Bridging The Gap Between Haircare & Healthcare w/ Laura Volpe

The Hair Game (00: 00:00:10 00)

00:00:10 Hey Laura, how you doing?

Laura (00: 00:00:11 02)

00:00:11 I'm good, how are you?

The Hair Game (00: 00:00:12 03)

00:00:12 I'm doing great. So I'm very excited about this conversation because hair loss is something that I have experienced and I found a solution many, many years ago that I am still using very effectively. My solution may not be the right solution for everybody. Now and then I talk about it because I'm like the poster child of it. ⁓ But I know that it hasn't worked.

00:00:13 you know, equally well for other people. And, and I know that there's other solutions out there and it seems that you've got your hands all over it. So I'm really excited to talk.

Laura (00: 00:00:14 42)

00:00:14 Awesome.

The Hair Game (00: 00:00:15 44)

00:00:15 Okay, so you are a New York based trichologist. Let's just stop there. What is a trichologist?

Laura (00: 00:00:16 51)

00:00:16 A trichologist is someone who studies hair disorders, scalp conditions, and hair loss.

The Hair Game (00: 00:00:17 57)

00:00:17 and you have to go to school for this.

Laura (01: 00:00:18 00)

00:00:18 Yes, there's a school for it. ⁓ It's really a branch between dermatology and cosmetology. Trichology lives in the middle.

The Hair Game (01: 00:00:19 09)

00:00:19 Okay. And now we're getting into my curiosity. Where do you go to become a trichologist? Are there specialty schools of trichology or what?

Laura (01: 00:00:20 18)

00:00:20 There are, there's a lot of schools out there. There's a lot of trichologists now offering ⁓ trichology education. So you really gotta be careful with where you go and where you get trained ⁓ because there's just so much information out there now. But yes, there is, you have to be educated in it.

The Hair Game (01: 00:00:21 39)

00:00:21 Okay, so you focus on hair loss and you're the founder of Main Inc Hair Loss Solutions and Academy. So you see clients for scalp issues, hair loss issues, as well as you educate other professionals to offer the same kinds of services. Is that right? Okay, amazing. Okay, so why don't we talk about…

Laura (01: 00:00:22 43)

00:00:22 Yes.

00:00:23 That's correct. Right on.

The Hair Game (02: 00:00:24 06)

00:00:24 why you started doing this in the first place? Were you a hairstylist originally or did you just have an interest in hair loss? How did it happen?

Laura (02: 00:00:25 13)

00:00:25 So I started out in the field, much like everyone else in the hair industry, shampooing. So shampooing, I was like 19 years old, I made tons of cash, right? ⁓ So tips was great. And that's just, I just started.

The Hair Game (02: 00:00:26 26)

00:00:26 tips.

Laura (02: 00:00:27 32)

00:00:27 doing hair. I went to cosmetology school after high school and I went to college as well. And that was just kind of like what I did on the side was shampooing hair and then I fell in love with doing hair. I love how people felt good afterwards. So that's really the start of my career. And then in doing that, always

00:00:28 became a specialist in something, ⁓ extensions. And then lastly, I became a Goldwell Master Colorist four times over. So that's really where I lived and that was my specialty was ⁓ being a colorist. During the pandemic, when we all got locked out of the salons and we had to be sick. New York was, yeah, it was rough.

The Hair Game (03: 00:00:29 13)

00:00:29 especially in New York and California.

Laura (03: 00:00:30 19)

00:00:30 and you take a salon of 16 stylists and we have to be six feet apart when we did return, ⁓ do the math. It just wasn't working. So I've done every baby light, every root smudge, every balayage. I've done it all. And I was just kind of tired. Like I'm getting older, my back was hurting more, the holiday rushes, I wasn't with my kids.

00:00:31 And then compensating all of that money that I made during the holidays to get me through the slow times. So during the pandemic, it really forced me to pause and to think about my future in a different way. And I was like, I love hair. I love what I do, but I'm tired. I'm exhausted. I'm bored. I'm not stimulated. And I'm not really using my creativity because people are coming in with photos from Instagram and unrealistic expectations.

00:00:32 And then the people that were older in the salon, I saw them, you know, becoming crippled more. And it was just like, how am I going to get to the next stage of my life? So the pandemic, we all paused and I thought, what is the one common thing that women complain about when they sit in my chair? And not complaining in a bad way, but it was just, ⁓ you know, how can you help me? And it was always hair loss or a scalp condition, whether it's menopause.

00:00:33 cancer, stress-related, gut health, and cosmetology training does not go into any of that. So we're left, they come to us and we don't have any solutions for them. So that's really how it started. I took that forced pause during the pandemic and I said, I'm done. And that's exactly how it began. went and just started off, I went to, ⁓

00:00:34 not a trichology school, I went and did scalp micropigmentation. So that's almost like microblading for your eyebrows, but for your scalp, right? And that's using pointillism, filling in the sparse areas to give you density. And that's how I started.

The Hair Game (05: 00:00:35 32)

00:00:35 Interesting, interesting. Okay. Yeah, that's good though. I mean, a path that is ⁓ full of fundamentals and lots of experience. And you saw a lot of things behind the chair as a hairdresser and then you had interest in certain directions and kind of you went in that direction, educated yourself further and further. And so that's where you are now. Okay, so now describe

Laura (05: 00:00:36 34)

00:00:36 Yeah, a very long cap. Yeah.

