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A Color Specialist

Hair Color Expert operating from the Golden State who specialises in grey hair. His clients include celebrated actors and renowned personalities.

Which bargain product do you swear by?

I highly recommend a soft fabric towel, or even a smooth cotton shirt to towel-dry your locks. It's often overlooked how much stress a standard towel can do, particularly for lightened or dyed strands. A simple switch can really minimize flyaways and damage. A second budget-friendly essential is a broad-toothed comb, to use while conditioning. It safeguards your strands while removing knots and helps keep the health of the strands, notably following coloring.

What item or service justifies the extra cost?

A professional-grade heat styling tool – ceramic or tourmaline, with precise heat settings. Silver and light-coloured hair can become discolored or suffer heat stress without the correct device.

Which popular practice is a definite no-go?

At-home lightening. Social media makes it look easy, but the actual fact is it’s one of the biggest gambles you can do to your hair. I’ve witnessed clients severely damage their locks, break it off or end up with uneven tones that are nearly impossible to correct. I would also avoid keratin or permanent straightening treatments on color-treated or grey hair. These formulations are often excessively strong for weakened hair and can cause chronic issues or color changes.

Which typical blunder stands out?

People using the wrong products for their specific hair needs. Some overuse violet-based cleansers until their blonde or grey strands looks lifeless and muted. A few overdo on strengthening conditioners and end up with rigid, fragile strands. The other major issue is thermal styling minus a barrier. If you’re using flat irons, curling irons or blow dryers without a defensive spray or cream, – notably with color-treated strands – you’re going to see yellowing, dryness and breakage.

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

Shedding demands a multifaceted plan. Externally, minoxidil remains a top choice. I often suggest scalp serums with caffeine or peptides to boost blood flow and promote root strength. Using a scalp detox shampoo weekly helps clear out buildup and allows solutions to be more efficient. Internal support including clinical supplements have also shown positive outcomes. They enhance overall health for hair benefits by balancing body chemistry, stress and dietary insufficiencies.

For people looking for something more advanced, blood-derived therapies – where your own platelet-rich plasma is injected into the scalp – can be successful. However, I consistently recommend consulting a skin or hair specialist initially. Shedding may relate to internal factors, and it’s important to get to the root cause rather than seeking quick fixes.

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Anabel Kingsley

Scalp and Hair Scientist and leader in hair health centers and lines targeting thinning.

How often do you get your hair cut and coloured?

My trims are every couple of months, but will remove split ends personally bi-weekly to keep my ends healthy, and have color touches every two months.

Which low-cost item is a game-changer?

Hair-thickening particles are absolutely amazing if you have thinning spots. They attach using static to your strands, and it comes in a variety of shades, making it seamlessly blended. I personally applied it after childbirth when I had significant shedding – and also currently as I’m going through some significant shedding after having a severe illness recently. As hair isn’t an essential tissue, it’s the first part of you to suffer when your intake is insufficient, so I would also recommend a healthy, varied eating plan.

Which premium option is truly valuable?

If you have female pattern hair loss (FPHL), I’d say prescription hair-loss topicals. Regarding increased shedding, or telogen effluvium, buying an retail solution is fine, but for FPHL you really do need prescription-strength formulas to see the most effective improvements. From my perspective, minoxidil combined with additional ingredients – such as endocrine regulators, blockers and/or soothing agents – works best.

Which popular remedy is ineffective?

Rosemary extracts for shedding. It's ineffective. The whole thing stems from one small study done in 2015 that compared the effects of a mild minoxidil solution versus rosemary extract. A low concentration like 2% is insufficient to do much for hereditary thinning in males, so the study is basically saying they work as little as each other.

Likewise, mega-doses of biotin. Few individuals have biotin insufficiency, so taking it is unlikely to do your hair any good, and it can affect thyroid test results.

What blunder stands out often?

Personally, I prefer "scalp cleansing" over "hair washing" – because the main goal of cleansing is to rid your scalp of old oils, dead skin cells, sweat and environmental pollution. I notice clients skipping washes as they think it’s damaging to their locks, when in fact the reverse is correct – particularly with flaky scalp, which is intensified by sebum accumulation. If natural oils stay on the head, they deteriorate and lead to inflammation.

Unfortunately, what your scalp needs and what your hair likes don’t always align, so it’s a balancing act. However, if you cleanse softly and treat damp strands kindly, it shouldn't harm your hair.

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

With female pattern loss, minoxidil is essential. Scientific support is substantial and tends to be most effective combined with additional ingredients. If you're interested in complementary therapies, or you simply don’t want to or can’t use it, you could try collagen induction therapy (with a specialist), and perhaps platelet-rich plasma or light treatments.

With telogen effluvium, investigation is key. Excessive daily shedding occurs in response to an internal factor. Sometimes, the cause is transient – such as flu, Covid or a period of intense stress – and it will resolve on its own. Sometimes, hormonal problems or dietary gaps are responsible – the frequent culprits include iron stores, B12 and D insufficiency – and to {treat the hair loss you need to treat the cause|address shedding, target the underlying issue|combat thinning, focus