It was a great pleasure to attend and speak at the British Hair and Nail Society education meeting for consultants and trainees. It is a core purpose of the BHNS to improve knowledge and interest in conditions that are often overlooked in dermatology training and practice. My colleague Susan Holmes put on a fantastic two day programme with expert lectures and challenging clinical cases. The highlight for me was the wonderfully entertaining Dr Vicky Joliffe from the Royal London Hospital who spoke about the cosmetic management of hair loss.
I’d never considered Vicky as someone who had struggled with her hair, but she told me after her talk how she has constantly had to work on her hair due to poor growth and volume. Her talk covered her personal research into the products that have helped her the most and those that maybe have a lot of air time in the press but are rather disappointing. Bumble & Bumble full potential did well in her shampoo and spray pre-blow dry category. For those with sensitive scalps, she recommended “Free and Clear”. Vicky did live demos whilst talking of some of the dry products like Batiste XXL plump powder and “got2b glued” spray. Her other top tips were blowdrying upside down, using cool settings and posh hair dryers like the Dyson dryer. Most of the speakers have filmed some Q&A which we hope to add shortly to the BHNS website www.bhns.org.uk