The Hair Game (06: 00:00:37 02)

00:00:37 main ink hair loss solutions. Like, ⁓ I did a little in the introduction, but give us a, give us an idea of what you guys are doing.

Laura (06: 00:00:38 12)

00:00:38 Sure, so Mane Inc, just to give you an overview of how that was developed and I'm not changing my name, Mane as in M-A-N-E, Mane, or hair, and Inc, because I started off doing scalp micropigmentation, so INK, and it was a hair loss solution. So that was the birth of Mane Inc Hair Loss Solutions, and I started out doing SMP, right? ⁓ And then I would go out and I would…

The Hair Game (06: 00:00:39 37)

00:00:39 Scalp micropigmentation.

Laura (06: 00:00:40 39)

00:00:40 Yeah, scalp micropigmentation, sorry, SMP, just to shorten it a bit. So that is given the look and the illusion of fuller, thicker hair. Also scar camouflage. So any women or men who get hair transplant, there's a scar usually in the back where they take that strip. I can fill that in as well. ⁓ So that's how it started. And then I would go out and network and I would go out and shout to the rooftops, like what I was doing now.

The Hair Game (06: 00:00:41 43)

00:00:41 Mm-hmm.

Laura (07: 00:00:42 10)

00:00:42 And everyone was like, that's really cool, but what do you think of these supplements? And what do you think of minoxidil? And what do you think of it? I'm like, shoot, I still don't know. I don't freaking know that. And I thought I was like, you know, this was gonna be it, you know? So that's really how I became a trichologist, because I then educated myself even further. But Main and Care Loss Solutions is a hair loss clinic where anyone who's experiencing any kind of hair loss.

00:00:43 whether it's genetics, whether it's postpartum, premenopause, postmenopause, gut and stress, environmental factors. There's so many reasons why people are losing their hair and we have to curate a treatment based on those unique needs. So Instagram and Facebook love to push products at us, but there's formulations for different reasons. There's DHT blockers, there's vasodilators.

00:00:44 So, main and care loss solutions is really a place where someone can come and get their scalp dermscoped because we have to see what's going on at a follicular level. And from there…

The Hair Game (08: 00:00:45 18)

00:00:45 That's

00:00:46 where you get in really close and you see on the screen and you're like, ⁓ gosh, it's a little cringey. Cringe city. if you've, yeah, she's showing us for those listeners, she's showing us the screen. Is she going to show us her own scalp? This is the drama of a podcast.

Laura (08: 00:00:47 23)

00:00:47 Yeah, you're like, that's my… Cringe, cringe, cringe, cringe. Yes. ⁓

00:00:48 I will, because I clean my scalp every day. Here we go.

00:00:49 All right, so I am going to dermscope my scalp.

The Hair Game (08: 00:00:50 46)

00:00:50 Huh? there it is. The listeners are like, gosh darn it, I wish I was on YouTube right now. ⁓ Wow, you have a really clean scalp. Of course you do, this is your business.

Laura (08: 00:00:51 49)

00:00:51 So.

00:00:52 Yeah. Nope.

00:00:53 Yeah, because guess what?

00:00:54 Yeah, well we should be washing every day. That's a myth that needs to be debunked. And I'm gonna tell you why. Because we have sebaceous glands that live in our scalp and we have product that we put on our scalp. And when the sebaceous glands are producing oils which we need, if we let that live on the scalp for too long, our skin cells, our product buildup,

The Hair Game (09: 00:00:55 05)

00:00:55 I do that. Why?

Laura (09: 00:00:56 23)

00:00:56 and environment, it all creates like this concoction and that's where we get like stagnant hair growth or scalp disorders. So.

The Hair Game (09: 00:00:57 32)

00:00:57 So

00:00:58 I have to just chime in and support what you just said because I know that it is a common thought that you should wait several days or a couple days or whatever days between washes. I had dry scalp issues for so many years and I don't even know if it's considered dry scalp but I had flaky scalp for so many years and I would hear different things from different people and so sometimes

00:00:59 You know, I would go a month or two just washing once every five days and then it would still be happening. And then I would go every two days and it would still be happening. And I thought it was dry scalp, but it was actually overproduction of oil that was creating the flakiness. And so I went to a barber one time and he was like, well, you should be washing every day. And I'm like, what do you mean? Everybody says that. So then I started washing every day and it went away like that.

Laura (10: 00:01:00 16)

00:01:00 Yeah.

00:01:01 Yeah, yeah. Also when we have dry scalp, it can be genetics, believe it or not. It can be gut health issues. So again, with main and care loss solutions, that's really where we get to the root of it. But there's so many myths out there, you know, don't wash every day. But if every time you go to wash, we should be using a Boris bristle brush and taking down the oils that our body is naturally producing.

00:01:02 dragging it to the mid to end. So we're oiling it naturally. All right. So there are things that we can be doing to help with scalp health.

The Hair Game (11: 00:01:03 09)

00:01:03 Yeah. Yeah. Great idea. And I imagine, as I think you've already noted that different people have different issues. So, you know, I, I don't think it's right for everyone to wash every day. And you know that, yeah. So you guys deal with a lot of different things and you probably know how to diagnose somebody's issue. I'm curious if someone has a genetic issue versus an environmental issue versus this, how do you tell?

Laura (11: 00:01:04 22)

00:01:04 Right, absolutely.

The Hair Game (11: 00:01:05 39)

00:01:05 who has what issue, and then properly ⁓ create a solution.

