Dr. Hyacinth Oates conducts a hair and scalp analysis to determine the condition of both.

Yahneake Sterling, Staff Reporter

When one thinks of a nail or a fork, hanging a fixture or eating a meal may come to mind.

But, for Dr. Hyacinth Oates, Jamaica's first doctor of trichology, these were the tools she used to straighten her friend's hair as a child.

'Fascination with hair'

Her fascination with hair started when she was an eight-year-old growing up in Wolverhampton, England. "You would warm it (the nail or fork) on the stove and rub the hot nail on the hair or draw the fork through it and when it's light enough, you roll brown paper length wise on the hair and use it to curl the hair," the Jamaican-born Dr. Oates explained.

The hair would be curly as if curled with a rod and was known as the 'poodle'. Back then, straightening the hair came about because bangs were in and everyone wanted to be sporting straight bangs.

Her fascination with hair was frowned upon by her mother, but young Hyacinth was determined to pursue her dream, and later enrolled at the Monica Dyers Academy to gain certification in cosmetology.

Move to Jamaica

After coming to Jamaica for a vacation in 1970, Hyacinth and her husband Billy decided to make the country their home and decided to reside in May Pen, Clarendon.

The move to Jamaica led her into farming and she did this for about two years. However, she longed for hair care and returned to her profession.

Four years after her return to hairdressing, she started her own beauty salon in May Pen, Clarendon called Extra Touch Beauty Salon.

During her many years in hairdressing, Dr. Oates came across many hair conditions and the causes puzzled her.

"When the hair breaks, you want to know why; when the hair sheds profusely, you want to know why and why older persons were really losing their hair," Dr. Oates said.

But it was not until she started writing standards for the National Council on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (NCTVET), that further questions on trichology (hair disorders) popped up. By then, she was the president of the National Association of Hairdressers and Cosmetologists (NAHC) in Jamaica, which she started in May Pen in 1996.

"Trichology is in our textbooks, but as far as cosmetology is concerned, it simply relates to hair disorders ... but I thought there had to be more to it than that," Dr. Oates said.

She researched the topic and found the International Institute of Trichology in Alabama where she proceeded to read for her Ph.D. in trichology.

Three years after defending her dissertation, Dr. Oates has launched the country's first Trichology Hair and Scalp Clinic on Westminster Road in St. Andrew.

As part of her new approach to hair care, Dr. Oates is now on a mission to educate other cosmetologists on proper hair and scalp care.

Dr. Hyacinth Oates (right) introduces her husband Billy at the launch of her Trichology Hair and Scalp Clinic last month. - photos by Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer