry scalp If you were to use selsun blue on that, you're just going to make it so much worse. So you got to know what it is to target.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you have to know what you're looking at in order to target it. I don't really like to demonize honestly any ingredients, because every body is different and everybody's threshold is different. That's true, right Like things that my scalp would react to might be amazing on your scalp. So just, I don't know. I hate that. It's like trial and error, but at the same time, it's like it's a little trial and error.
Speaker 1:It is.
Speaker 2:But avoid sulfates. You don't need salt on your scalp, it's just going to dry it out.
Speaker 1:What do you think about people using Monistat on their scalp for fungus? Have you ever heard of that?
Speaker 2:No, I've never heard of that.
Speaker 1:Yes, there have been some women who have used Monistat on their scalp whenever they have dermatitis or, like you said, dandruff, because it's so different from dry scalp. I'm going to have to look this up and they said it worked, worked.
Speaker 2:I've never used it.
Speaker 1:A little crazy, I know, I've never used it but, um, a couple of my clients have used it in the past and they said it worked and I'm like, well, it's a type of fungus too, right that's why I say, like, everyone's threshold is different.
Speaker 2:If it worked for them, I'm so happy it worked for them.
Speaker 1:I've never heard of that personally, but like I can't believe you never heard it, I heard it like a decade ago I'll throw I'll, I'll do a little, a little research yeah, I've never tried it and of course I've never tried it on my clients.
Speaker 2:But I was very shocked at you know a few women saying like I use monistay and it works I just wonder, like, what the actual active ingredients are, because if you've noticed, like, especially in like hair care coming up, a lot of hair care is using skincare ingredients, yeah, right, because your scalp is skin absolutely. Um, if I like to talk about like the skinification of scalp, right, like if you you would never go eight days without washing your face so why would you do?
Speaker 1:why would you do that on your scalp? Well, well, yeah, your scalp, yeah.
Speaker 2:Also, to go back to your question of things you can do for your scalp health keep it clean. I know I'm guilty of telling my clients this years ago of try, go as long as you can without washing your hair. It's going to keep your color more vibrant. It's going to keep your hair better. Right, Hair and scalp are different. You would never go eight days without washing your face. Think of that next time you're thinking about scalp. Of course if you don't have any scalp issues, do what you want.
Speaker 2:I'm not going to tell you what to do. You know like I'm not going to tell you what to do, but just keep it in mind.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure. How important is scalp health in preventing hair loss and what are some tips for keeping the scalp healthy?
Speaker 2:um, great question. You want to keep it moisturized, so adding an oil into your routine is great, especially in like the drier months here.
Speaker 2:Really, looking at the ingredients in your products that you're using, like my shampoo for the winter, is hyaluronic acid based right because if you start thinking about your hair care like it's skincare, it's going to help you walk back things right, because I feel like we are all well-versed in skincare, like in the winter. I use a heavier moisturizer, I use hyaluronic acid, so on my scalp I use an oil treatment before I wash my hair to add that moisture back into it, so my shampoo isn't as aggressive, and then I use a hyaluronic acid shampoo and that's going to help just balance my scalp and bring it back so start thinking about your scalp as skin.
Speaker 2:Treat it like you would your skin, and you're going to have a happy and healthy scalp yeah, and if your scalp is healthy, then your hair yeah, healthy hair starts at the scalp. Yeah, absolutely, it's where your blood follicles are right. It's like it's the life of your hair.
Speaker 1:It sure is Absolutely. What are some challenges you face as a trichologist?
Speaker 2:I think mostly it's like patience, right, like, just like having patience, it does take three months to see any results. So a lot of clients get disheartened and you really want instant results because typically by the time you've seen me, you've been dealing with this for a long time already. So me saying like okay, it's going to be another three months, it's very disheartening. So, just like staying the course, doing things consistently. Consistency is key, but that's really the biggest challenge. Yeah, other than that, I love this job.
