Hair supplements?

Yes, also,…but watch out for side effects!

Hairdresser, as a study and training center we feel obliged to highlight that hair supplements are not a panacea, or the magic wand that magically solves all anomalies. There is the possibility of serious adverse reactions when, ai your customers, the intake of vitamins for oral use is suggested or proposed… even in the salon.

Let's face it, in principle the common thought could be:

“Vitamins are good for you and they have never killed anyone”…

Maybe it could be so, but if the intake is not highly targeted and specific, even rather serious problems can occur with the consequence of creating dysfunctions in the body with evident repercussions on the raw material on which the hairdresser works every day: THE HAIR.

Let's get to the point by quoting one of the best known vitamins in the hair sector: BIOTIN, commonly known as vitamin B8, or as vitamin H.

As you certainly know, it is a rather common vitamin, present in many foods.

In natural form, Biotin or Vitamin B8 can be taken naturally by eating foods such as:

• oats,
• dried fruit,
• carrots,
• mushrooms,
• milk and cheese
• brown rice.

Although Biotin taken orally provides hair with many benefits, at the same time, as we said before, it could cause some side effects.

In any case, it should be considered that science itself, to date, does not seem to guarantee with absolute certainty that overdosing does not involve any kind of risk.

In fact, one might wonder how many cases this study was carried out on and if the “seems devoid of risk” is truly “risk-free”. But it's not that well known.

Statistics are not my forte. But as such they are never to be taken lightly.

Just think of the leaflets of some drugs, where in mentioning the side effects, the verb often used is in the conditional: COULD.

Which is equivalent to saying, "it is not excluded that .."

Back to us…

In some salons, supplements for oral use are sold, just like in pharmacies or large retailers.

We are certainly not against the use of vitamins as a supplement to achieve the best result in the well-being of skin and hair, but at the same time, we do not share the policy of putting the commercial aspect before the end to the detriment of the customer's professionalism and health.

The supplements should be taken after an investigation of the person's health conditions and the verification that the aforementioned supplement does not enter into a collision course with other pharmacological therapies in progress. It is necessary to verify the proven need of the body to take a specific supplement and this is up to a doctor.

We could mention other vitamins or mineral salts but today we will focus for a moment on Biotin. We are sure you have heard of it often as it is a vitamin that is also found in many products for external use such as shampoos or hair masks.

There are some companies on the market that sell oral hair supplements…

And here the donkey can fall heavily

If the customer is not deficient in vitamins, and specifically in biotin, but takes them in excess, he could experience these certainly not pleasant side effects:

➡ Acne: risk of widespread increase.

➡ Skin rash: Blood vessels can become inflamed because the immune system perceives biotin as something foreign

➡ Allergic reaction: Symptoms include nausea, rash or swelling of the throat and face. While often manageable, allergic reactions can become dangerous if not addressed by a doctor.

➡ Altered blood test results: high levels of biotin can cause false positives or false negatives for several tests and thus could contribute to misdiagnosis

➡ Digestive difficulties: Excess intake of biotin can also assault the digestive system: side effects of biotin can include stomach problems such as nausea, cramps and diarrhea

➡ Drug Interaction: Biotin can cause interactions with drugs such as anticonvulsants. The final result? It may reduce their effectiveness or cause new side effects to appear

Did you know about these effects?

Let's ask ourselves this question:

In light of these risks, how should I behave in the salon when I find anomalies on the scalp and/or hair

A professional hairdresser and/or a trichologist technician, thanks to a functional interview, should investigate whether the client's lifestyle, including food, is adequate.

Of course, we are not and must not replace specialized figures such as nutritionists or doctors but, intuiting and understanding if there are deficiencies, helps the hairdresser to better evaluate how far he can go in treatments and what effects to expect from the intervention operated cosmetic in salon.

If necessary, it is necessary to invite the customer to carry out very specific analyzes through his doctor.

It would be great to be able to "interface" with the client's own doctor and activate a collaborative synergy in order to obtain the best possible trichocosmetic result on scalp and hair in the salon.

Think about it, wouldn't you like it?

Professional trichology in a salon is essential.

Knowing the material you work on every day (skin and hair) does not only mean cosmetic intervention on the "external" part...

Creating a real client-hairdresser trust relationship, through dialogue and a demonstration of competence and common sense, is essential.

Your customer will admire you! She will tell her friends about you and how attentive and professional you are in taking care of her.

It will only elevate your professionalism to a considerably higher level than colleagues who pretend to be artisans of beauty and hair health when in reality they find themselves acting as "commercial resellers" of some companies, often not even completely ethical.

Beauty without well-being is a blind road with a tragic ending. Especially these days.

The customer wants to spend his money where he feels guaranteed, assisted, pampered, advised and cared for.

It is not so?

The end customer is not stupid. At the first opportunity he leaves us for a colleague who can provide him with a sense of security that he does not find in us.

Whether you like this or not, it is a bitter truth that is little thought about. But it is so.

Trichology cannot be an appendix to the hairdresser.

Trichological skills are the pillars on which the hairdresser must build his stylistic technical competence.

Without the pillars, sooner or later the roof collapses, so the results you expect in the salon are not always perfect and we tend to blame the product…

Let's think about it…and if you too feel like getting down to business, click here!