A look back at the year hair and scalp care changed across the cosmetic chair, the trichology clinic and the consulting room, from new medicines to new law.
From the editors
This edition looks back at 2026. It belongs to Four years in review, a retrospective series published on 30 September 2026, in which we step back from the monthly news and ask what really changed. Trichozette is new, so these are not back issues. They are a considered look at a year, written with a little distance, with every factual claim tied to a source listed at the end of the edition.
For Trichollective, 2026 is also the year the community began. It started with a conference at Whittlebury Hall on 19 January, met again at Whittlebury Park on 15 June, and launches at Trichollective Ireland on 5 October. The months around those meetings were busy ones for all three of the fields we bring together.
In medicine, a second JAK inhibitor for severe alopecia areata was licensed in the UK and then recommended by NICE, and the warnings on finasteride were strengthened. In cosmetic practice, Scotland passed a law on non-surgical procedures, the advertising regulator set out how hair-loss claims should be made, and ingredient rules tightened in Great Britain and the EU. In trichology, the Institute of Trichologists appointed a new President and discussed plans for a UK trichology database.
The pages that follow set out those changes, what they mean in practice and the education each discipline needs because of them. There are questions to answer along the way. The three field editions for 2026 go into more depth for the cosmetic, clinical and medical reader.
The Trichollective editorial team
The year in brief
New medicines, new law and new evidence. The shifts of 2026 that anyone who works with hair and scalp should know about.
Photograph Hosein Sediqi / Unsplash
Words by the Trichollective editorial team
For hair and scalp professionals, 2026 is best remembered for the quieter changes that alter what happens in a consultation: which treatments a doctor can offer, which claims a salon can make, which ingredients a product may contain and which questions a client is likely to ask.
The biggest medical story concerned alopecia areata. In March the MHRA approved deuruxolitinib, an oral JAK inhibitor, for adults with severe alopecia areata, on the strength of two phase 3 trials that enrolled 1,223 people with at least half of their scalp hair lost. In July NICE published final guidance recommending it for adults, the second medicine it has recommended for the condition after ritlecitinib in 2024. At the end of September the US FDA extended baricitinib to adolescents aged 12 and over, a decision that does not change UK licensing but that families may well ask about.
In May the MHRA strengthened product information for finasteride 1 mg, used for male pattern hair loss, to make clear that sexual dysfunction may contribute to mood disorders, and added a precautionary warning about mood changes to dutasteride. In July a large observational study in The BMJ linked GLP-1 receptor agonists, widely used for weight loss, to a higher risk of non-scarring hair loss in adults with type 2 diabetes.
For cosmetic professionals the year was about rules. On 17 March the Scottish Parliament passed a law bringing treatments such as toxin, fillers, laser treatments, chemical peels and microneedling under healthcare oversight in registered premises, and banning them for under-18s, with the main requirements expected from September 2027. England's own licensing scheme was still being developed. In July the ASA and CAP published guidance on advertising hair-loss products and services.
Trichology, which is not statutorily regulated in the UK or Ireland, spent the year strengthening its own standards. The Institute of Trichologists appointed Dr Sharon Wong as President in January, reported in April that its Level 5 Diploma in Clinical Trichology had received the top grade at its NCFE inspection for the fourth year running, and used its June conference to discuss a UK trichology database to support clinical decisions and research.
“For hair and scalp professionals, 2026 is best remembered for the quieter changes that alter what happens in a consultation.
The common thread is referral. New medicines help only if clients with severe alopecia areata reach a dermatologist. New warnings protect people only if the person who hears about low mood passes it on. New law works only if practitioners understand where their scope ends. The rest of this edition looks at each of those in turn.
Sources
Every fact in this edition, and where it came from.
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Next · 2026 · Cosmetic
Cosmetic, 2026
New rules at the chair.