Karen Gordon
Karen Gordon

Dear friends,

People often ask what inspired me become a hair loss specialist. I’m a colorist. Why switch gears, or add a gear?

Clients want to know if I've had a personal hair loss challenge. Fortunately, the answer is no. I feel a bit guilty that I'm genetically blessed with enough hair for two or three people. However, hair loss has touched my life because it has affected the lives of so many people I care about. Their fear, loss of self-esteem, problems finding answers to basic questions and their struggle to find effective solutions to their hair loss problems is what inspired me.

As a friend, a relative and a trusted hairdresser, their hair loss challenges are my hair loss challenges. It’s a mi casa, su casa kind of thing!

Has this ever this ever happened to you? 

A very dear client sits in your chair. She mentions that she thinks her hair is falling out. She asks if you notice and of course you do, but you say, “Not really," because you don't want her to feel bad. She says she sees more hair in her brush and on the shower floor. Her ponytail is not as thick as it once was. She asks if there is anything you can do. You tell her not to worry because she still has plenty of hair on her head. You sell her the latest shampoo and conditioner for thinning hair and a volumizing spray and cross your fingers that it will work for her.

You wish you could have told her the truth, that yes, her hair is thinning. You wish you could have determined the cause, but the reason wasn’t obvious (no recent babies, illnesses, surgeries or crash diets). You wish you had better answers, but the two pages in your cosmetology school textbook on trichology seem like a lifetime ago. I’ll bet at least 90% of hairdressers can relate to this scenario, if not more.

If you consider that more than 40 million women are suffering from some form of hair loss (and this doesn’t even include the guys), you can see where there is a huge disconnect in our industry. There is an enormous need for hair loss specialists in a salon environment. And, while I think we can all agree that specializing in “hair loss” doesn’t sound as sexy as doing balayage, and it might not feel  as fun as wielding a razor, it’s something that will be rewarding on a level you have yet to even imagine. Have I convinced you yet?

-Karen

If you're interested in learning more about hair loss and thinning, trichology and hair enhancement, make sure you attend the HAIR+ Summit on Oct. 16-18 in Atlanta!

Find complete details, including how to register, here: hairplussummit.com

 

 

 

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