Speaker 1:Okay, good, I feel like that's really minimum too, because in the hair world it's a lot. It comes with a lot of different challenges, depending on what are the needs of the client.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I also am really good at setting realistic expectations. Good, right, I'm. I'm not a fairy. I can't like wave my magic wand and your hair comes back. I can just make recommendations. I can show you what to do, but if you're not willing to do it, that's, that's really it. Right, it's a collaborative thing. We're a team. Yeah, that's why I tell them, like, when we sit down, we are a team. Now, me and you, yep, and we're a team. Yeah, that's why I tell them, like, when we sit down, we are a team. Now, me and you, yep, and we're gonna do this together. Yeah, for sure, because I can't be in your shower every day.
Speaker 1:Yeah, as much as you would want me in there, right, I can't do it every day, and sometimes I feel as though what they do at home matters more than what we do. You know, we give the information and the knowledge, the education to help them, but when you apply it at home, that's what's going to really help you excel in your progress. But if you're not doing it at home, my information means nothing, it's not even valid you know Exactly.
Speaker 2:That's what I would say is the biggest challenge.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure. Have you encountered any myths or misinformation about hair loss that you'd like to debunk?
Speaker 2:Yeah, oh my God, this is my favorite.
Speaker 1:Oh good.
Speaker 2:So you know that old wives tale. If you look at your mother's father, that's how you can tell if you're going to lose your hair.
Speaker 2:Thank you, okay, this is a good one Come on yeah, total, you, okay, this is a good one. Come on, yeah, total myth, total myth. If anybody in your family tree has hair loss, so aunts, uncles, any of your grandparents even look at like your grandma's right, because a lot of people just look straight for the men because it's easier to see. But, like if you're, if any of your grandma's cousins, whatever, if anyone has hair loss, you have an equal chance of getting hair loss because it's a genetic mutation it can come from anybody got you so it's not just your mother's father.
Speaker 2:I'm so sorry because my boyfriend's mother's father has great hair and I'm like, oh man, but then his dad's bald, so I'm like, okay, so oh I hate to say it.
Speaker 1:Okay, that's a myth. I've been telling so many people, but up until today I was saying if you're canita's, clients sorry oh my gosh, I was mostly, uh, extending it to males more than females because I didn't know what it was for women but for men I was like, oh yeah, on your maternal side, you know if.
Speaker 2:Myth. I don't know who started that. Whoever started that is the greatest gossip of all time. Oh goodness, are there any more out there? That's like the top one.
Speaker 1:I can think of that's like the top one. It is yeah, for sure that's like the top one it is.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for sure it's the top one. We'll just leave it with that one. I don't want to scare anyone too much.
Speaker 1:Okay, got you but that's like the only one that I've ever heard of, right to be honest, yeah, how do you help clients manage the emotional and psychological aspects of hair loss?
Speaker 2:I just want them to feel heard, right. Feeling hurt I think it's like 90 percent of it validating their experience, like whether it's hair loss. I just want them to feel heard, right. Feeling hurt, I think, is like 90 of it validating their experience, like, whether it's hair loss or breakage, you're here because, because you're insecure, right, like we just have to like take that with a grain of salt, like like I'm gonna, I'm here to help you. I don't I'm not putting blame on anybody, like it's nobody's fault, right, we're just here to help, right. It's like that, saying like they'll forget what you said but they'll remember how you, how they felt in that moment, just making sure that everyone feels seen and heard and they walk away with a solution. Yeah, and just just validate them.
Speaker 2:Yeah even if mostly that's what it is right, even if it's feeling really dramatic Because some people come in and they're like a little dramatic about it. I'm like I'm here to validate your experience. If that is how you feel, then that's real, Absolutely.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. What advice would you give to someone experiencing hair loss but feeling overwhelmed about where to start?
Speaker 2:I would say walk it back. Are you taking multivitamin? Are you taking care of your body? Start there, Then we can work your way up to like different serums, oils and treatments. But I would rather you do something today that you can control than be overwhelmed and not do anything.
Speaker 1:For sure. Do something today that you can control. Then be overwhelmed to not do anything. For sure. Are there any success stories or memorable moments from your work that have left a lasting impact on you?