Laura (11: 00:01:06 44)

00:01:06 That's a great question. ⁓ So when someone reaches out to me, the first point of contact is a conversation like this, like, what are you experiencing that's over the telephone? And then they'll get an intake form. And that intake form is building the pieces to the puzzle. I want to know your age, your genetics, your background. There's a lot of questions. There are medications that you're on, all of it. So I look at that prior to you even coming in. When you come in, I then do the derm scope.

00:01:07 And then I do a scalp analysis just, and I can touch the hair, I could feel the hair. That's really where the cosmetology piece comes in. ⁓ And then with all of the pieces together, that's where I can say, okay, mom and dad lost, you know, their bald or their thinning, brother, sister. And I just kind of understand their story. So there's a story to each individual. ⁓ Hair loss is polygenetic. Again, ⁓

00:01:08 debunking any myths out there. It's not just from the mom or just from the dad. It's polygenetic. So it could be from both. So just listening to their story is really how I curate the treatment because maybe I don't want to block the DHT. Maybe I don't want to block the androgens. ⁓ Maybe they have cancer or are getting over cancer. I don't want to mess with the hormones. So there's a lot that goes into it. It's not just, buy this scalp.

00:01:09 serum and you're good to go. There's more to it. There's also testing that we can do, epigenetic hair testing, blood ⁓ testing we can do, ADA biomarkers. There's so much we can do. again, going back to cosmetologists, aren't trained to do that. And dermatologists aren't going to spend the time doing what we're doing, right? They're going to give you clobatosol and all these other things and just send you on their way. So

The Hair Game (13: 00:01:10 36)

00:01:10 What's Klebetasol?

Laura (13: 00:01:11 38)

00:01:11 Clabetasol is an anti-fungal shampoo. So someone like you, you went to a dermatologist, they'd probably have given you a clabetasol. That would have been their treatment. ⁓

The Hair Game (13: 00:01:12 45)

00:01:12 Yes, it was called,

00:01:13 not, not, Nizerol, yeah.

Laura (13: 00:01:14 49)

00:01:14 Eyes are off.

00:01:15 Yep, see? That's what I'm saying. It's a one size fits all, but when we cure the gut or we understand what you're going through, we sit with you. Your appointment's 45 minutes long. No dermatologist is going to do that. So ⁓ I'm working with a lot of dermatologists now. They're actually reaching out to me because the client is going home with a follow-up email and I'm like, bring this to your dermatologist if you feel like you want to. And they're like, pshh.

00:01:16 Like, where did you find a trich— and then that's how the conversation rolls. So we do work in tandem because I can't do a scalp biopsy, and sometimes we do need a scalp biopsy to diagnose ⁓ a certain scalp disorder or a hair disorder. ⁓ So we do need them.

The Hair Game (14: 00:01:17 33)

00:01:17 Got it. So you have to have a medical license to do a scalp biopsy. Yeah. Okay. And then the data from the biopsy, you can take that data and properly diagnose the issue and come up with the right solution.

Laura (14: 00:01:18 38)

00:01:18 Yes, yes.

00:01:19 Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.

The Hair Game (14: 00:01:20 52)

00:01:20 So

00:01:21 you mentioned DHT blockers. I believe you're talking about Finasteride, is that right? Isn't Finasteride, is ⁓ one of the brand names is Propecia, right? That's a DHT

Laura (15: 00:01:22 03)

00:01:22 Yep, yep, there's finasteride,

00:01:23 butesteride, spirinal lactone. There's minoxidil, that's a DHT blocker as well. Well, it's a vasodilator, but the scalp one I have has 11 DHT blockers in it. So that is when we produce too much testosterone and scientists still don't know why, but it's converted into DHT and then it attacks the hair follicle and then it miniaturizes it. So basically what it's doing is just like attacking and miniaturizing the hair. So you want to block that.

The Hair Game (15: 00:01:24 11)

00:01:24 Okay.

00:01:25 Okay.

00:01:26 Okay.

00:01:27 So apparently that was my issue because minoxidil and finasteride solved my issue years ago. And I was having the male pattern baldness issue, right? Whereas my wife calls them the parking lots on either side of my, you know, above the temples. And then kind of on the crown there, I was thinning and I went to go see a guy. It's actually a pretty funny story. So a friend of mine who was quite a bit older than I am,

Laura (15: 00:01:28 40)

00:01:28 Yeah.

00:01:29 Yeah.

00:01:30 Yeah.

The Hair Game (16: 00:01:31 02)

00:01:31 and still is quite a bit older than I am. ⁓ He disappeared off the social map for a few months and all the friends in our social network was like, where did Don go? And then Don emerges and he was wearing a hat and we're like, where the hell have you been? And he takes off his hat and he's got all this hair. So we're like, ⁓ you got the, know, the hair implant things.

Laura (16: 00:01:32 14)

00:01:32 Yeah.

The Hair Game (16: 00:01:33 28)

00:01:33 And so I started talking to him and I said, I'm thinning. He's like, go see my guy. So I went to go see his guy in Beverly Hills and the doctor ⁓ prescribed ⁓ Propecia and Rogaine for me or, or Benoxidil. And it was, it worked within eight months or, you know, or so. And, ⁓ so I still do it and it's, it's been good for me. I know it has, it hasn't worked for my brother.

Laura (16: 00:01:34 47)

00:01:34 Yeah. Yeah.

00:01:35 Yeah.

The Hair Game (16: 00:01:36 57)

00:01:36 hasn't worked for many other guys. And it's been very interesting to see how the kind of marketplace is trying to solve some of the problems and the four people who are experiencing hair loss and how it's been, how the results have been so scattershot. Some very successful like me, some very unsuccessful like my brother. And then the market most recently,

Laura (17: 00:01:37 18)

00:01:37 Sure.

