Quality Assurance Program for Hair Transplant & Hair Replacement

You are likely to see more and more stylists recommending hair loss treatments to their clients, thanks to a nationwide effort by Pharmacia Corporation, manufacturer or the world's # 1 selling hair loss treatment - Rogaine.

Pharmacia has recently embarked on a very shrewd marketing campaing aiming to involve salons and hair stylists in the hair loss business. This is a very smart move on the part of Pharmacia to boost its sales of Rogaine. Since a majority of the people would first confide to their hair stylist about hair loss before they seek they advice from any other professionals, salons and hair stylists are naturally the most appropriate candidates to market hair loss treatments to consumers. By integrating salons and hair stylists in their marketing and distribution network, Pharmacia now has reasonable assurance that Rogaine will be among the first to be recommended to a client by salons and hair stylists.

As of now, the most publicized campaign is the venture between Pharmacia and Paul Mitchell to market and sell Rogaine in all of Paul Mitchell's salons nationwide. To further assist hair stylists in evaluating a client's hair loss situation, Pharmacia has unveiled a new patented device for measuring hair thickness. This new measurement technique is called the ThinTrack System. This technique was a joint effort between Pharmacia and dermatologists and is designed for both men and women. ThinTrack measures hair thickness, density, and width of the mid-line part as part of the overall evaluation of the condition of the hair.  The core function of ThinTrack is to measure changes in hair thickness and density. The ThinTrack
System features graduated tines to measure the thickness and sparsity around the head.  In addition, it has a built-in  magnifier in the center of the handle to detect scalp shininess and blunt cut or broken off hairs. The ThinTrak system will first be made available to Paul Mitchell's salon nationwide.

Individuals who are consulting hair stylists for advice on hair loss should take note of the following.

1) Most stylists would only recommend the hair loss products that they sell in-house. Some of the more popular ones are Nioxin and Nisim, and now Rogaine. While these are fine products, they are by no means the only products available for hair loss and they may or may not be suitable for your condition. The best approach is still to consult a dermatologist and have your conditions properly and accurately diagnosed before you purchase any products for hair loss. When it comes to hair loss, the key is early diagnosis and early treatment.
   
2) Hair stylists often help their clients combat hair loss by creating the illusions of thickness employing hair coloring products and perms on their clients. People with hair loss should realize that these cosmetic illusions of thickness are accomplished at the expense of further hair loss. While it is true that  when used appropriately, hair color and perms can offer cosmetic thickness to thinning hair, it is well established that both hair coloring products and perms contain extremely harsh chemicals that can easily damage hair follicles and scalp tissues. For people who are already suffering from hair loss, it is unwise to use hair dyes, perms or relaxers as the chemicals in these products are extremely unfriendly to thinning hair.

3) Hair stylists may also recommend use of hair styling aids such as hair spray, volumizing products or hair gel to make your hair look thicker. Again, these are cosmetic enhancements that come with a price. Most hair styling aids are formulated with alcohol and propylene glycol. Alcohol is dehydrating to scalp tissues and excessive use of alcohol based hair products may lead to certain scalp conditions such as scalp dermatitis that will cause further hair loss.

4) The more you tease your hair with lotions and potions, the more likely your hair will suffer as a result. Stick to the basics. Instead of poisoning your hair and scalp with chemicals, try a different hair style. Go with short hair, modern messy look a layered cut or a short blunt cut, these all work well for people with thinning hair.

It is generally a good phenomenon that more salons and hair stylists are involved in educating the consumers about hair loss. However, the current incentives seem to be predominantly fueled by Pharmacia and we are skeptical if consumers can really obtain unbiased advice from their stylists at this point. 

Forum:
Salons & Hair Stylists

============================