The most important thing you need to know about hair loss and thinning hair.
Hair loss and hair thinning are what you might call ‘hot topics’ in the beauty world right now. The surge in topical products specific for use on the scalp is undeniable and it’s in response to a growing desire for thicker, fuller and healthier-looking hair. It’s also indicative of a shift in the narrative around hair loss and hair thinning which has gone from something not widely discussed to something that’s very much a part of the mainstream beauty conversation.
This shift is, in part, because there have been innovations in recent years that have seen products hit the shelves that can perform beyond just the cosmetic.
Though the demand for luscious-looking hair is nothing new, this current phase of available options is different from what we’ve seen before, which were physical additions to the hair itself. Hair extensions are a quick, easy and immediate solution to transform the look and feel of hair and they’ve been the go-to solution for a long time. Extensions don’t, however, benefit one’s own hair in any way, in fact, they can damage it and make it weaker meaning that once they are removed you have to immediately replace them, and maybe even add more, to get the result you want.
What the new crop of products do is completely different. They claim to refine the scalp, improve hair quality and reduce hair breakage, which are all helpful but don’t address or impact any of the underlying reasons why you might be losing hair or feeling your hair getting thinner in the first place.
As you know, I’m wary and sceptical of big claims and on further inspection of a lot of these products, I’ve concluded that much of it is an exercise in misdirection. The speciality of trichology is not a particularly shouty one. You don’t have trichologists all over social media creating snappy edits about why your follicle might be shrinking or why your hair won’t grow past your shoulders. Meanwhile, beauty brands are waving you over to their ‘stall’ with big smiles, welcoming arms and a clever but ultimately misleading vocabulary hoping you’ll be persuaded by their claims to give them your time and money.
To give you an example, one haircare brand makes the claim that with their products it’ll feel as though you have ‘11,000 more hairs’ but when you read the fine print it reads that it ‘thickens by coating the hair’. Do you know what 11,000 hairs feels like and if you read that would you assume 11,000 new ones sprouted out of your head? On further inspection, many brands say they are ‘developed with trichologists’ which implies their products are legitimate, but then there’s no evidence to suggest the kind of result you’d expect from trichologist intervention.
Many brands cite impressive statistics, such as 93% of users experienced reduced hair loss in 45 days of use’ or ‘89% of users said hair looked visibly thicker’ but these self-perception studies don’t tell you anything about the individual, what difference the product actually made to the hair or what conditions the product was used in. And, more often than not, the sample group is fairly small.
So, just to be clear, if you have a hair loss or hair thinning issue that’s causing you worry and distress then there is, in my opinion, only one solution: go to see a trichologist. While I understand this isn’t an inexpensive route to a solution it is also the only proven one.
I’ve spoken about this on my podcast The Emma Guns Show and my Instagram at length, but I have androgenic alopecia, which was diagnosed by a trichologist at Philip Kingsley in 2020 and I have been treated there ever since. My kind of hair loss is female pattern baldness and it’s progressive so it was only going to get worse. My treatment has meant the progress has been halted and I have seen a marked improvement in my hair density, particularly on my hairline where the thinness had previously been most obvious.
I hadn’t leaned into any of the gadgetry as that’s just too pricey, but before I saw a trichologist, I had tried a lot of the options you can buy easily on the High Street and/or online. I’d used most of the lines within prestigious hair brands that catered specifically for thinning hair and hadn’t noticed any marked difference. My hair would often be shinier, the overall look and feel might be improved but in terms of things like visible scalp, flyaway hair that was limp and lank, nothing touched it.
So, when people ask me about a pre-shampoo scalp scrub, post-shampoo scalp oil, a supplement that promises ‘thicker hair’ or a protocol of topical products, my first response is to always direct them to a trichologist first. I know it’s tempting to want an instant solution and something that doesn’t require a visit to a clinic but if I hadn’t seen a trichologist then my hair line would have only receded more in the last four years. Where I’ve seen the quality, density and length of my hair improve (because one of the side-effects is that my hair doesn’t snap or wither below my shoulders) I simply don’t believe that anything that’s on the market right now could have given me the same results.
With all that said, and given the cost of trichology, there are a handful of products that are readily available that I do feel comfortable recommending when someone contacts me to say their hair loss or hair thinning issues are causing them concern because I believe their claims are legitimate and I believe that using these products gives the user a sense of agency and ownership over the look and feel of their hair.
The first is the Philip Kingsley Density range. This is a pretty robust and thorough range with everything from a Shampoo, £39 and a Conditioner, £30 (£60 for the Duo) to a Scalp Toner, £21, Supplements, £33 and Preserving Scalp Drops, £50.
Whether you cherry-pick from the range (my recommendation would be the Preserving Scalp Drops, £50, if hair fall is your major concern) or you want to create a hair care routine, each product is focused on an aspect of hair health to improve its look, feel and condition.
The Philip Kingsley Density Range is available from Philip Kingsley, Look Fantastic, Liberty, Cult Beauty, Marks and Spencer, Sephora and Boots. Use the code EMMAGUNS20 at Philip Kingsley to get 20% off your product purchase and use the code EMMAGUNS when booking your first clinic appt to get 15% off your bill - exclusions apply.
I’ve recently started using Nioxin Anti-Hair Loss Shampoo, £27, and it has impressed me with its texture and lather - it feels moisturising and creates a bubbly lather that makes getting the scalp clean without too much friction incredibly easy. A little also goes a very long way so this bottle can really last. It’s also formulated to reduce hair fall, which I’ve yet to be able to comment on as my trial is in the early stages but if it does reduce hair fall then it’s an incredibly easy and pleasurable addition to my hair washing routine.
Nioxin Anti-Hair Loss Shampoo is available from Look Fantastic, Boots and John Lewis.
In terms of anecdotal evidence, a friend of mine has been using the Living Proof Scalp Density Serum, £54, for a few months and has seen quite incredible results. Not only has she seen her hair fall decrease dramatically, but her hairline is also visibly denser. She took photos at regular intervals and the progress is undeniable. It’s the kind of result I’ve had with topical minoxidil (our underlying causes of hair loss are obviously fundamentally different) but it’s the first non-prescribed product whose results have made my jaw drop.
Living Proof Scalp Density Serum is available at Sephora, Look Fantastic, Harrods and John Lewis.
Interesting piece, thank you. What are your thoughts on nutrition/supplements for thinning hair? I follow a hairdresser who is a curly specialist (I have curly hair which is becoming increasingly less dense) and she swears by Glowwa supplements and says her clients have amazing results. I keep wondering whether to give it a go but it's expensive and takes a few months at least to start seeing results.
Superb post, Emma. 👏👏 Such fantastic, helpful advice. (I remember going to Philip Kingsley years ago, when my hair was breaking after colour treatments, and they were so great.) XX