The Hair Game (17: 00:01:38 27)

00:01:38 is coming up with all sorts of interesting variations. ⁓ The Hems and Hers company has come up with products that combine generic minoxidil and generic finasteride into a topical solution, all in one that you put up there, which is interesting because finasteride is a pill typically, and then minoxidil is a topical, goes on top. So I saw that and I'm like, ⁓ you can just…

00:01:39 you can get the benefits from finasteride topically. That's interesting. And I kind of wonder. And then I saw yesterday an ad from them where they have a gummy with both of those. Supposedly you take a gummy and I thought, ⁓ minoxidil, can ingest minoxidil and get the benefits from it. So what do you think about all that?

Laura (17: 00:01:40 59)

00:01:40 Yes.

00:01:41 Yeah.

00:01:42 Yeah, yeah.

00:01:43 So again, going back to, first I wanna circle back to what you said. The key element there was you said in eight months, that is huge. In eight months, because that's how long it takes. It takes eight to about a year and a half to see any results. People are never committed that long because we're being sold. Look how much hair I grew in three months. If you take this gummy, this was me before.

00:01:44 And now look at me and they pull the wool over your eyes because they're pulling at the heartstrings of someone who's losing their hair. And we need to be honest and we need to say exactly the conversation that you and I are having that it takes eight plus months and consistency. Same thing with if you want to say. Yeah, well, eight months was pretty quick. I have to be honest with you. Eight months was pretty quick. But again, going back to just you saying in eight months.

The Hair Game (19: 00:01:45 04)

00:01:45 I thought that was fast. I thought eight months was fast.

Laura (19: 00:01:46 15)

00:01:46 because people do think that it happens overnight. ⁓ Because remember, hair grows up to a half inch per month. That is relying on the antigen phase that you were born with. Every single person was born with a different antigen phase. And that antigen phase can last up to seven years, which means that our hair will grow for seven years and then die off, miniaturize, and then re-sprout, okay?

00:01:47 the antigen, the catagen, and telogen. That's the hair growth cycle. But if you were born with an antigen phase of two years, your hair is only gonna grow for two years, and then it's going to pause, rest, and reset. So when we're trying to regrow our hair, we have to remember there's an antigen phase to this whole mathematical equation that no one's thinking of because we're just pushing product in front of you. So that's why being a trichologist, having clients see a trichologist,

00:01:48 is really where you're going to get the best information and what will work for you. So going back to the question with do Testaride, Fenestaride, Orally, Topically, there's multiple ways that you can take it. There is an oral minoxidil, there is oral pills for Fenestaride, Do Testaride, and Spirinal Lactone, as well as Topically. People have to make their own decision because some people just want a pill and they don't want anything on their hair. I have a lot of women that want nothing on their scalp.

The Hair Game (20: 00:01:49 42)

00:01:49 Sure. Yeah.

Laura (20: 00:01:50 42)

00:01:50 so they can go to the pill form. ⁓

00:01:51 But some women don't or men do not want anything in their system. So they want it topically, because the barrier is less. It's not going through our system. So we have to understand again that perspective of the person. What are their beliefs? What are they trying to do? ⁓ So that's the…

00:01:52 I think that it's great that we have these options, but I think that they have to be catered to the individual. ⁓ I think you just really got to know where you stand. I don't think people should jump to finasteride or do test or I or spina lactone because that's the highest bar. That's like the highest, highest bar. We can get results starting here. So then as you age, we can kind of, yeah. So.

The Hair Game (21: 00:01:53 32)

00:01:53 Starting lower, yeah, yeah.

00:01:54 Okay.

Laura (21: 00:01:55 36)

00:01:55 And a lot

00:01:56 of people, sorry to interrupt, a lot of people are coming in when they're older. So we have to remember, like I always do this visualization of like a clear fish bowl, right? And then we add in all of these things, genetics, hormonal imbalances, medications, ⁓ cancers, any of the stuff that adds to the pot. And now you're like in your forties, fifties and sixties and you want to regrow your hair, it's going to be harder. So.

00:01:57 The truth really is slowing down the progression of hair loss and not promising to regrow it.

The Hair Game (22: 00:01:58 09)

00:01:58 So starting early is good and I have many friends who are probably 50 % bald. Let's just imagine the first half of the scalp is visible and it looks like they haven't had any hair growing in some of those follicles for 10 years and they're like, ⁓ well can Propecia or Finasteride work for me? And you know, I would…

Laura (22: 00:01:59 12)

00:01:59 100.

00:02:00 Yeah.

The Hair Game (22: 00:02:01 35)

00:02:01 defer to a doctor, would say, look, I'm not the guy to talk to, but go talk to a doctor or somebody who specializes in this. But I've been told by doctors and trichologists that as soon as I guess the hair follicle dies and I guess the skin closes up, am I somewhere in the ballpark of accuracy here? That's it.

Laura (22: 00:02:02 57)

00:02:02 Well, it's not that,

00:02:03 yeah, yeah, you can see if they're dormant ⁓ by looking with a derm scope, but you have, it's called scarring, like so that the follicles clode up, it's scarring alopecia, which is like an inactive hair follicle. ⁓

00:02:04 and we can tell sometimes they're discolored. There's yellow perifelicular openings so we can tell. That's more genetic. But yeah, you, once the follicle, you could even tell by the scalp. So like if a guy came in and he had, he was balding back here, you can see if there's any growth out of there. So you'll be able to see with a dermoscope. You just gotta know what you're looking at. But once they're dormant, you cannot reactivate it.

