Hair Issues? You May Need Help From a Hair Health Expert

In my over 20 years as a stylist, Trichologist, haircare product creator and ambassador, I was driven by a desire to know as much as I could about my profession. That’s why I became a certified Trichologist.

When I co-founded Arey with Allison Conrad, my Trichology training helped me dig deep into the science of grey hair. I became fascinated by what your hair tells you about your overall health.

Your hair and scalp conditions are a message from your body. Trichologists know that you can’t solve hair and scalp issues in isolation – you need a whole-body approach. Bottom line, what's good for your hair is also good for the whole of you. It’s the inspiration for the inside-out and outside-in approach that you’ll find in all Arey haircare products. 

 

What Does A Trichologist Do?

Trichology is the science of your hair’s structure, chemistry, and health. The word Trichology comes from the Greek word for hair Τρίχος (Trikhos). 

Trichologists are clinically trained professionals who focus on hair health. Like me, many are also hairstylists. In a typical appointment, a Trichologist uses a digital microscope to get a good look at the health of your strands and roots. This allows us to accurately diagnose a range of scalp and hair issues.

Trichologists start with an overall look at your diet, lifestyle, genetics and mental health.That’s why I always look at my clients’ hair as a reflection of their overall wellbeing. Trichology takes a holistic, whole-body approach to hair health because your diet, lifestyle, and haircare habits all show up in your tresses.

 
When Should You Go to a Trichologist?

Most people decide to consult a Trichologist if they are noticing any of the following hair issues:

• Scalp irritation or dandruff
• Excessive shedding (alopecia)
• Hair that breaks easily
• Hair loss
• Noticeably thinning hair

The good news is that most haircare issues respond well to the right treatments. Even better news is that your Trichologist can help you prevent future hair health issues. 

Getting educated on haircare from an expert is a proactive way for you to learn haircare habits that can help you avoid hair damage, breakage, and many scalp issues. Trichology is for everyone who cares about their hair.

Six Things Your Trichologist Wants You To Know

Your future self is going to thank you for getting proactive about your hair health. Whether you’re looking for thicker, fuller hair with less visible damage, or a way to slow, delay, and even repigment grey hair, here’s my list of six Trichology tips so you can easily achieve your best hair:

1 - Get The Best Nutrition for Your Healthiest Hair

Your hair, like all of your body, does better on a healthy, balanced diet. When your diet is lacking certain essential nutrients, your body goes into emergency mode and directs vitamins and minerals to your vital organs. That means when there isn’t enough nourishment to go around, your hair is the first to take a hit. And that hit can show up as early greys, thinning, excess shedding, and breakage.

I get it, eating right all the time is a challenge, especially if you are a busy mom, travel a lot or rely on food deliveries more than you care to admit. That’s why our first Arey haircare product was a daily nutritional supplement, Not Today, Grey. Our science-backed formula makes it easy to give your strands a boost. 

Here’s how some of Not Today, Grey’s key ingredients can help your hair:

• Vitamin D: if you live in a city or work in an office, you probably are low on this essential hair growth vitamin.¹

• The B vitamins: Vitamin B6, Folate, B12, Biotin, and Pantothenic Acid are essential for healthy hair growth, thickness, and volume. Folate may also reduce the rate you go grey.²

• Calcium: an essential mineral that boosts hormones that encourage new hair growth.³

• Iron: essential for healthy hair, iron also reduces hair loss.⁴

• Selenium: this mineral boosts the production of new hair. Selenium deficiencies are linked to hair loss and changes in hair color.³

• Copper: your body uses this mineral to form collagen and keratin – the building blocks of healthy hair.³

• Black sesame: an important source of phytonutrients and vitamins E, A, and B which are responsible for maintaining healthy levels of pigment in your hair.

