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The wonders of the hair follicle ~ Hair & skin science 

Gill Westgate is a specialist consultant in hair & skin sciences  & the cosmetics industry.

She studied the immune privilege of the hair follicle, and the extra cellular matrix.

She began a hair research programme with Unilever in 1983 and shares her knowledge on the hair follicle with us, stating that they are a lot more complicated than most people imagine!

She describes the incredibly complex nerve supply to the hair bulb and we chat about the microbiome and how it can support hair growth.

We look at the biotechnology that is being used to create products in the cosmetics industry and the new plant based biosurfactants being engineered to replace oil, fossil fuel & palm oil options.

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Working on why ~ Becoming an inspirational leader 

Will Grover is a life coach, entrepreneur & Amazon best selling author from Hythe in Kent.

Over the years he has built a few businesses and run large teams. He decided he really wanted to help people and loves the fact that coaching can change people's futures.

Will has studied business coaching & behavioural science, he helps people to lead their teams to be more productive. He is fascinated with psychology.

Will states how high vibe, high performing teams can make a great salon business and keep clients coming back. 

We discuss how getting to know your team & what motivates them can help to build your business and make it a success. 

Will shares why, as a business we need to be evolving for 2026, and the 4 'V's that you can use to help make changes in your business.

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Trend Predictions ~ What to expect for 2026 

Callum the 'Hair King' has always been very creative, used to dress up in childhood and wear wigs. He began working in a salon and loved it. 

He was sent on a curly hair course and really enjoyed it, and specialises in curls.

Callum believes further education and keeping up to date with the latest trends & techniques is really important. We discuss why it's important to be able to meet the needs of your community and be able to service all of your clients.

Keeping up to date is key, and looking to the future helps to elevate your work, looking at trend predictions and what will come next helps you to keep ahead of the game and be prepared for what clients will come and ask for in the future. 

Callum shares the big trends that are emerging for the year ahead, including 'glossing' treatments, clients will be looking for their hair to be super shiny, the latest colour trends and pantones, and the potential problems this could cause for clients and stylists.

We look at why consumer education and critical thinking are key going forward, and the importance of seeking advice from qualified professionals, rather than influencers or tiktok trends.

Scalp care will also be a big focus in 2026, and so we need to make sure clients are getting safe and accurate information.

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Hair transplantation ~ Succeeding as a female in a Male-Dominated Field

Margaret Zakhary is a surgical PA, licensed in 9 US states. 

She has a family history of hair loss, with her Mum first experiencing hair loss at 16 years old, when she suffered permanent scarring from chemical damage. She tried wearing a wig for hair loss, but it looked terrible!

Later on, when she was only 33, she became very ill, and Margaret, being just ten, began experiencing hair loss herself, and since has had several forms of hair loss throughout her life.

She believes in turning tragedy into purpose, and shares how these events inspired her to study hair loss, to ensure that every patient has an advocate, and that they can get the care they need.

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IBD & Hair loss ~ are they connected? 

Anna Mitchell is a Trichologist with a clinic in Hastings.

Her sister was born when she was 7 years old, and she had two different types of alopecia; this meant, as a child, numerous visits to the doctor, and to a trichologist, who was very nice and helpful at the time. This meant that Anna was introduced to the industry at a very young age.

She has always been a curious person, wanting to know why things are happening, and how they manifest. 

Anna herself suffers from Inflammatory bowel disease, and she shares how she is one of 1/2 a million with the condition. She uncovers the large variety of symptoms, and describes this as an invisible illness, due to the fact that it isn't spoken about openly.

She shares her knowledge on the autoimmune condition, along with her own personal experience, and explains how this can have an impact on hair health.

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Your Hair Story ~ Building confidence & providing solutions 

Jacqueline Leponis is the founder of Hair Story, a hair loss clinic in the Cheshire countryside. She is 46 & has 3 girls.

A consultant trichologist with a hairdressing background, she has an NVQ in customer service, and she opened her first salon at just 24. 

Having seen so many clients over the years who suffered with issues or anxiety over their hair, she realised she didn't have the knowledge to help them. She considered studying trichology, but thought it was too late in life to retrain!

After meeting a trichologist on a meche integration systems course, it spurred her on to study with the Institute of Trichologists in London.

Her salon & clinic allows anxious clients to have a safe space where everyone understands what they are experiencing.

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Wig wearer for life ~ How masking hair loss could change your whole outlook on life

Sam is 40 years old, and she lives in Corby. She owns two childrens' day nurseries in Northampton.

Sam has AuDHD, PCOS, AGA & TE! She shares her story of navigating hair loss, along with her diagnoses and being neurodiverse.

We chat about navigating dating with hair loss, and how she used to spend hours styling her hair to try to disguise her alopecia, and the anxiety it would bring her.

Sam describes her life at the time as a prison of shame, and says that wearing wigs has changed her whole outlook on life.

We also discuss her failed hair transplant, which although didn't work, was the catalyst to her journey of change & healing. Sam bravely shares her vulnerability in the hope that it will help others.

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Epigenetics & Hair loss ~ Building a timeline of investigation 

Bissan Debsi believes in working to support long term hair health.

She worked at Stanford Uni as a research assistant looking into Alzheimer's. PRP was just coming into practice at this time, and she began to take an interest in hair growth. She then worked with a hair transplant surgeon in Dubai, and later California.

She wanted to look more into the root cause of hair loss and address the hair loss itself, so she studied trichology with the IAHM.

She wanted to look for more solutions within, so she studied Functional medicine, which she integrates into her practice. She also uses bioscan technology & epigenetics to help with her diagnoses.

Bissan also shares her knowledge on biofilm on the scalp, and gives us her tips for healthy hair in winter!

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The evolution of the (not so) hairless human body 

Leah Redmond is a certified trichologist, who completed her studies with the Institute of Trichology whilst also studying Molecular bioengineering at Imperial College, London!

She has completed her bachelor's & masters projects covering Male Pattern hair loss, when her interest in trichology began, and she is now completing a PHD on the hair papilla.

She has been studying hair fibre pigmentation & human body hair evolution- basically how we evolved to our current (non- furry) state! She has been looking at the body hair of monkeys, compared to humans.

She has written a review which has been accepted by the British Journal of Dermatology.

We discuss how this change in body hair ay have occurred, what even is the dermal papilla and what does it do? Gene mutations, and why we may have hair at all.

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Season 10 has come to an end!

Thanks to all the great guests and listeners, I appreciate your support!

We will be back soon with more, so in the meantime make sure you have subscribed to the podcast so that you don't miss an episode.

Please like & share, and leave a review or send me a DM or voicenote if you have any questions or feedback

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