The Hair Game (23: 00:02:05 35)

00:02:05 Nothing, nothing I'll get rid of it.

Laura (23: 00:02:06 38)

00:02:06 Nothing, no, even a hair transplant, here, okay. So guy gets a hair transplant or a girl and they take it from the back and the guy gets it done up here. Now the doctor says, bye, you look great, you look great in six months, six months, whatever. Those hairs that were transplanted are still going to fall previ to the genetic predisposition that you were born with. We have to support those transplanted hairs, still with now, Propecia.

00:02:07 finasteride, eutasteride, minoxidil, vasodilators, low-level laser therapy, microchanneling with growth factors, exosomes, and so on and so forth. You cannot think that you escaped and that that hair won't dormant, that won't become miniaturized. You then have to go into a very strong hair care protocol to keep that anid, that…

00:02:08 hair is strong and active otherwise if you just think that you could just do nothing your hair is going to fall out again and then there goes 15, 20 grand all that money for nothing so they're not telling you that you need to support it.

The Hair Game (24: 00:02:09 37)

00:02:09 all that money.

00:02:10 Right. Do they not do that? I imagine that, you know, a good doctor who's doing a transplant will offer that. The prescriptions and the recommendations and everything. I wonder.

Laura (24: 00:02:11 52)

00:02:11 I

00:02:12 I have not, yeah, no, I've spoken to a bunch of, mostly men are getting the transplant. And they were like, really? I was like, they didn't offer you like a laser cap or, you know, and they're like, no, they just said use, use Rogaine, you know, like something like that. And it needs to be supported. You know, you need to be seen quarterly. I have program where my clients are seeing me quarterly.

The Hair Game (25: 00:02:13 21)

00:02:13 Okay, so ⁓ a couple brands that I want to throw out there, I already did throw it just for your ⁓ kind of opinion and feedback on. So Nioxin is one of them. for, I don't know, 30 years ago, 20 years ago, Nioxin was like, you know, we're for regrowth of the hair. And I always thought, how does that happen? It's just a shampoo. What do you think about Nioxin?

Laura (25: 00:02:14 46)

00:02:14 So, Nioxin, I'm going to be honest with you, I'm not very, I mean, I've heard of it, of course, like I'm in the industry, in our place, it's right there on the shelves. ⁓ But Nioxin is not my choice, it's not what I use, it's not what I support. ⁓ Again, because the formulas are different. So,

00:02:15 It's a vasodilator, it's a minoxidil, and there's a system of shampoo, a conditioner, I'm not even sure if there's DHT blockers in it, to be honest with you. I've bypassed all of what's out there for us to see, and I have clinical strength stuff. I don't do anything that's hims, hers, all of that. Not knocking it, I just don't know it. It wasn't in my training, it wasn't something that we, you know, resort to.

The Hair Game (26: 00:02:16 35)

00:02:16 Okay, so I think we have a pretty good, ⁓ something else I wanna ask you about. You mentioned already the laser cap. What is a laser cap and is this, ⁓ could this be a good solution for the right people? ⁓ She is turning around for those listeners. She's turning around, she's got a mannequin head. She has a very cool looking black, like a large yarmulke and maybe a, ⁓

Laura (26: 00:02:17 49)

00:02:17 This is…

00:02:18 guys know, you guys know.

00:02:19 So.

The Hair Game (27: 00:02:20 05)

00:02:20 don't even know what to describe

00:02:21 It's blinking bright red. All right, what does this do for us?

Laura (27: 00:02:22 11)

00:02:22 Okay, so this is the laser cap, the only cap, okay? This is a pulse emission as you can see. So when we think of laser caps, we do not want to use anything with a steady light. Think of a hose, a backyard hose, right? You're watering your plants. If you just stayed there like this, it would go like this. You put your thumb over it and you release. It goes power, right? Power. That's what you want.

The Hair Game (27: 00:02:23 37)

00:02:23 Yeah? Uh-huh.

Laura (27: 00:02:24 40)

00:02:24 Cellular respiration is high. The joules per centimeter are the highest in all of the caps out there. You don't want to be using ones with the combs, again, because we want to think of our clients being efficient. They're not going to sit there and brush their hair at night. They're not. ⁓ And you want to get to the follicles. So sitting with this 30 minutes a day will reactivate dormant follicles, not inactive follicles. I'm talking about miniaturized follicles.

The Hair Game (28: 00:02:25 01)

00:02:25 ⁓

00:02:26 Really?

Laura (28: 00:02:27 08)

00:02:27 And ⁓ we have a treatment where right after microchanneling, we'll put this on and it'll really get into the follicles. So this regrows hair.

The Hair Game (28: 00:02:28 17)

00:02:28 Just the light?

00:02:29 How does that work?

Laura (28: 00:02:30 20)

00:02:30 Joules per centimeter cellular respiration, gets into ⁓ the barrier of the follicle and it just stimulates hair growth. Yeah, no, it really, really works. Also, clients with inflammation, because when we're doing the dermscope, I'm sorry, if there's inflammation in the scalp, some products and treatments we can't do because it's inflamed. So this is the best way to bring down inflammation.

The Hair Game (28: 00:02:31 30)

00:02:31 Really? Fascinating.

00:02:32 wild.

