But as much as we may take them for granted, our locks are not infallible, and need a little TLC.

Hannah Gray gets up close and personal with our hair.

If the '80s fashion for poodle perms made you recoil in horror, you are probably glad for the current trend for a sleek, stylish, mane.

But be warned – your hair may not appreciate your daily session with the straightening irons.

Straighteners heat up to temperatures in excess of 200C and while you are heating your hair, you are also pulling on it – not a good combination.

Have you had a bad experience with hair straighteners or treatments?
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Trichologist Tracey Walker, who is based in Peterborough, has seen women with bald patches at the front of their heads caused by repeated use of straightening irons.

Straightening damp hair is particularly harmful as it creates bubbles inside the hair which boil, leading to brittle hair.

Tracey said: "Straightening gives you a lovely effect but what we're seeing is a lot of younger girls who are doing it every day, two or three times a day.

"I'm not against straightening and I do it on my own hair occasionally but I do it when I'm going out somewhere nice, not on a daily basis," she said.

But not all problems with our hair can be put down to a quest for a glamorous look.

Alopecia is a word many people will have heard in connection with dramatic hair loss, but it is in fact the umbrella term for any form of hair depletion, from thinning hair experienced by both men and women (androgenetic alopecia), to telogen effluvium, when hair comes out in clumps, and alopecia areata, which is what TV presenter Gail Porter suffers from.

Loosing your hair can prove to be an incredibly distressing experience.

"I've had patients come in that won't go to the hairdressers, that won't even go out because their hair is thinning. It can really take over their life, they get really distraught," Tracey said.

Trichology is a specialised form of dermatology dealing with the hair and scalp only.

Trichologists can investigate the causes behind problems with your scalp and hair and also offer a range of treatments to try to deal with these.

They are medically trained to the standard required for their job but are not generally medically qualified.

In Tracey's case, this training involved a three-year distance learning course covering subjects including anatomy and physiology, chemistry and genetics.

Tracey also put in 200 hours at a clinic in London before going through a mentoring process for a further two years .

Taking the course meant that Tracey got to find out the truth about many "hair myths" which get bandied around and eventually accepted as fact.

For example, most people have probably heard at some point that frequent washing is bad for your hair, stripping it of moisture.

This is not necessarily the case, Tracey said.

"We know that daily washing of hair is perfectly acceptable and we do recommend it if somebody has a scalp problem," she explained.

Another common myth is that it's good to change your shampoo regularly as over time your hair gets used to it.

Your hair, Tracey explained, does not get used to shampoo, but over years your hair may change slightly and that is when you may need to change what products you use.

Tracey's customer base is about 70 per cent women and 30 per cent men, but recently she had an increase in the number of male clients, after Chris Evans discussed his visit to a trichologist on his radio show.

She has also begun to see a number of cancer patients, as unfortunately, a side effect of chemotherapy can be hair loss.

Patients approach Tracey to see if she can help them find a wig to hide this loss.

Historically, wigs have a bad reputation for being obvious but today's wigs are virtually undetectable.

"If you get the right colour and the right style for the patients, nobody would know it's a wig.

"The only way you would know it's a wig is if the colour's wrong or the style is not right for the patient," she said.

For more information, call The Hair and Scalp Clinic in Hampton Hargate on 01733 890800, or visit www.hairscalpclinic.co.uk.

Tracey's top five tips for great hair

• Watch your diet, as this can play a huge part in the health of the hair. You need to eat a varied diet, protein with every meal and lots of fruit and vegetables.


• Shampoo and condition your hair regularly. Unwashed hair gets a build up of yeast and bacteria on the scalp which can trigger problems there such as eczema. People with scalp problems or oily hair will probably need to wash their hair daily or every other day.


• Be careful with chemical processes and heat. Be cautious – use straighteners in moderation.


• Get a good hairdresser who is knowledgeable about hair care.


• Use the right products, as this will help you get a lot more out of your hair.