What your hair is trying to tell you

"Hair is a window to your health," says Anabel Kingsley, a consultant trichologist at the Philip Kingsley Clinic. As a non-essential tissue – meaning hair doesn’t serve a function in keeping us alive – "our strands are often the first part of us our body neglects when anything is amiss internally," she explains.

"No matter what products you use, if you aren’t eating a healthy balanced diet, or keeping check on your general health and stress levels, your hair’s health isn’t going to be as good as it could be." With this is mind, if you're experiencing hair-fall and thinning, or a flaky, itchy scalp, know that your body could be trying to tell you something.

Here, the expert explains the reasons behind the common problems she sees, so you can address your hair health holistically.

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Products, prescriptions and professional treatments

For optimum hair health, Kingsley says to treat your scalp as you would the skin on your face. “After all, your scalp is skin – and you take your hair to the same places you take your face.” Your scalp’s health is also instrumental to hair growth, she notes. “Think of your scalp being your hair’s support system.”

At home, take a triple-pronged product approach: a daily scalp toner, and weekly masks for both your scalp and your hair. If hair loss is your concern, add in a fortifying spray to strengthen the hair after washing.

If your scalp needs a thorough cleanse and exfoliation, try booking in a ‘facial’ for it. We recommend the Intensive Hair Spa Treatment at the Philip Kingsley Trichological Clinic in Mayfair; the Pramāsana Scalp Treatment, available at Aveda salons and spas nationwide; and the Kérastase Fusio Scrub treatment, an add-on at the backwash available at Kérastase salons nationwide.

What your hair is trying to tell you

Products, prescriptions and professional treatments

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