Laura (28: 00:02:33 49)

00:02:33 Any doctor will tell you they're starting to treat ailments like body injuries with red light therapy. So, very effective.

The Hair Game (28: 00:02:34 56)

00:02:34 Interesting.

00:02:35 My wife has a large panel on a stand and she puts it next to the bed so as she's reading or watching TV, she's getting bathed in this light. Is that a good thing?

Laura (29: 00:02:36 09)

00:02:36 Yes.

00:02:37 that is

00:02:38 mitochondria, DNA, all of that, that is so good for the body, but unfortunately it doesn't work for our hair, because the joules per centimeter, their energy outsource is different. The diodes are different. So everyone says that. They're like, I have a, I said, it's just not the same output, not the same energy. It's just different. There's diodes. So like once you get into that whole world of mitochondria and red light therapy, you'll understand it's on a different scientific level.

The Hair Game (29: 00:02:39 32)

00:02:39 Okay.

Laura (29: 00:02:40 41)

00:02:40 with all the joules per centimeter. So it's J squared, CM squared. So understanding all that. The information, I promote the laser cap and I don't get, it's not like I'm getting paid for anything, but you guys can go on their website and look at all of the other brands and you guys can see the energy outsourced and why the laser cap is the only cap you should invest in if you want to go that route.

The Hair Game (30: 00:02:41 06)

00:02:41 The laser cap is a brand name. Huh, the laser cap, interesting. ⁓

Laura (30: 00:02:42 08)

00:02:42 Yeah, it's called the laser cap. Yeah. Very

00:02:43 phenomenal doctor. Phenomenal, phenomenal company. ⁓ He will talk to you. Like if you called him right now, you would get him on the phone. That's how he's just, he'll talk to you. He loves talking about it. Yeah.

The Hair Game (30: 00:02:44 23)

00:02:44 Interesting, interesting.

00:02:45 She also has a mask, and I know this is kind of getting away from the scalp thing, but she has a plastic mask that she puts on with a red glow. She looks like, it looks like somebody has taken over her body and she's about to kill me as she's wearing this thing.

Laura (30: 00:02:46 45)

00:02:46 I know, but she's got it. She's got it. I love it.

The Hair Game (30: 00:02:47 48)

00:02:47 Yeah, this isn't,

00:02:48 you know, I make fun of her, of course.

Laura (30: 00:02:49 52)

00:02:49 But do you see how there's a different mask for the face and there's one for her body? Because there's different energy outsources, right? So that correlates it. She needs one for her hair. I don't know what she looks like, but I'm sure she's beautiful. And I'm sure she doesn't need it. I'm sure. She's doing all the right things.

The Hair Game (30: 00:02:50 56)

00:02:50 Yeah. Yeah.

00:02:51 Okay, I guess. All right, well…

00:02:52 She looks good. Yeah, she looks good.

00:02:53 I guess, she's doing all the right things. I thought it was just a,

00:02:54 it. You know, a con.

Laura (31: 00:02:55 19)

00:02:55 Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, it's really good. No, no, no, no. This is, it works.

The Hair Game (31: 00:02:56 23)

00:02:56 I thought it was

00:02:57 a con. Alright, well, I guess I can't make fun of her anymore. Maybe I'll jump in there and I'll sit next to the red light. I could use some help.

Laura (31: 00:02:58 29)

00:02:58 I was gonna say, yeah, switch.

00:02:59 It's so good for us. It's so good. It heals our body. It restores the mitochondria, cellular respiration, ailments. It brings up our moods, everything. It's so

The Hair Game (31: 00:03:00 48)

00:03:00 All right.

00:03:01 The other question I had was the hair loss solutions, are they different or at least causes and solutions? Are they different for men and women? Because you mentioned testosterone as being an issue. Women have less testosterone or no, I don't know. It's different. So is it different for men and women how you treat them?

Laura (32: 00:03:02 11)

00:03:02 It is

00:03:03 because ⁓ when we go into women's health, we're talking about more hormones. We have progesterone and estrogen. ⁓ And believe it or not, when we go through that, ⁓ we have higher testosterone because we have such low estrogen and progesterone. So the treatment level would be the same for a woman if that level was off. Again, going back to the intake form, I always ask them, have you had any blood panels done?

00:03:04 and where are your levels at? Are your hormone levels, you know, okay? So that's a question. ⁓ So the treatments are the same because of the testosterone being raised. ⁓ But most of the time too, some men lose testosterone as they age. So they need a replacement. ⁓ So it's individualized. It's so hard to, yeah.

The Hair Game (33: 00:03:05 08)

00:03:05 Right.

00:03:06 And that's why you have a clinic and an okay, let's talk about the academy now. So you educate people to become a, not a trichologist or, or, okay, not a trichologist. What do you teach them?

Laura (33: 00:03:07 14)

00:03:07 Yeah.

00:03:08 Sure, so I help the industry understand how they can implement hair loss solutions behind the chair. knowing what I know now, okay, because my story is a long traveled story with everything I've been through in five plus years, almost going on six years. ⁓ Had I known what I know now, I would have done things a little differently. So…

00:03:09 My goal is to help the industry kind of cut through all the noise. You don't always have to become a trichologist. It's very in depth as you just saw the whole conversation, but there are ways that you can support your clients without becoming a trichologist. So ⁓ I'm going to show you one of them.

00:03:10 So this is, now as you know, what's taking over in every aspect of the world, AI. We use chat, GPT. Everything is AI generated. So where can we as beauty experts and in the industry tap into that? AI scalp scanning device. You can literally scan your clients and get quantitative data on their hair and their scalp.

