A trichologist is a person who studies and treats problems with hair and with the skin on the head — the scalp. People go to one when their hair is falling out, when their scalp itches or flakes badly, when hair breaks off, or when bald patches appear. The word covers a range of people, and this is where students should be careful. In some countries a trichologist has done a special course in hair and scalp science but is not a medical doctor; in others, hair loss is treated by a dermatologist, a skin doctor with a full medical degree. So the title does not always mean the same level of training. It is a formal word, the kind you see on a clinic sign or in a magazine article about hair loss, not the kind you hear in daily talk. Most people would just say 'I went to see someone about my hair.' The word is also used loosely in advertising by hair-product companies — 'tested by trichologists' — where it mainly means 'a hair expert' and tells you very little.