Speaker 2:yeah, actually, just last week I had a client send me a picture. She had a child and then she had multiple surgeries back to back. So that's like three bouts of telogen effluvium. Each are different, right, it's each. Each one of those have to be treated as different hair loss. So it's like she lost up to 75 of her hair three times in a row. She had, like, honestly, nothing left. So we've been working with her by doing extensions, because extensions can help your hair grow, because you're protecting it. Um, but she sent me a text that her hair fully fits up into a ponytail and you can't see any extensions. Oh, my goodness, I was so excited.
Speaker 1:Congratulations.
Speaker 2:That's amazing, yeah, so you know, that's why we do this.
Speaker 1:Yeah, makes the job a lot more rewarding whenever you see the results. And then you see the clients that are sticking and trusting the process with you. Whatever advice you are giving, they're following it. You know, sometimes even with my own clients. You know we'll have a consultation first, usually before they secure an appointment, a hair appointment and sometimes I don't believe that they're going to stick with it because a lot of times they don't.
Speaker 2:That's like that's something that you learn as a hairstylist. I fully believe that people are only going to do probably 10% of what I say, or they're going to do it one time and be like I did it every week. I'm like I can see that you're not doing that every week, I can see with my eyes, yeah.
Speaker 1:But when you get those few that really stick to the instructions, any advice that you're offering, and they do it, and you see the results, you'd be like, oh my goodness.
Speaker 2:Oh, it renewed my lease on life. I was like we're doing it, you guys. I'm not screaming into the void anymore.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and also just the reassurance and the confidence in your own practice, like I know what I'm talking anymore. Yeah, and also just the reassurance and the confidence in your own practice, like I know what I'm talking about. You know, like if you just get on board, you know it can work and it can happen for you. Yes, you know. So I know to receive that text and you know also seeing her hair being restored.
Speaker 2:Receiving a text that's not like a hey girly text, yeah, but it's like like a rewarding text, you know, like out of the Bluetooth.
Speaker 1:It's like like a rewarding text, you know, like out of the bluetooth, like this is why I love what I do. You know, like that's the um, the validation, you know. Are there any um? I'm sorry, just actually that, if someone is interested in pursuing a career in trichology, what steps would you recommend they take?
Speaker 2:I would say do it. Do it first of all. Even if you're just going to do this as a hairstylist, just to have another like like kind of notch in your belt of like I'm an expert in my field, I can like talk to anybody, because there's a lot of people who who I went to school with, who are just hairstylists, who are just doing this to have more knowledge behind the chair. Like that is completely valid, right? Um, you don't have to like go off and like do scalp treatments, like all this other stuff. Like you can just do it for the clients that you have. Now I would say do your research. There are like online options. There are in-person options. Just be careful and make sure you're not getting scammed. There are some that it's like it's obvious that they're just trying to sell you product, right? Just do your. How do?
Speaker 1:you avoid the scamming. I just like how do you know? Like, oh, this is obviously a scam.
Speaker 2:You'll know when you get to the websites. Yeah, okay, they look scammy, it's going to. Yes, it's going to look scammy. Also, if you're like interested in hair loss but you don't necessarily want to go full trichology route, I'm actually launching a little education in january. Um, I'm starting with a sub stack, so it's gonna be like four articles a month about like various hair loss things, like things that are coming up in the world, like new technology or just like basic information, how to talk to clients, um. So that's coming out in january. That's good. I've been writing my little booty off, that's great.
Speaker 2:That is amazing, right? So if you don't want to do like a full trichology course, you just like want to have knowledge, you don't have to do the full thing, like you can pick and choose how deep you want to get into it. Yeah, because you have.
Speaker 1:You know we I feel like in cosmetology school we do talk about anatomy and physiology but you are really deep within the science of how this really works. You know we can do some surface level science. You know, as a cosmetologist, but with a trichologist like you're talking about white blood. You know cells and how that affects your hair and what you got to do to make wake those back up and come back to the hair. You know we're not talking about that in cosmetology school. So even listening to you, I'm like whoa, that's deep into science, you know.
Speaker 2:And it goes deeper.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow, okay. How can listeners connect with you or learn more about your services?