00:03:11 so that you can understand what scalp condition they have, subscalp condition they have, how many hairs per perifelicular opening, diameter sizes, sensitivity, heat, ⁓ smell, odor, all of it.

The Hair Game (34: 00:03:12 55)

00:03:12 and smell from that device so listeners she's holding up a device it's about the size of her palm it looks well-designed modern profile yeah

Laura (35: 00:03:13 05)

00:03:13 Amazing.

00:03:14 And then you just take snapshots.

The Hair Game (35: 00:03:15 09)

00:03:15 She holds it to the scalp.

Laura (35: 00:03:16 10)

00:03:16 Temples, top, back, and the hairline. Two snapshots each, and then it'll generate, AI generate, and then it'll spit out all of this quantitative data about that unique individual.

00:03:17 at the very bottom of it, what we can do as stylists is add these products to it. Hey, you have oily scalp. Now it's going to spit out the product recommendations. So it's a fluid way to offer your clients a hair loss solution and you removed the trichology from it. And the reason why I say that is because not everybody wants to do the nerdy stuff. They don't want to know about hormones and they just don't. It's

00:03:18 a lot of information when you go to school, it takes a few years to really get your head wrapped around the whole thing. It's continuing education. So what I do at the Academy is I help the industry implement hair loss solutions, like a micro change like this that you can bring into your salon and give information. I also have a foundational scalp spa course offering scalp spa treatments. So

00:03:19 that you can step away from the chair and now go into this really cozy environment while treating the scalp, but also offering a relaxing and rest relaxation like treatment. So to bring down the cortisol levels, cleaning the scalp, and I do it in a way where we're not scraping, we're not using mechanical tools, we're not using anything on wet hair. There's reasons why I do what I do and

00:03:20 It's all found in the academy. So I'm really excited to bring it to the industry.

The Hair Game (36: 00:03:21 54)

00:03:21 And so recognizing that we're talking to thousands of beauty professionals right now, how long does it take for somebody to learn this? And then ⁓ when they can add this new service to their menu, what are they charging for it? How long does it take behind the chair, et cetera?

Laura (37: 00:03:22 15)

00:03:22 Sure, so if we were to do the dermscope, let's just say the AI generated dermscope, I charge 350 for my dermscope. Now think about that little device, yep. This little guy right here, I charge 350. Now granted, I am a trichologist, so I have a reason to charge that. But I teach the students, you can definitely charge 250. Think about how much you've just done for 250 to do color. Yep.

The Hair Game (37: 00:03:23 25)

00:03:23 The little device. ⁓

00:03:24 Okay, sorry, just so we're clear,

00:03:25 you charged $350 for the service to ⁓ one of your clients there at your clinic, ⁓ but you're saying some hairdressers charged $250. Got it. Yes, got it.

Laura (37: 00:03:26 51)

00:03:26 Correct. Correct.

00:03:27 Yes, starting when they're first starting out, yes.

00:03:28 Yep, 250 is your minimum. You don't go less than that, 250 for a scan because it's gonna, you you have to pay for a software behind it as well. There's a yearly charge on that. So you want to.

The Hair Game (38: 00:03:29 15)

00:03:29 And what is that?

00:03:30 Sorry to interrupt. I just want to get all the info. So what is the device cost and what is the annual subscription cost?

Laura (38: 00:03:31 23)

00:03:31 The device is $1,900 and with my, actually I have a code I can somehow give to your audience and they'll get 10 % off on the device itself. ⁓ And the yearly fee is $500.

The Hair Game (38: 00:03:32 38)

00:03:32 Okay. And that allows them to do the service that they charge 250 or more for. And how long does it take? In the chair.

Laura (38: 00:03:33 47)

00:03:33 15 minutes and at the very end of it, the client is going to be able to scan with their phone a QR code. Everything that that AI scalp scanning device just generated, they will get directly sent to their phone. You are removed from the equation. So there your client is going to go home and be like, my God, guys, guess what I just got? And they're going to show everybody and talk about it. And the excitement is so built up. And then you're going to get more clients that way because you're doing something different.

00:03:34 than everybody else.

The Hair Game (39: 00:03:35 19)

00:03:35 Yeah, yeah, very interesting.

Laura (39: 00:03:36 22)

00:03:36 And you're offering value. You're offering

00:03:37 value. You're not just like, you're giving them something. Now this is where my students then say, do I want to go further with this? What do I mean by go further? There's micro channeling you can do behind the chair. That's another $350 service. And that's with growth factors. there's that, there's epigenetic hair testing. You just take three strands from the back of the head. You send it off in the mail or you can buy the S drive. So there's ways that you can add value.

00:03:38 but you have to understand your business, your goals, and really where you see yourself in the future. So before you kind of dip into that trichology side, these are ways that you can kind of learn if that's what you want to do.

The Hair Game (40: 00:03:39 08)

00:03:39 Okay, so this is making a lot of sense and I imagine everybody recognizes that they're solving problems for their clients that are real problems and that cost is probably significantly less than them going to a doctor for this kind of ⁓ solution. So how long does it take a hairstylist to learn how to do this?

Laura (40: 00:03:40 35)

00:03:40 Well, depending on which one they wanna implement, right? ⁓ So this is a training with me, 30 minutes. Sorry, the AI Scalp Scanning Device, yeah. The AI Scalp Scanning Device is gonna take you a 30 minute training with me. The epigenetic care testing, another 30 minute training. These companies that I work with, they also have support for you as well.