You’re not the only one finding it hard to get all the vitamins and minerals your hair needs by diet alone. A study by Oregon State University’s Linus Pauling Institute found that almost 80% of Americans don’t eat enough fresh fruit and vegetables. We created Not Today, Grey so you have an easy way to give your hair the support it needs.⁵

2 - Use Your Trichologist’s Favorite Shampoo

As a Trichologist, I am all about the ingredients in a shampoo and so I worked closely with our research chemists when we developed Arey Wash. Whether your hair is grey, colored, or natural, the science shows that it will benefit from a gentle shampoo designed to rebalance your hair and scalp.

The 3 most common hair health issues are:

• Dryness
• Coarseness
• Breakage

I wanted a shampoo that didn't cleanse too aggressively or too fast so that our active hair-health-boosting ingredients have time to be absorbed. That’s why our shampoo isn’t immediately sudsy – Wash is designed to slow your shampooing session so the clinically efficacious ingredients can get to work on your scalp and roots. 

 

Here’s the most effective way to shampoo with Wash: 

1. Wet your hair with warm – not hot – water
2. Massage Wash into your scalp with your fingertips
3. Allow the suds to cleanse the ends
4. Rinse with warm water

As a Trichologist, I always recommend avoiding shampoos with harsh cleansers like sulfates that can irritate your scalp and dry out your hair. That’s why all Arey products are free from gluten, sulfates, phthalates, artificial fragrances, parabens, and formaldehyde. They are also always vegan and cruelty-free.

You can read more here about giving your scalp a lymphatic detox massage.

3 - Why Trichologists Love Dry Shampoo

Over-cleansing is as bad for your hair as under-cleansing, so Trichologists recommend you shampoo around every 3 days.

Hair feeling lifeless? You can always stretch the time between washes with a good quality dry shampoo. “Check the science,” says experienced hair stylist and IAT Certified Trichologist, Sara Hallajian, “I took a close look at Arey’s ingredients and I was impressed that they made a conscious effort to choose clean ingredients that give powerful results. That’s one of the reasons I recommend Arey to my clients!” 

 

 

Why do Trichologists love Wait A Sec? Because of its clean ingredients and non-aerosol powder formula. Aerosols may be convenient but the propellants are often petroleum-based which is bad for you and for the environment.

4 - Why Your Trichologist Wants You to Exfoliate Your Scalp

In a word – buildup. Buildup is the icky stuff that gets under your nails if you scratch your scalp. It’s usually white and a little oily. Don’t worry, it’s quite natural. Buildup is a combination of your scalp’s natural moisturizers (sebum ) and dead skin cells. 

Here’s why your Trichologist wants you to remove buildup:

• Buildup can block your pores and impact hair growth and thickness
• Buildup combines with hair products to cause scalp irritation
• Buildup stops your scalp from absorbing haircare ingredients

The best way to avoid buildup is to exfoliate your scalp with a detox treatment like Scrub that gently removes debris and excess oil. Trichologists know that healthy hair starts with a healthy scalp. That’s why Scrub is another of Trichologist Sarah Hallajian’s Arey favorites.

 

5 - Experiencing Hair Loss? Don’t Panic

If you are shedding more hair than usual, don’t panic. Most sudden hair loss isn’t permanent. So why is your shower floor covered with hair? 

Here are a few of the possible reasons for excessive shedding:

• Emotional stress
• Recent surgery
• Childbirth
• Birth control
• A high fever
• Significant weight loss

The good news is that in most of these cases, with the right nutrition and haircare your locks will be back to normal in a few months. If your hair loss continues to get worse or is in a pattern, then you should seek advice from a medical professional.

 

6 - Use Trichology-Driven Haircare Products

Arey’s holistic approach to haircare is rooted in the science of Trichology. They are all trichologist-tested, approved, recommended, and formulated.

Your scalp and hair health is important to us. We offer 25% off on all subscriptions to help keep you on track with your hair health goals. Because we believe that science + consistency = results.

We are Arey.

We want you to have your best hair at all life stages. Have questions? Say hey@areygrey.com or check out our FAQ page.

 

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REFERENCES:

1. www.medicalnewstoday.com
2. VitaminB12-HealthProfessional
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6380979/
4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30547302/
5. https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/micronutrient-inadequacies/overview