Success Stories

TrichoCare Education is proud and delighted to welcome hairdresser Claire Gould as the 100th successful student on our Level 4 Certificate in trichology course. It’s a big moment for us and an even bigger one for Claire, as she takes her next professional step in offering fantastic hair care and advice for her clients worried about hair loss and hair health.

Claire is a highly experienced and well-travelled professional hairdresser, having worked in both the UK and New Zealand. Today she owns and runs her own salon, Pure Hair Design, or pHd as it’s known, in Malvern, the town where she once started out as an apprentice.

Claire has a very special and personal reason for wanting to help clients with skin and hair issues. “When I was working in a salon in New Zealand, I went into anaphylactic shock after applying hair straightening product to a client” she says. “I was in hospital for hours, and I was absolutely terrified.”

That traumatic event led Claire to completely rethink her career. “From that moment on I decided to find out everything I could about the ingredients in hair products, and the effect, like my allergic reaction, they can have. And learn too about healthier alternatives. It became my life and passion.”

Claire sold her New Zealand salon and started her learning journey with a nearby organic salon. When she returned to the UK a few years later, she set up her new salon committed to putting what she’d learnt into practice, using 100% organic and vegan products. Motto: ‘What you put on your hair and skin is just as important as what you put in your mouth.’

So where did trichology come into her business plans? “So many clients were asking me about their hair and scalp issues – sensitivity, allergy, hair loss after cancer treatment. I could give some advice but didn’t know enough to get to the heart of their problems. It was frustrating.”

Claire took a course with Trevor Sorbie on medical hair loss and became a My New Hair salon, supplying, fitting, cutting and styling wigs for clients experiencing medical hair loss. 

Yet she still wanted to learn more. “I’d been thinking about trichology for some time. Learning more about the underlying science to hair loss, and hair loss treatments, seemed a perfect fit to my passion for health and wellbeing.”

Claire found TrichoCare after some online research, talked to our team and signed up for our Level 4 course. “I loved it. I really enjoyed the learning. It took some juggling to fit studying in with my business and family life, but I was absolutely determined to see it through to the end.”

And that’s exactly what she did. “The course is really user-friendly, especially if you’re a hairdresser. And the help from the TrichoCare Education team was great. Shout out for course tutor Keith, who was especially supportive, and very sympathetic when I got anxious about the final consultation practical.”

Ahead of completing the course, Claire had already begun offering trichology services at her salon. Now she’s qualified, she’s establishing a separate trichology business above the salon, and that’s going to be her focus in the future. “I see this as a wonderful opportunity to put all my principles and passion into practice – supporting clients with chemotherapy hair loss

and advising all those out there who are desperate for help.”

Choosing to study trichology with TrichoCare Education has clearly been an excellent choice for Claire. What advice does she have for those thinking of following in her footsteps? “Anyone who’s passionate about hairdressing, and wants to build on their knowledge and skills should seriously consider it. You do need to be driven. But there’s a real need out there – more and more clients need our help. And it’s so satisfying to think you can be the one who’s fully qualified to give that help and offer them comfort.”