It was a friend with a particularly bounteous mane who first mentioned his name: Ricardo Vila Nova. She had been to see the Hair Whisperer in his sleek little salon in a corner of Harrods, and compared the feeling afterwards to scalp freedom. Freeing my own head from itchy, flaky torment was something that really appealed to me. Could this be the person who would make my scalp sing again?

Vila Nova, who is as glossy of hair and warm of manner as you could hope, began with an in-depth analysis. After plucking two of my strands, his state-of-the-art microscopical scanner revealed their construction. Its almost like an MRI, he explains. You can see the hairs genetic constitution, along with the factors that have contributed to any degeneration, whether thats hormones, nutrition, inflammation, medication or toxins. Once hes identified what is impacting the hair, a bespoke treatment plan is conjured up to tackle the root cause (pun intended).

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For me, the issue was inflammation, which, according to the scan, was sitting below my epidermis, causing itchiness, dermatitis and occasional shedding. No surprise really, given my scalp is prone to flaring up when Im stressed, eating badly or generally run-down. If inflammation continues to build up lets say youve overindulged or you take medication that could upset liver function it penetrates to a deeper level of the skin, which is when the hair starts suffering, Vila Nova explains. Thats when more serious issues, such as hair loss (which Harvard Health Publishing estimates affects around a third of all women at some point in their lives), can come into play.

If you are genetically predisposed towards a skin condition, such as eczema, dermatitis or psoriasis, youll likely know its pretty much impossible to remove the issue completely. But what you can do is manage it, keeping it dormant while boosting scalp and hair resilience, achieved by way of a 360-degree approach. Putting a balanced lifestyle a healthy diet, exercise and as little stress as possible, all of which are important to the side, the programme Vila Nova prescribes consists of multi-step treatments.

There will be scalp reparation, washing, steaming and rehydration or reconstruction, he says. Just a few of the rigorous treatments that follow include a deeply relaxing head massage, scalp microneedling (where a dermaroller is used to create micro-channels in the scalp, allowing any subsequent treatment serum to penetrate deeply) and steaming to help soften and hydrate.

Afterwards, Im instantly converted. My scalp has never looked or felt so clean. I leave swinging a bag filled with my three-step home routine (comprising a shampoo, protein mask and scalp treatment) to be used once a week between monthly appointments.

Vila Novas fastidiousness is no surprise given that his background is in skincare he worked as an aesthetic facialist in the 90s. He became one of the first to bring the same principles applied to looking after the skin into haircare. All you had back then was shampoo to clean the surface of the scalp and masks. If you wanted to help the scalp or enable hair to regenerate or recover, it would be medication and steroids.

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While the scalp doesnt need certain ingredients common in facials, like retinol or vitamin C, it does need hydrolipids, hydration, collagen and protein plus a balanced pH to make it strong and healthy, all of which is incorporated into Vila Novas luxurious treatments. Nowadays, with more than 20 years under his belt, he also embraces a number of hi-tech tools in his clinic, such as PRP (or platelet-rich plasma injections, where blood is taken from the patient, run through a machine to separate the platelets and then re-injected), which he says is excellent for treating alopecia, healing and boosting regrowth. With injectable technology, the response is much faster its not instant and it takes time, but you do notice a longer-lasting effect in terms of how the hair and scalp feels, how strong it is, how it recovers, he says.

PRP is also his secret weapon against postpartum hair loss, a common issue among his clientele. During pregnancy, your own growth factors rise naturally in the blood, and growth factor is the main ingredient in PRP, he explains. Even a laboratory couldnt create the same amount of growth factors as a pregnant woman. Once the baby has been delivered, the growth factors decrease and thats when hair starts falling. I give my clients a one-month window, maximum, after birth to collect their growth factors we reuse them, and then extend the pregnancy effects on the hair.

However significant your concerns are, what used to be a serious, medical experience at the trichologist is now something to look forward to. Optimal health of the body, the mind, and yes, the scalp too is the goal, and Vila Nova notes that his clients, who fly in from all over the world to see him, are those who want to make their hair stronger, double in quantity and enjoy a super comfortable scalp.

As for me, thanks to a thorough diagnosis and a clear understanding of whats going on up there, so far its made it much easier not to despair when the itchiness and flaking gets out of control. Not only will I know when its time to get some rest, eat better or address my stress levels, Ill also know its time to call Ricardo for more scalp therapy. Like I said, Im a convert.

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