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Jack Martin

Hair Color Expert located in California who excels at grey hair. His clients include celebrated actors and well-known figures.

Which bargain product do you swear by?

I swear by a gentle drying cloth, or even a soft cotton T-shirt to dry your hair. It's often overlooked how much damage a typical terrycloth towel can do, notably with silver or chemically treated hair. This one small change can really lessen brittleness and splitting. Another affordable staple is a wide-tooth comb, to use in the shower. It shields your locks while smoothing out tangles and helps keep the health of the individual hairs, particularly post-bleaching.

Which product or treatment is worth splurging on?

A top-tier thermal appliance – made with advanced materials, with smart temperature control. Lightened strands can become discolored or suffer heat stress without the correct device.

Which hair trend or treatment would you never recommend?

Self-applied color lifting. Online tutorials can be misleading, but the reality is it’s one of the biggest gambles you can do to your hair. I’ve witnessed clients melt their hair, experience breakage or end up with uneven tones that are nearly impossible to correct. It's best to steer clear of long-term smoothing services on color-treated or grey hair. These chemical systems are often excessively strong for delicate locks and can cause long-term damage or undesired tones.

Which typical blunder stands out?

Individuals choosing unsuitable formulas for their hair type or colour. A number of people misuse colour-correcting purple shampoo until their lightened locks looks drab and lacking shine. Some depend excessively on high-protein masks and end up with stiff, brittle hair. The other major issue is using hot tools sans safeguard. When applying flat irons, curling irons or blow dryers without a protective product, – particularly on bleached locks – you’re going to see yellowing, dryness and breakage.

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

Thinning requires a comprehensive strategy. Topically, minoxidil is still one of the most effective treatments. My advice includes follicle treatments containing stimulants to boost blood flow and support follicle health. Using a scalp detox shampoo weekly helps remove residue and allows solutions to be more efficient. Oral aids like specialized formulas have also shown notable improvements. They enhance overall health for hair benefits by balancing body chemistry, stress and lack of vital nutrients.

For people looking for something more advanced, blood-derived therapies – where a concentration from your blood is administered – can be successful. Still, my advice is to consulting a skin or hair specialist initially. Hair loss is often tied to underlying health issues, and it’s important to identify the source rather than chasing surface-level fixes.

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A Hair and Scalp Specialist

Follicle Expert and leader in hair health clinics and product ranges for hair loss.

How frequently do you schedule salon visits?

I schedule cuts every ten to twelve weeks, but will remove split ends personally every two weeks to preserve strand health, and have color touches every two months.

What affordable find is essential?

Hair-thickening particles are truly impressive if you have thinning spots. The fibres cling electrostatically to your own hair, and it comes in a variety of shades, making it seamlessly blended. It was my go-to post-pregnancy when I had significant shedding – and also now while experiencing some considerable hair loss after having a bad infection previously. As hair isn’t an essential tissue, it’s the initial area to show decline when your nutrition is inadequate, so I would also recommend a healthy, varied eating plan.

What justifies a higher investment?

For those with genetic thinning in women, I’d say medicated treatments. When dealing with temporary hair loss, known as TE, buying an non-prescription item is fine, but for FPHL you really do need clinical interventions to see the optimal outcomes. From my perspective, minoxidil combined with additional ingredients – such as balancing elements, inhibitors and/or calming components – works best.

Which hair trend or treatment would you never recommend?

Rosemary oil for hair loss. It doesn’t work. This belief comes from a minor study from 2015 that compared the effects of 2% minoxidil to rosemary oil. A mild formula such as 2% is inadequate to do much for genetic balding in men, so the study is basically saying they provide similarly low results.

Also, high-dose biotin. Hardly anyone is biotin deficient, so taking it is unlikely to do your hair any good, and it can skew thyroid readings in blood tests.

What blunder stands out often?

Personally, I prefer "scalp cleansing" over "hair washing" – because the real aim of shampooing your hair is to remove buildup, flakes, perspiration and dirt. I notice clients skipping washes as they think it’s bad for their hair, when in fact the opposite is true – particularly with flaky scalp, which is intensified by sebum accumulation. If oils are left on your scalp, they break down and become inflammatory.

Sadly, scalp requirements and hair preferences may conflict, so it’s a balancing act. But as long as you are gentle when you shampoo and handle wet hair with care, it won’t be damaging to your strands.

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

For FPHL, your core treatment should be minoxidil. It's backed by strong research and tends to be most effective combined with additional ingredients. If you're interested in complementary therapies, or you choose to avoid it or cannot tolerate it, you could try collagen induction therapy (with a specialist), and perhaps injections or laser devices.

With telogen effluvium, investigation is key. Increased hair loss often stems from an underlying issue. Sometimes, the cause is transient – such as sickness, virus or emotional strain – and it will resolve on its own. Alternatively, endocrine issues or nutrient shortages may be the cause – 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