We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jeanette C. Hill-Frederick a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jeanette, appreciate you joining us today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

Being in the industry for over 30 years, I realized that standing behind the chair and offering basic services were satisfying for some of my clients that wanted to maintain their healthy hair, but I also serviced clients that were experiencing hair thinning ,or they were in the early stages of hair loss. Being that I had not started my journey in Trichology I was making customized treatments for my clients that would cater to their area of concern. Of course topical treatments was not always the remedy but at the time that was all that I knew. I knew that I needed to educate myself more on hair loss and its causes but I was not exactly sure where to start so I started with a hair replacement classes and later found myself taking classes once a month to learn how to better service my clients. I still continue to educate myself as much as possible as this industry is always evolving with new methods as well as technology and I enjoy incorporating what I have learned to cater to my clients, Throughout my entire process of training I realized my purpose and it is to help restore and rebalance the body holistically, so my services are no longer the basic conversation it is now about my clients well being and how can I support them on their journey being a heathier better individual.

Jeanette C., before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am Jeanette C.H. Frederick, I reside in Summerville SC, I have been in the beauty industry for over 30 years. As a senior in high school, I was very undecided as to what I wanted to pursue after graduation and with that being said I was given a choice from my father which was to enroll in Barbering school or find a job. Well I chose barbering school but little did I know my father had already enrolled me in barbering school(Denmark Technical College) and my start date was two months after graduation, I was in my late teens as I started my journey training to be a licensed barber. Being that my father was a Licensed Barber and Cosmetologist, when I would come home on the weekends I would visit him at the barbershop and just watch him in action as he serviced his clients ,he loved the craft of Barbering. I wanted to experience the same joy that I saw on my Dads face while servicing my clients, I realized I definitely had to change my mindset ,the more I learned I also began to enjoy the craft of barbering ,After graduation from barbering school I then enrolled and graduated from cosmetology school and 2 years later obtained my instructors license. I am the co-owner with my brother DeWayne M. Hill Sr, of Marion’s Barber and Hairstyling Center in which my father was the owner and in business for over 30 years and I am the owner of Tricholistik Hair Restoration and Wellness Studio both salons are located in Summerville SC, My salon has been in business 9 years. I have been instructing Cosmetology 26 years at Trident Technical college which is where I received my training many years ago so it was definitely a great feeling to return to my home base where I started my cosmetology journey. While working behind the chair as well as teaching I found myself content and I knew if I didn’t challenge myself i would be stagnant and then burnt out .I decided to expand my knowledge by taking classes to learn more about the different types and causes of hair loss, due to I was already servicing clients that had some areas of concern. Well one class led me to another and another and another, I found myself registering for classes once a month and they were all on catering to clients with a scalp condition or hair loss. I later became certified in AAHSD received my Trichology Certification, I then furthered my education and received my Holistic practitioners certification and then became and received my certification for non-surgical hair replacement specialist. My approach when servicing my clients are more catered to my clients needs ,I provide options for my clients that have permanent hair loss concerns and while servicing these clients with concerns we are in a private area so that the client feels more comfortable. I experienced hair loss in my early 20″s and I was devastated because I didn’t know what could have caused my hair fall, after visiting a dermatologist i still didn’t have an answer, I was told I had alopecia ,throughout my trichological journey I learned that there are so many types of alopecia, I also learned after over 30 ago the type of alopecia (hair loss) that I had experienced. Although I am certified in many numerous areas ,I am most proud of my accomplishments in Trichology and being a Holistic practitioner in which both will allow me to offer alternative approaches both internal and external for myself as well as my clients well being.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I started taking classes catering to hair loss in 2009, My first class was a non surgical hair replacement class in Atlanta, I was very excited but had no idea of the process of this service. After taking this class I did not do much advertising due to I didn’t feel comfortable charging for the process and after a few months I didn’t offer the service at all, My clientele didn’t consist of many clients that were experiencing hair loss and I wasn’t sure what to do if they had hair, How would I apply the unit? Seven years later I took another non-surgical hair replacement class this time it was in Conneticut, we went over some of the different types of hair loss and also how to apply the unit without removing the hair, as well as the different types of units. The class was very informative ,I felt more comfortable after the second class, some of the information I already knew it just helped me to remember the process better ,I wanted to learn more after taking this class due to the educator was mentioning Trichology and the types of hair loss that I had never heard of before. So what did I do, I enrolled in the IAT Trichology practitioner course, I went back to Conneticut for 2 days of extensive training not knowing that I was only getting a taste of what was to come. I knew right then what I wanted to do and I had already envisioned the process. I enrolled in more introductory classes that would continue to prepare me for my Trichological journey. The journey was definitely not easy but it was 100% necessary and I did second guess my self many times but I had to change my mindset because I knew I would be helping so many people as a Trichologist and Holistic practitioner I had to trust my decisions, which entailed research and probing questions ,The reward in the end is a satisfied client who has results topically as well as internally.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Oh my! I now have a countless amount of books for resources starting with all of my notes from various classes ,I have them in binders from the 1/2 inch binders to the 4inch binders, I go to them first for research. I do have many other resourceful books ranging from personal growth to Chinese Medicine, Herbal remedies, Anatomy and many more, I also take advantage of listening to audiobooks while driving, I am sure that more books will be added to what I already have Trichology as well as Holistic living is a never ending practice.

Contact Info:

• Website: Tricholistik.com
• Instagram: Tricholistik_j
• Facebook: Tricholistik Hair Restoration & Wellness Studio
• Linkedin: Jeanette Frederick
• Twitter: Jeanette Hill+Frederick @ Trichoj
• Yelp: Tricholistik Hair Restoration & Wellness Studio

Image Credits
photo credits. p3photography08 , for the picture with me in the white jacket with the pearl bracelet