Healthy Hair Journey with Trichologist Asha Downes’ Advice

Uncover Asha Downes’ professional insights on rising wholesome hair, tackling hair loss, and redefining afro hair care by way of science and training

Your hair is unbelievable. Have you ever all the time had lengthy hair, or has it been a journey?

Thanks! It’s positively been a journey. As a toddler, I truly thought it couldn’t develop past my shoulders due to my “genetics”. I needed to utterly unlearn this and relearn the right way to handle my hair. What you see is the results of radical gentleness mixed with persistence and understanding.

What impressed you to change into a hair coach and trichologist?

For so long as I can keep in mind, I’ve been obsessive about hair, not simply its aesthetics, but in addition the texture of it and the way it interacts with completely different merchandise. As a child my mum would all the time be telling me off for taking part in in others’ hair, particularly when these others had been grown adults! This proclivity endured, and I began a public hair diary (a YouTube channel known as Naturally Excessive) whereas in sixth Type, the place I documented my journey again to pure hair.

I went on to review a Molecular Biology BSc at Maastricht College, and an MSc at Utrecht College, hoping to sooner or later get into hair science, however not likely seeing a transparent path forward of me. After my MSc, I moved to Switzerland, learnt German and labored in diagnostics.

When the pandemic hit in 2020, I used to be stranded in Trinidad; my diagnostics contract had ended, and I made a decision it was time to make this “hair factor” my major factor. The unique thought was to promote cosmetics, however with world provide chains hindered as a consequence of COVID, my stopgap regimen-building consultations appeared to be main someplace extra longstanding and sensible.

I hopped on networking calls with trichologists, beauty scientists and hair biologists, immersing myself within the hair science group, and becoming a member of conferences on the state-of-the-art.

I additionally enrolled with the CTSP (School of Trichological Science and Observe). Primarily, I used to be following my dream to concentrate on hair, and dealing with beta shoppers for the primary cohort of my teaching programme, Longer Lengths.

On the similar time, insights into my private life helped me see connections between accountability, diet, self-acceptance, and pure hair confidence. This interaction between my very own self-learning from journaling, remedy and training, and the inspiration I used to be constructing in hair science underpinned the curriculum I used to be main my shoppers by way of, which was designed to assist them flip their pure hair from a burden right into a luxurious.

Inform us about your personal hair story. Have you ever ever skilled challenges like breakage or hair loss?

I’ve! It’s humorous. I have to’ve blanked out this reminiscence: the query out of the blue took me again to being round six years previous, and having small bald patches on my parietal scalp. They finally disappeared, luckily. Whilst a trichologist now, I don’t know what they had been – I’d want to look at my previous self’s scalp and do a full historical past…

After I take into account the indicators & signs I keep in mind and slender it down, the candidate situations would have been seborrheic dermatitis (primarily dandruff, which may trigger hair loss in excessive instances), tinea capitis (ringworm – extra widespread in youngsters), and alopecia areata (a spontaneous type of autoimmune hair loss, which may resolve simply as spontaneously). My mum took me to the physician, and I finally bought higher.

Apart from this, I’ve handled excessive breakage, nevertheless it’s the type that may be invisible when normalised: the rationale my hair couldn’t get longer wasn’t my breakage – it was truly my genetics! Tightly coiled hair merely couldn’t get that lengthy. These wisps of hair that fell to the ground each time it was combed had nothing to do with my stagnant size, regardless of my by no means getting a haircut. What a paradigm shift it was studying the function breakage performs in size potential!

What does your day-to-day work as a hair coach and trichologist contain?

I like this query – apart from doing founder admin and nerding out on hair science literature (I’ve bought over 33 scholarly articles open as we converse), right here’s what I spend my days on:

Checking in with my Longer Lengths shoppers to verify they’re staying on monitor, and serving to them overcome every day hurdles that may in any other case make them quit

Creating content material for my social media and shoppers

Writing up trichology administration plans – these are the personalised studies I create after I see a shopper, which give them readability on what we noticed within the session and what their subsequent steps could possibly be

Discussing advanced instances with different professionals in my community

How do you help shoppers? Do you’re employed one-to-one or through digital programmes?

For Longer Lengths, it’s a mixture of those and likewise VIP group calls. My shoppers have entry to the unique library of Longer Lengths supplies, which walks them by way of the LONG  mannequin – Love, Observe, Nurture and Develop, which is the premise of the programme. Additionally they have a personalised portal the place we monitor their progress collectively. Among the periods are one-to-one to permit for deeper exploration, and the group periods are for accountability; additionally they create a way of group.

Trichology consultations are one-to-one, and embrace historical past taking, a radical examination and an evidence of the presenting situations(s) and doable subsequent steps. Relying on the shopper, we may additionally make use of therapies like platelet-rich plasma, microneedling, Tricopat and scalp hydrafacials.Mainly, there’s by no means a uninteresting second!

What are the commonest issues you hear from shoppers?

