To meet Jeffrey and learn more about the HAIR+ category, join us at the HAIR+ Summit, Oct. 16-17 in Atlanta. Details and registration here: hairplussummit.com.

Noting a lack of awareness and attention to hair loss issues experienced by women and children, Jeffrey Paul, owner of Jeffrey Paul for Restoring Beautiful Hair Salon in Fairview Park, Ohio, specializes in serving this demographic. Throughout his 40-year career, Paul has served as an image consultant, platform artist, author, educator and trainer for manufacturers, focusing his efforts on this segment.

“Because of lifestyle changes, hair loss is being reported two decades earlier than it was,” Paul says. “When our grandmothers may have had thin hair, we attributed it to age. Now we are seeing 20-year-olds regularly. These women have typically been predisposed genetically to hair loss but never saw
it until their seventies. Our lifestyle, diet, stress levels and other factors have increased the number of hair loss clients we could ever service.”

With one in four women experiencing thinning or hair loss issues at some point in her lifetime, Paul urges hairdressers to educate themselves on prevention and treatment.

“Clients will continue to seek an answer whether it’s with you or someone else,” he says. “Most hairdressers, while compassionate to the issue, are missing the skillset to analyze, assess and consult hairloss.”

BUSINESS BLUEPRINT

Within Paul’s 6,000-square-foot salon, his 12-person team focuses exclusively on trichology and hair replacement. Stylists at the salon are vetted in a five-interview process and work on a team-based compensation model. Attached to the salon is Jeffrey Paul Academy for Women’s Hair Thinning and Loss, an independent, non-manufacturer provider of hair loss education that Paul opened more than 20 years ago. The education offered there provides a blueprint for building a successful women’s hair-replacement clinic, according to Paul.

His academy focuses on four pillars: technical training, marketing skills, consulting and sales, and business operations. Curriculum also takes an in-depth look into vendors and products.

To increase reach, Paul has recently restructured his program, minimizing travel and increasing accessibility for students. The academy’s virtual classroom implements the same technology utilized by revered schools like Harvard University.

“We know people can’t be here every week,” Paul says.

For $3,500, students receive either on-site or online training for three days, CEU accredited hands-on and virtual classes throughout the year, personal coaching sessions and access to a private Facebook community.

Graduates of the academy also become affiliates of Wigs for Kids, a non-profit organization founded by Paul in 1983 that provides custom-made hair-replacement systems at no cost  to children losing their hair due to medical reasons.

More than 1,200 people have come through the academy, excluding those that have attended off-site workshops and seminars.

The academy also offers monthly workshops for clientele focusing on topics such as how to flatiron, curl and shampoo wigs. With these classes, Paul’s team is doing more than just building client loyalty.

“Without selling or pitching, we sell $2,000 to $3,000 in retail after these classes,” Paul says.

BUILDING A BRIDGE

The American Board of Medical Specialties does not currently offer certification specific to hair restoration, and though many doctors offer transplant services, varying degrees of experience and artistry can affect outcomes, Paul says.

 “No one has been advising from the cosmetic perspective until recently,” he says. But there is a need for it, according to Paul. In fact, he has advised on hairline design in surgery many times.

With the advances being made in hair-replenishment research and technology, it is more important than ever that, according to Paul, cosmetologists, trichologists and the medical community work together. When there is a relationship between the three, “a triage team develops that knows how to take care of a patient both pre- and post-operation,” Paul says.

“Doctors need to start to look at cosmetologists with respect, and cosmetologists have to start to look at doctors without threat,” he says. “The two have to come in as colleagues, respect and honor each other’s skill set and realize how much they can gain from each other. Once that happens, it becomes a real strength for the salon market.”