Things to say to clients with hair loss

Hair loss and thinning hair can be sensitive subjects. But with numerous solutions to help restore thinning hair, we asked Hayley Jennings and Jessica Patrick, co-directors of the Northern Hair Loss Clinic to reveal their top five things to say to clients with hair loss. 1) "If you could change anything about your hair, what it would be?" You will generally find that your regular clients will bring up the subject of their thinning hair themselves, so you usually won’t need to. With new clients, it's generally best to let them bring it up themselves. However, if you feel a client may need a prompt, you could use their initial consultation to ask them the following question: "If you could change anything about your hair, what it would be?" Alternatively, you could take a more direct approach and ask whether there is anything that they particularly dislike about their hair. If a client is first to bring up the subject of their thinning hair with you before you need to, always adopt a positive first response, letting them know which haircuts would help to achieve the look of fuller, thicker hair, while recommending any suitable at-home and professional treatments to help them on their journey to hair health. 2) "Have you thought about seeing a professional?" It is easier to spot signs of balding and thinning in regular clients, as you will already be aware of the natural inclination, texture and normal growth patterns of their hair. If you have noticed that a regular client has started to show signs of a sudden and dramatic change in the amount of hair they’re losing – bearing in mind that some loss is normal – then it might be a good chance to recommend speaking to a professional to discuss the reasons behind it. If your client is going through Chemotherapy or radiotherapy treatment, then you would probably already be aware, and would be able to attribute their hair loss to this, however a change in lifestyle and diet, plus hormonal changes, can also play a part in sudden hair loss, so it often helps to recommend that your client consults with a trichologist to get to the root of the problem. At the Northern Hair Loss Clinic, our clients are able to consult with our in-house trichologist, Eva Proudman, who can advise on the problems causing their hair loss, along with solutions to help. 3) "Have you changed anything about your diet and lifestyle recently?" Certain diet and lifestyle factors have become more popular in recent years, and this may contribute to an increase in clients suffering from diet-related hair thinning and hair loss. If you think this may be the case, then it’s worth highlighting this to your clients, encouraging them to pay special attention to their diet to ensure they get all the protein, vitamins, minerals and nutrients they need. Hair is an incredible marker of overall health and if they don’t consume enough of the correct food groups then they will notice a negative effect in the look, feel and growth of their hair, so we always have this conversation with our clients if we feel it’s relevant. 4) "As a hairdresser, I've got several ways we can help disguise thinning hair..." If your client’s hair loss or thinning is not overly visible, and is likely to be temporary, such as post-partum hair loss, you may wish to advise on a new cut or style that will help to hide the thinning areas. A change of colour can also be incredibly effective at disguising hair that has become finer. You should also advise on any professional treatments they could try, to help boost the condition of their hair in order to make it appear fuller, as well as which products to change to, in order to help the hair plump out and look thicker. 5) "There are some great hair replacement methods and techniques" If hair loss is very visible, or shows no signs of slowing down, then a new style may not be enough to create the appearance of a fuller head of hair. In that case you may want to recommend that your client speaks to a hair loss expert for advice on hair replacement methods and techniques, such as the ones we offer at the Northern Hair Loss Clinic. This would be particularly advisable if you notice that your client is becoming affected emotionally by the situation.