Speaker 2:So I'm at AoifeMarieBeauty, which is A-O-I-F-E Marie Beauty on Instagram. I also have my salon and head spa in Austin, texas, which is Amber Salon and Head Spa, and at Amber Salon and Head Spa on Instagram so you guys can book facial scalp facials, you can book treatments, you can book a hair loss consultation. Also, in January, I'm doing a basic hair analysis so you can come in and we can scope your scalp and I'll just tell you like your porosity, your density, right Things that you want to know about your scalp. So if you're not necessarily dealing with hair loss, you can still come in and get something done.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, I'm definitely going to see you in January. I'm curious to know what's going on with my hair besides just on the surface level.
Speaker 2:Exactly Just knowing what to do, um, knowing, like, what products to buy, based on your hair's needs, because I feel like that's kind of a gap that's missing. It's like, as a hairstylist, we recommend products but we're not telling our clients why. Right, like I recommend this because you're low porosity, or like I see that your scalp is dehydrated. Here's what I'm going to recommend for that. Yeah, for sure, and just building out a routine and, like I said, giving you like a calendar of like. Here's what I'm going to recommend for that. Yeah, for sure, and just building out a routine and, like I said, giving you like a calendar of like. Here's what your routine. Here's what an ideal routine would look like for you. Yeah, whether you follow it or not, none of my business.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but you have the solution, you have the answers. Yeah, can you also, before we go, talk more about your Japanese Hes spa? Yeah, yeah, because I don't think we got to really elaborate on that. So you know, just so the listeners can kind of get a visual, so not a visual, but you know, just kind of an understanding of what that is, because it is like a specialty well, I feel like it's not a lot of people know about it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so it is a facial for your scalp. We're gonna do you get to choose from from different things. So when you come in, I hand you a piece of paper. You're gonna tell me what you think is going on with your scalp because what you think, that's going on, and what I can see is going on sometimes aren't the same thing.
Speaker 2:like you might say, you have dandruff, but I see you have dry scalp, right. So that way I know, like, how to talk to you about it. So you're gonna tell me how is your scalp feeling? Are you typically drier or oilier? Um, do you want to do? I have a list of things that you can choose from. So, high frequency, which is using electricity to wake up your hair follicles, exfoliation, extra long massage, steam treatment everything comes with a detox treatment. It's just a great way to like deep clean your scalp. It's very relaxing and just take care of yourself. Yeah, it also comes with a hair treatment, so you can also tell me about your hair. Does it feel dull, does it feel dry, does it feel damaged? So that way we can. We're going to tailor everything to your hair specifically, right, and then we have two options. If you want to leave and air dry your own hair, I'll scrunch some product into it and you can call it a day. Or if you want to like do a blowout, we can add on a blowout too. Okay, that's amazing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love options. Yeah, for sure. Especially, you know being able to come and get that level of relaxation and also you know the restoration part of learning what's going on with your hair and scalp and then leave with a style. You know sometimes you can't leave with it all yeah, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2:Uh. Yeah, it's like like when I leave a facial, sometimes I look like I've been beaten up right because there's oil in my scalp or whatever. So like leaving this treatment and being able to go about your day is like honestly amazing well.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for sharing with us today. I really appreciate you and sharing all the. I learned a lot, so I know my listeners are going to learn a lot and I really appreciate your time.
Speaker 2:Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1:I'm so excited to be be here absolutely do you want to tell our listeners about your podcast?
Speaker 2:not yet. Um, my little podcast is on hiatus because, okay, the editing portion is it's a lot. I got a lot going on. Yeah, also, like the sub stack that's coming out, that's like really what I want you guys to like know about, because it's going to be for stylists. It's going to be for, like, regular clients too, if you just want to learn more. This is like my way of like kind of doing like a little intro. I also have more online education coming out next year, a little hands-on workshop in my salon as well. It's going to be tentatively in spring. Okay, we got a lot coming up, so definitely give me a follow, because things are cooking, gotcha.
Speaker 1:All right, thank you. Thank you, you're welcome. That wraps up this enlightening episode of Hair. What I'm Saying? A huge thank you to Aoife for sharing her expertise and helping us understand the world of trichology and hair loss solutions. If you're dealing with hair loss or want to prioritize scalp health, take Aoife's advice to heart. There's always a path forward. Don't forget to subscribe, leave a review and share this episode with someone who could benefit from it. Until next time, take care of your hair and I'll catch you in the next episode. Thank you, thank you.