Hair Facts
What does a trichologist do?
A trichologist studies the science of the hair and scalp and then applies this within their business. The majority of trichologists are in chemical practice, there to aid patients with hair and scalp disorders. There are a few that do other things; some manufacture, some are in research, others are working in the law courts assisting where hair is damaged and the courts are involved.
How can diet affect your hair and scalp?
Diet affects your hair and scalp quite dramatically. It's ever so boring, but the reality is that a well-balanced diet actually produces good hair and most people don't like to hear us say that, but its true. Crash dieting, in particular, illustrates this. If people are wanting to lose weight and they go on diets, if you go on a well-balanced diet, such as Weight Watchers, all you're doing is cutting out things that are really bad for you, too much fat and too much sugar, but you're having a well-balanced diet. The hair won't suffer at all. But if you go onto an exclusion diet, where you're having one thing only or a group of foods only or liquid diets, this can, in certain individuals, cause dramatic hair loss. That illustrates the fact that if you can have a well-balanced diet, your hair will be good, and if you, in particular, eat red meat - which contains iron, which the hair is heavily dependent on - that is also good. If you're vegetarian it may be that you need to take an iron supplement.
What information can you take from a person's hair?
The hair is a little bit like a tape recorder in that it's a dead substance once you can see it. Anything that's in that hair is trapped. For that reason, it is possible to analyse hair by burning it effectively and testing for the minerals that are in the hair, and it can also be used to test whether people have been taking drugs. But of course it's not current in use because it takes three months from the absorption of the drug or the mineral before it's at the surface of the scalp and you can actually get hold of it to move it and send it for testing. Providing you don't mind having a gap of at least three months, hair is a good way of telling what has actually gone on before.
What advances have been made within the area of trichology?
Quite a few advances are taking place within the area of trichology. They are, in particular, stem cell research, genetic research, nutrition - that's moving on all the time - and research into the effect of hormones.
Why does burning hair smell so bad?
Burning hair smells bad, as does any form of human tissue that is burnt. However, because there is sulphur within the hair, and sulphur is a foul smelling substance, burning hair will smell particularly awful.
Do brunettes have thicker hair than blonds?
Brunettes appear to have thicker hair than blondes. However, that is often because brunettes have coarser hair than blondes. The reality is that blondes have more hair than brunettes and it is the guideline that blondes have something like 147,000 hairs on their heads. A brunette will have about 110,000 hairs on their head and the red head will only have something like 90,000 hairs on their head. However, because the dark hair is often coarser and blonde hair tends to be fine, it looks as if they've got more hair but actually the blond is the winner with 140,000.
