Healthy Hair, Right Now: Top Stylists Reveal Preferred Choices – Along With Items to Bypass

An Expert Colorist

Styling Professional located in the Golden State who focuses on platinum tones. He works with Hollywood stars and well-known figures.

Which bargain product do you swear by?

My top pick is a soft fabric towel, or even a smooth cotton shirt to dry your hair. Most people don’t realise how much stress a typical terrycloth towel can do, particularly for grey or color-processed hair. This minor adjustment can really lessen brittleness and splitting. Another affordable staple is a broad-toothed comb, to use while conditioning. It protects the hair while removing knots and helps preserve the strength of the hair shafts, particularly post-bleaching.

Which product or treatment is worth splurging on?

A high-quality styling iron – featuring innovative technology, with adjustable temperature options. Lightened strands can develop brassy tones or get damaged without the right iron.

Which hair trend or treatment would you never recommend?

At-home lightening. Online tutorials can be misleading, but the truth is it’s one of the biggest gambles you can do to your hair. I’ve witnessed clients cause irreversible harm, experience breakage or end up with bands of colour that are incredibly challenging to remedy. I would also avoid long-term smoothing services on color-treated or grey hair. These formulations are often too aggressive for delicate locks and can cause chronic issues or undesired tones.

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 lightened locks looks flat and dull. Others rely too much on protein-rich treatments and end up with stiff, brittle hair. Another significant problem is using hot tools sans safeguard. In cases where you employ flat irons, curling irons or blow dryers without a heat protectant, – notably with color-treated strands – you’re going to see yellowing, dryness and breakage.

Which solutions help with shedding?

Hair loss needs a multilayered approach. For direct application, minoxidil is highly proven. My advice includes scalp serums with caffeine or peptides to enhance nutrient delivery and aid in hair growth. Applying a cleansing scalp wash often helps eliminate impurities and allows solutions to be more efficient. Internal support including clinical supplements have also shown positive outcomes. They enhance overall health for hair benefits by correcting endocrine issues, tension and nutritional deficiencies.

For those seeking higher-level solutions, platelet-rich plasma treatments – where a personalized serum is applied – can be successful. Still, my advice is to getting a professional diagnosis beforehand. Hair loss is often tied to underlying health issues, and it’s important to identify the source rather than seeking quick fixes.

Anabel Kingsley

Scalp and Hair Scientist and head of a renowned clinic clinics and product ranges for hair loss.

How frequently do you schedule salon visits?

My trims are every couple of months, but will remove split ends personally every two weeks to preserve strand health, and have lightening sessions every eight weeks.

What affordable find is essential?

Building fibers are absolutely amazing if you have areas of scalp visibility. These particles bond to your existing hair, and it comes in a variety of shades, making it almost invisible. It was my go-to post-pregnancy when I had significant shedding – and also presently during some marked thinning after having awful flu a few months ago. Since hair is non-vital, it’s the initial area to show decline when your nutrition is inadequate, so I would also recommend a healthy, varied eating plan.

What justifies a higher investment?

In cases of hereditary hair loss in females, I’d say medicated treatments. Regarding increased shedding, or telogen effluvium, buying an non-prescription item is fine, but for FPHL you really do need clinical interventions to see the best results. I believe minoxidil mixed with supporting compounds – such as hormones, anti-androgens and/or anti-inflammatories – works best.

Which hair trend or treatment would you never recommend?

Using rosemary essential oil for thinning. It doesn’t work. The whole thing stems from one small study done in 2015 that compared the effects of a mild minoxidil solution versus rosemary extract. A mild formula such as 2% is inadequate to do much for genetic balding in men, so the study is basically saying they work as little as each other.

Likewise, mega-doses of biotin. Hardly anyone is biotin deficient, so taking it is unlikely to do your hair any good, and it can alter thyroid level measurements.

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. I notice clients skipping washes as they think it’s damaging to their locks, when in fact the contrary is accurate – particularly with flaky scalp, which is aggravated by oil buildup. When sebum remains on the skin, they decompose and cause irritation.

Unfortunately, what your scalp needs and what your hair likes don’t always align, so it’s a careful compromise. Provided you wash delicately and manage wet locks gently, it is unlikely to cause damage.

What solutions do you suggest for thinning?

With female pattern loss, minoxidil is essential. It's backed by strong research and tends to show optimal results when mixed with supporting compounds. If you then want to try other things to support minoxidil’s effect, or you simply don’t want to or can’t use it, you could try microneedling (see a dermatologist), and perhaps platelet-rich plasma or light treatments.

For TE, you need to do some detective work. Excessive daily shedding occurs in response to an internal factor. Occasionally, the reason is temporary – such as sickness, virus or emotional strain – and it will improve spontaneously. In other cases, thyroid imbalances or vitamin/mineral deficiencies are the driving factor – 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