TrichoCare Education has a long history of providing education for the hairdressing and barbering sector. Their first student lecture, on allergy and irritation, was given in 2003 at Cranfield University by TrichoCare founder Brian Plunkett and his academic team.
Brian was himself a hairdresser and salon owner and vice president of the UK’s first trichology institute. Today he’s a Director of the Association of Registered Trichologists (ART) and Head of Education at TrichoCare. When he was hairdressing, Brian saw that many of his clients were developing hair and scalp conditions, and there was hardly anyone to help them. Brian realised that professionals behind the chair were in the best place to help worried clients. If they could develop an understanding of the science of the hair and scalp, they would be gaining much needed skills, and their clients would benefit hugely. The vision behind TrichoCare Education was born!
Brian is passionate about teaching and improving diagnostic trichology skills. He believes that as hair professionals learn to understand more about hair and scalp problems, they can give more informed, helpful and valuable services to their clients.
“Hair loss isn’t just a cosmetic condition, it’s a genuine physiological and psychological one too. Hair professionals with the knowledge and skill to offer advice, treatment and comfort can make a huge difference to the lives of individuals and to the overall health of communities as well,” Brian tells us.
TrichoCare deliver iTEC’s Level 4 Certificate in Trichology for Hairdressers, with experienced professionals and educators as Course Tutors. They also offer an online Introduction to Trichology Course for professionals who are starting out on their trichology journey.
TrichoCare chose iTEC as their Awarding Organisation because they wanted an external guarantee of the quality of their course provision. TrichoCare attract international students as well as from the UK, and they’re keen to attract more. So the fact that iTEC approval is internationally recognised was another important factor in TrichoCare’s choice. Today, they’re seeing increasing numbers of students taking up the qualification not just from hairdressing, but from a variety of other disciplines including beauty, healthcare and biochemistry.
“We believe it’s not good enough just to say you deliver quality, we wanted to be able to prove it.” Says Brian, “We were very impressed with the level of scrutiny and also support that iTEC offer. They ensure we maintain a very high quality of delivery for our students. And I’m happy to say we passed our most recent iTEC review with flying colours!”
What do TrichoCare Education students have to say about the iTEC Level 4 Certificate in Trichology for Hairdressers Qualification?
Jacqui McIntosh, Recently successful student
Jacqui is a well-known and well-respected figure in the hair skills and product development world. She started her career as a hairdresser, and over the years has become an expert practitioner, educator and assessor, covering a wide variety of hair types, with a special interest in Black Hair.
She met TrichoCare Education founder Brian Plunkett some years ago and was struck by his passion for the profession. That’s how she came to choose to study the iTEC Level 4 Certificate in Trichology for Hairdressers at TrichoCare Education. To enable her to learn more about the science of the hair and scalp.
She says, “I have no regrets! It’s really strengthened my understanding of how the hair and scalp work, and why things can go wrong. Even if you don’t want to practice formally as a trichologist, the knowledge you gain will strengthen your confidence in giving great advice to your clients.”
Natalie Scott, International Student
Natalie Scott is a full-time hairdresser in a salon in Dubai. With its extreme climate and multi-cultural mix, Natalie sees many different kinds of hair issues there. So it was especially
useful for her to be able to study trichology: “It’s a subject I’d wanted to explore for years,” she says. “From behind the chair I’ve seen so many of my clients with hair and scalp issues, and I’ve never been able to advise them myself with any confidence, which was so frustrating.”
Natalie’s enthusiastic about the TrichoCare Education’s Level 4 Course: “I really enjoyed it. Some of the early biology content was challenging – I could just about remember studying some of it in school! But once you realise how important the basics are and how everything is connected, you can really commit to learning in more depth.”
Natalie says she had great support from TrichoCare’s tutors: “Because I studied from outside the UK, the online sessions were particularly helpful, and it was also important to me that I could contact someone when I had a question or want advice.”
Natalie plans to develop her own trichology consultancy and practice. And she’s in no doubt that studying trichology should be an essential part of hairdresser training: “I think everyone should do it. You broaden your knowledge and understanding of the hair and scalp, you learn new skills and, above all, you can be confident in giving expert advice to clients once you’re qualified.”
Guy Morton
Guy runs Sandra’s Salon in Dingwall in the far north of Scotland. Sandra’s is a family business, started by Guy’s mother nearly 50 years ago.
For Guy, learning more about problems of the hair and scalp was an obvious next step in building both his personal skills and the range of services he can offer his clients. He says,
“I decided to get into trichology because it’s a great business opportunity. Several of my clients were complaining they had some kind of hair or scalp problem. It was distressing for them, and it was really frustrating for me not being able to help them.”
Guy recently completed his studies for TrichoCare Education’s Level 4 Certificate: “I think it’s a fantastic Course – well-structured, informative, detailed and stimulating. My tutors were super-helpful – very quick to get back to me when I had a query, guiding me with advice and generally reassuring me that I can do this!”
Guy now plans to offer trichology services to his clients: “There are very few trichologists in our area, so I’m confident that establishing a trichology consultation service in salon will be an important and attractive boost to our services,” he says.
Anneliese Hesse
Anneliese trained with Toni and Guy, worked in Spain and then became an educator for L’Oréal. Now, with her business partner, she runs her own colour education company
‘Humankind Hair’, works part-time at Tribe salon in London and also freelances. You can find her prominent on Instagram.
So why did Anneliese decide to study trichology? “I’ve always been a questioner,” she says, “for instance, wanting to learn more about what actually happens when colour and hair interact and why. Even though I teach colour techniques, I knew there was more to learn about the science that makes it all happen. The problem was finding where and how.”
Then she heard about TrichoCare Education from Tatlyn Grant, the textured hair expert, who’s a former TrichoCare student. “I quickly realised this was just what I was looking for. It was especially interesting for me that the qualification would be recognised both externally and internationally by iTEC,” she says.
Anneliese’s experience on the Course has been very positive: “I learnt lots and absolutely loved it. I’ve become a science geek, and I’m even doing additional reading in the bath!”
And you can’t get a better recommendation than that!