The Hair Game (40: 00:03:41 43)

00:03:41 This being the device that she's holding in her hand. Okay.

Laura (41: 00:03:42 02)

00:03:42 So you're never gonna feel unsupported and like, what do I do next? But for me as the educator, bringing the stylists and the beauty industry into my world, there's the opportunity to work one-on-one with me so that you guys can understand everything in a way where I've done it, I've paved the way, I've made the mistakes, I can read the solutions for our industry so we can work one-on-one together. And that's really, really important to have a mentor.

00:03:43 in a space that is doing it still every single day. I didn't leave my industry. This is how I make my living. ⁓ But I can cut through all the noise, like helping you with your intake forms, questions to ask, getting you in front of the reps and the tools and the equipment that you need. My port, my roster of people that I've built up throughout the years took me a long time.

00:03:44 and really to kind of cut everybody else out and just have this streamlined ⁓ academy for everyone. So it's so important to help our industry grow. Like today or yesterday I posted, know, salon centric on not bashing them. I love them. But the information that we're being fed is superficial and we have to do better. So that's really where I come in.

The Hair Game (42: 00:03:45 25)

00:03:45 Okay, pretty cool. ⁓ What else should we talk about that I haven't asked about?

Laura (42: 00:03:46 33)

00:03:46 So scalp health, there's tons of things with scalp health. We see the trending halo. Have you seen that? With that trending halo in the scalp sink.

The Hair Game (42: 00:03:47 41)

00:03:47 think so.

00:03:48 I so. Yeah. yeah. Right. The scalp spa scalp. Head, head spa.

Laura (42: 00:03:49 48)

00:03:49 Yeah.

00:03:50 Head spa, right? They're calling them Japanese head spas or calling them head spas. And ⁓ unfortunately it's becoming, or it was a trending TikTok ⁓ service that everyone just kind of jumped on. But there's a problem with that. Our scalp is made up of a microbiome of fungi and bacteria that live harmoniously together. And when we disrupt that is when we get scalp disorders. So,

00:03:51 I created a foundational scalp spa course so that if you want to implement these treatments, you have to do it the right way. You're not going to do any kind of crazy techniques on wet hair because what happens when our hair is wet? It stretches up to 45%. It's more fragile. Think about when you get a haircut or you cut someone's hair and they're like, take a half, take a half inch off and they go like this. Their hair is wet. You take that half inch off. You just took.

00:03:52 almost an inch or three quarters of an inch because the hair is wet, stretches, it's fragile. So I teach in the foundational scalp spa course how to do things on dry hair, ⁓ how to dermscope that four part dermscoping method, what we should look for because you have to be able to build a service that's going to build repeat clientele. You do not want the one off people that just want to like,

00:03:53 get it done. You have to be offering something that creates value. So if someone like you, Eric, you had dry scalp, right? And you came in for a scalp treatment, you have to come back for your express treatments. We got to treat you weekly. So what does that look like? So all of that is in the foundational scalp spa course. There are a lot of courses out there, but they're all pitching product. They're all tied to a product. Mine is not tied to a product line at all. If you want to be more holistic or more clinical, you can.

00:03:54 removing all of that and just teaching you your time service breakdowns is where you're gonna get value and then you could, it's like building a house. You don't decorate with the curtains first. The architect comes in, draws a plan, does the foundation. Then you as the homeowner decorates and makes it all pretty. That's what I'm doing. I'm your architect, I'm your foundation. And then you guys are gonna take what I taught you and build your beautiful scalp spa room or treatments at the salon, at the sink. It's just…

00:03:55 ⁓ There's a lot of different ways you can go with it, but having a mentor to guide you and understand your business goals is so valuable.

The Hair Game (45: 00:03:56 19)

00:03:56 Very cool.

00:03:57 So have we covered it or anything else before we wrap up?

Laura (45: 00:03:58 24)

00:03:58 So when you offer something like hair loss solutions or scalp spa treatments, you're driving in traffic from all over the place, outside of your area, your network. I have someone that drives from Maryland to New York to see me. ⁓ So that in and of itself,

00:03:59 is why we need to be doing this because you guys can work less and I'm not, this is not a pitch, you guys can really work less and make more because you're offering something of value that every single person needs because the doctors are treating the ailments, the hairdressers are making us look pretty and there's a gap there. So like my tagline is I bridge the gap between healthcare and haircare and that's exactly what it is. So when you step into this space, you are doing exactly that for your clients.

The Hair Game (46: 00:04:00 11)

00:04:00 Yeah, it's a great description, love it. Awesome, well thank you Laura, this has been very informative and ⁓ hopefully people hitch up.

Laura (46: 00:04:01 21)

00:04:01 Yeah, I would love that. Absolutely. I'm here for it.

The Hair Game (46: 00:04:02 23)

00:04:02 So where do

00:04:03 they find you? Let's do that part.

Laura (46: 00:04:04 26)

00:04:04 Sure. So ⁓ they can visit me on my Instagram, is maininkny. That's my client facing account. So seeing me do everything I do in day ⁓ to day business. ⁓ And then my Instagram is maininkacademy. That is starting to be built out as we speak. And they can also find me at www.maininkacademy.com.

The Hair Game (46: 00:04:05 56)

00:04:05 All right. Well, thank you very much. This has been awesome.

Laura (47: 00:04:06 00)

00:04:06 Yeah, thank you for having me. so, I love this. Thank you.