Glenn lyons from philip kingsley offers fascinating trichology taster

Glenn Lyons is not only the clinical director at Philip Kingsley clinic in London but one of the most respected trichologists in the world - and  listening to his seminar at Salon International you can see why. He gave the transfixed audience a taster into trichology - the science, the effect hair has on morale and confidence and the role hairdressers play in the psychology of hair. "Hairdressers have a great rapport with their clients and you play a huge part in making people feel better about themselves." He described the hair follicle as the factory - there are about 100,000-140,000, follicles on the scalp, and is the most rapidly dividing cell in the body. Glenn's first published paper was on alopecia, making him a real expert in his field, and says 50% of women have some hair loss. There are three types of hair loss - temporary, semi permanent and permanent. "With temporary hair loss there is an increased shedding, and can be effected by anaemia, thyroid distinction, medication and general health. For post partum hair loss it will appear three months after an incident," he said. The storage of iron in the body is a huge factor for women, which can lead to ferritin deficiency, and leads onto temporary hair loss. "The hairdresser will be the clients first port of call for advice and while you can't diagnose you can tell them to go for a ferritin blood test, which will indicate their iron levels," he says. Hairdressers can have the worse diet, grabbing something to eat when possible and living on adrenaline, and Glenn advises never to leave it more than four hours before having something to eat - with breakfast being essential. Female pattern hair loss has been Glenn's big passion for the past 30 years. Almost 90% of visitors to the clinic are women and this is one of the biggest problems they face. If they are born with the gene, like men, they will suffer from genetic hair loss. "It is dependent on the male hormones in the body; the follicle becomes sensitive to normal levels of male hormone," he explains. Glenn believes hairdressers and trichologists can work together to make hair appear healthy - offering colour services to make partings seem less and highlights to disguise hair loss, while trichologists offer the expert advice and help. Unfortunately for those male clients with permanent hair loss there is not a cure, but Glenn can help them keep what they have. One of the most recent conditions affecting clients is frontal fibrosing alopecia - scarring hair loss - when the follicle is destroyed from inside the body. "It is an inflammatory disease and mostly effects women who are post-menopausal," he says, explaining that it is the eyebrows being the first thing effected. "This is a condition you will definitely see in the salon." "I know you have to use brushes and high heat but be aware of the damage you can be doing to the hair," he stressed. "Try not to be too aggressive and turn the heat down as moisture is essential to keeping hair looking and feeling heathy."