A Specialist’s Perspective on Hair Care and Treatments

You read the title of this column and thought, “aren’t we all hair specialists”? Touché. Yes, we are. 

But I am speaking as a dermatologist who selected hair and cosmetics as my sub-specialty. I define cosmetics as encompassing neurotoxins, fillers, body sculpting, cosmeceuticals and nutraceuticals—everything that Happi readers are concerned about.  Every day, I see and treat all types of hair loss—scarring, non-scarring, transient and permanent hair loss. I turn no one away and I throw the kitchen sink at hair loss—scalp injections with steroids to reduce inflammation, steroid foams, topical minoxidil and nutraceuticals such as Nutrafol and Viviscal (professional strength).

In my personal hair loss and re-growth journey, I have used all of these treatments. I also treat hair loss with platelet rich plasma (PRP). PRP is a 30-minute treatment that uses your own stem cells to grow healthy, thick hair. After a small blood draw, the blood is spun down and the buffy coat containing platelets with the patient’s own stem cells is injected into the scalp. It is not as painful as it sounds. 

So, what happens after I grow a patient’s hair? Now it’s up to that patient to maintain it, and we all need a little help in that arena.

Get Help for Your Hair!

As I treat the medical conditions causing the hair loss, I urge my patients to consult with a stylist and/or trichologist for their hair care needs. DIY is big these days, and as empowering and budget-friendly as it is, it is not for everyone. The damage that DIY hair care can do costs more money in the long-run if a client is using the wrong products or “over-doing it.” Been there, done that!  You can’t see the back of your head and by the time you notice hair damage or bald spots at the top of your head, it’s been going on for quite some time.

Hair care, these days, means addressing the daily environmental assaults on your hair, in addition to the grooming habits we impose on our hair. Sometimes it’s just plain “hair abuse.” Yes, hair abuse such as daily blow drying and flat ironing, chlorine, and/or sweat (salt water), blow drying and flat ironing, relaxer, color…you get the point. 

Heat is a necessary evil for styling and straightening. If you are going to use heat, I implore you to use a leave-in conditioner followed by a heat protectant. For textured hair, I love the Designer Essentials line. They use a lot of dimethicone. Oooh, silicones and dimethicones. Yes, I do recommend them and I also use them. I love naturals as much as the next girl, and I do believe in integrative medicine and incorporate it into my treatment regimens.

Dimethicone coats the hair shaft and smoothes the hair cuticle. Think of your cuticles as “the shingles on the roof.” Our relaxers and colors (yes, I have purple hair this month) are the gale-force winds tearing off and raising the shingles—causing moisture loss and drying the hair. Dimethicone comes in like soft, pliable cement and lays down the hair shaft.  See? Not so bad at all. Dimethicone and other silicones do leave the hair feeling wet and heavy, so you just need the size of a quarter for relaxed hair and a bit more for textured hair. 

If you have Caucasian hair, you may not like dimethicone-containing products. They leave your hair feeling heavy, and your hair may bounce a little less. Since Caucasian hair is straight and has the opportunity to be bathed by that lovely oil produced by the sebaceaous glands in the follicular unit, it does not need dimethicone (unless your hair is heavily bleach-processed and dimethicone will be your best friend). I beseech you to use heat protectant oil before blow drying, flat ironing, or using the curling iron.

And please, watch the bleach! I love Guy Tang’s work and those amazing pinks and purples that he infuses into hair. Unfortunately, my relaxed hair would not tolerate that much bleach. After my last raspberry color job, I needed a haircut. I tell my patients to apply products such as Olaplex if they are going to bleach their hair. I also love Thick & Full + Biotin & Collagen weightless healing oil treatment by OGX. Biotin is required in the formation of keratin, which makes up our skin, hair and nails, so it helps strengthen your hair.

No matter what your hair type, shiny hair means healthy hair. Oil sheen sprays are great. I recommend Wella Oil reflections.  It is light, fragrant and leaves hair feeling silky and soft, not heavy and flat.

I could go on for hours talking and writing about hair. It’s my passion.  This is just the tip of the iceberg and it is impossible to mention all the wonderful products on the market. A lady also knows when to bow out. See you in the November issue!

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Sharleen St. Surin-Lord
Dermatologist
Email: derm@visagederm
Website: www.visagederm.com

Dr. Sharleen St. Surin-Lord is a board-certified dermatologist who has been practicing for more than 13 years. She is in private practice at Visage Dermatology, Largo MD. She teaches at the University of Maryland Capital Regional Health System in Maryland and she is an assistant professor of dermatology at Howard University College of Medicine. “Dr. Sharleen” is a member of the American Hair Research Society and you can follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook as DermHairDoc.com