My shoppers sometimes have points round making time for his or her hair amidst the whole lot else they’ve occurring, determining the right way to take care of their hair in a backdrop of conflicting tips about social media, not understanding why they’re dropping their hair and being at their wit’s finish, relying solely on wigs and weaves, despite the fact that they’d like to be sporting their pure hair extra, scalp complaints, like itching and flaking; breakage that gained’t let up and a way of “unmanageability” on the subject of their hair – they’re merely “too busy” for it.

Hair loss could be deeply emotional. How do you method these conversations with empathy?

Don’t you understand it! Actually, it’s arduous, however I’m so honoured that my shoppers select to get my steerage on their journey and that anchors my conversations. Happily, just a few types of hair loss could be resolved, and even these that are everlasting – like scarring and androgenetic alopecia – could be handled when caught early. Although it’s dangerous information, there’s usually fairly a little bit of hope, and their hair loss is usually a possibility to are inclined to inner points they hadn’t been conscious of, equivalent to deficiencies and poor intestine well being. On this approach, their understandably devastating hair loss can change into a portal to their feeling higher total!

What recommendation would you give to somebody beginning their wholesome hair journey?

My thoughts exploded at this query as a result of who is that this individual? How previous are they? What’s their hair like? Do they prefer it? What do they imply by “wholesome”? Do they need it to develop lengthy? Have that they had lengthy hair previously? What had been they considering of doing? Have they got scalp points? What about their intestine? Have they got allergic reactions? The place do they stay? And so many extra…

So, on the threat of giving generic recommendation, right here’s what I’ll say. Hair can solely be preserved or destroyed. Your hair is a useless materials that covers your scalp, and, should you’re fortunate, your entire physique. If you wish to develop and retain it: 1) Guarantee you will have a strong basis internally, in order that your cloth can develop sturdy and sturdy; 2) Handle it in such a approach that it doesn’t climate quick. Take into account how your comb, styling habits, friction towards your garments, pressure, the wind, and different elements would possibly shorten its lifespan. Mitigate these elements, so it might probably last more. 3) Should you’re struggling to be according to (2, work out why and tackle the basis causes. Do you will have points round “appropriateness”? Would possibly you subconsciously see your hair as “unkempt” or “unmanageable”? Is that why you possibly can’t get out of the cycle of breakage? Should you don’t tackle this, your outcomes possible gained’t be sustainable.

You’re collaborating with UKHAIR as a part of their Specialists in Residence sequence. What does that contain?

Sure. I’m as a consequence of be featured in UKHAIR’s June Specialists in Residence sequence, which spotlights clinicians within the hair and scalp house. It can contain content material creation and sharing my views and expertise on the earth of hair and scalp well being.

What’s your personal hair care routine like? Any go-to merchandise or methods?

It’s easy but efficient and unexpectedly cathartic – I like it. I’ve designed it in order that issues get simpler for my future self, not more durable. I protect my partings, usually put on my hair in “clumps”, which supplies the looks of free hair whereas protecting it protected. My favorite leave-in is Mixtress J’s Irish Moss Go away-in. It’s stuffed with fatty components together with slippery ones and film-forming humectants, which make my hair really feel sustainably gentle. I now blow-dry my hair after just about each wash, which cuts down on the sensation of “washday” purgatory I used to expertise with post-wash moist hair that wanted to be stretched. And I like protecting my ends elongated by end-wrapping with a gentle butter.

What myths about afro/textured hair would you like to bust?

Hmmm, just a few – it’s not inherently sturdy, so “harder than Nigerian hair” shouldn’t be a factor. It’s truly delicate and requires softness and intention for size retention, if that’s the aim. It’s not “tough” or “unmanageable” until you view it by way of an “outsider’s” lens, or don’t know the right way to get the outcome you need. It merely is what it’s. You don’t “have” to straighten it or put on wigs or weaves for it to be “skilled”. For me, seeing one’s personal hair as impractical solely is smart if there’s a normal by which hair is “supposed” to abide. I as soon as heard a coach say, “you’re ‘shoulding’ throughout your self – cease that!” That is the hair you develop. What are you going to do about that?

Do you will have any thrilling initiatives arising?

I’ve a brand new cohort of Longer Lengths beginning in the summertime – that must be enjoyable! I’ve educated in some new scalp therapies, equivalent to platelet-rich plasma, microneedling, and Tricopat (a painless novel hair loss remedy combining microinflammation, therapeutic massage, pink gentle and progress elements) – so I’m trying ahead to utilizing these in-clinic.

I’m additionally going to Berlin for Karneval de Kulturen, which is my favorite place for mixing my love of carnival with my penchant for languages. I’m going with mates I met somewhere else, and connecting for carnival is all the time nourishing.

The place can we discover you?

To guide a gathering with me to speak about Longer Lengths, click on right here.You will discover my Instagram right here: @naturallyhigh__And my YouTube channel right here.

A shortened model of this text seems within the June/July 2025 situation of Black Magnificence & Hair