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Jack Martin

Styling Professional based in California who focuses on grey hair. His clients include Jane Fonda and Andie MacDowell.

Which budget-friendly product is a must-have?

I highly recommend a soft fabric towel, or even a gentle tee to towel-dry your locks. Most people don’t realise how much damage a standard towel can do, particularly for lightened or dyed strands. This one small change can really lessen brittleness and splitting. A second budget-friendly essential is a broad-toothed comb, to use in the shower. It safeguards your strands while detangling and helps maintain the integrity of the individual hairs, especially after lightening.

What item or service justifies the extra cost?

A top-tier thermal appliance – featuring innovative technology, with adjustable temperature options. Silver and light-coloured hair can yellow or burn easily without the right iron.

What style or process should you always avoid?

Self-applied color lifting. Social media makes it look easy, but the actual fact is it’s one of the most hazardous actions you can do to your hair. There are cases where individuals cause irreversible harm, experience breakage or end up with uneven tones that are extremely difficult to fix. It's best to steer clear of chemical straightening processes on color-treated or grey hair. Such treatments are often excessively strong for delicate locks and can cause chronic issues or discoloration.

What frequent error do you observe?

People using the wrong products for their particular strand characteristics. A number of people misuse toning shampoo until their silver or blond hair looks flat and dull. Others rely too much on protein-rich treatments and end up with rigid, fragile strands. Another significant problem is using hot tools sans safeguard. If you’re using flat irons, curling irons or blow dryers without a protective product, – notably with color-treated strands – you’re going to see brassiness, lack of moisture and splitting.

Which product, treatment or supplement would you recommend for hair loss?

Hair loss needs a multilayered approach. For direct application, minoxidil is highly proven. I often suggest scalp formulas with active ingredients to stimulate circulation and promote root strength. Incorporating a clarifying shampoo regularly helps clear out buildup and allows solutions to be more efficient. Internal support including clinical supplements have also shown great results. They support the body from the inside out by correcting endocrine issues, stress and lack of vital nutrients.

For those seeking higher-level solutions, platelet-rich plasma treatments – where your own platelet-rich plasma is injected into the scalp – can be beneficial. Still, my advice is to consulting a skin or hair specialist initially. Thinning can be linked to medical conditions, and it’s important to determine the origin rather than chasing surface-level fixes.

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A Hair and Scalp Specialist

Trichologist and brand president of Philip Kingsley centers and lines targeting thinning.

How often do you get your hair cut and coloured?

I get my hair cut every 10 to 12 weeks, but will remove split ends personally fortnightly to keep my ends healthy, and have lightening sessions every eight weeks.

What affordable find is essential?

Building fibers are absolutely amazing if you have areas of scalp visibility. They attach using static to your strands, and it comes in a assortment of tones, making it virtually undetectable. It was my go-to post-pregnancy when I had a lot of hair fall – and also currently as I’m going through some significant shedding after having a severe illness recently. Since hair is non-vital, it’s the initial area to show decline when your nutrition is inadequate, so I would also recommend a balanced, nutritious diet.

Which premium option is truly valuable?

In cases of hereditary hair loss in females, I’d say doctor-recommended solutions. When dealing with temporary hair loss, known as TE, buying an over-the-counter product is fine, but for FPHL you really do need medicated treatment to see the optimal outcomes. From my perspective, minoxidil combined with additional ingredients – such as hormones, anti-androgens and/or anti-inflammatories – works best.

Which popular remedy is ineffective?

Rosemary oil for hair loss. It's ineffective. The whole thing stems from one small study done in 2015 that compared the effects of a low-dose minoxidil with rosemary oil. A low concentration like 2% is insufficient to do much for male pattern hair loss, so the study is basically saying they work as little as each other.

Also, high-dose biotin. Hardly anyone is biotin deficient, so consuming it probably won't help your locks, and it can alter thyroid level measurements.

What’s the most common mistake you see?

Personally, I prefer "scalp cleansing" over "hair washing" – because the primary purpose of washing is to clear away sebum, debris, sweat and pollutants. I see people avoiding shampooing as they think it’s damaging to their locks, when in fact the opposite is true – particularly with flaky scalp, which is intensified by sebum accumulation. When sebum remains on the skin, they break down and become inflammatory.

Regrettably, follicular health and strand desires can differ, so it’s a delicate equilibrium. But as long as you are gentle when you shampoo and handle wet hair with care, it shouldn't harm your hair.

What solutions do you suggest for thinning?

With female pattern loss, minoxidil is essential. Scientific support is substantial and tends to work best when compounded with other hair-supportive actives. If you then want to try other things to support minoxidil’s effect, or you simply don’t want to or can’t use it, you could try collagen induction therapy (with a specialist), and perhaps injections or laser devices.

With telogen effluvium, investigation is key. Excessive daily shedding occurs in response to an internal factor. In some instances, the trigger is short-term – such as illness, infection or high stress – and it will resolve on its own. In other cases, thyroid imbalances or vitamin/mineral deficiencies are the driving factor – the typical deficiencies involve iron, B12 and vitamin D – and to {treat the hair loss you need to treat the cause|address shedding, target the underlying issue|combat thinning, focus