Trichology is the study of hair and scalp. People typically go to trichologists for hair loss. Dr. Kari Williams is a celebrity trichologist who mentions that she has a PhD in trichology every chance she gets, but she doesn't name the school. So, I went to her LinkedIn profile and saw that she earned her "doctorate" at the International Institute of Trichology. They must be out of business because I can't find anything on them. My guess is that she earned her PhD from an unaccredited, professional organization. Do you think this is deceptive?
Now, you can earn a doctorate from an accredited university and create a personalized concentration in trichology. https://www.huhs.edu/course/doctor-of-science-in-integrative-healthcare/#1646937399640-af723958-67c2
Yes. It's normal to list the source of one's doctorate in a bio. Failing to list it--especially when it isn't listed anywhere you look--looks suspicious. But not always. I once tried to track down the source of an author's doctorate and ran into this phenomenon. I eventually found that she'd graduated from Alliant University, the former United States International University, a regionally accredited school. Perfectly legitimate. It puzzles me why she did it. I have a colleague of a colleague who refuses to list the source of her doctorate. It turns out she graduated from Union about the same time I did. But unlike my experience, she was particularly disillusioned with her experience and didn't want to associate with Union publicly. I never really found out why, but Union was in turmoil at that time and she may have gotten caught up in that. Or, perhaps it was something else. My experience has been, however, that when I come across such a situation, there is an iffy (or worse) degree involved. In this situation, it seems the source was completely made up. There is an International Academy of Trichology, but it doesn't offer degrees. There are some pictures on the site of a woman who seems like she heads up the place passing out certificates of completion for something or other. It is not clear who the recipients are or what their professions are. There is also an International Association of Trichologists. They certify people in the field. It is not clear what other credentials one needs to become a Trichologist. It does not appear one needs to be a medical doctor DEAC accredits a school awarding a Doctor of Science in Trichology--according to something called the World Trichology Society. But a search of that school's website turns up only a different doctorate. Searching on that school's website using the term "trichology" leads one back to that degree, and it appears one can do a "personalized specialization" in (among other areas) trichology. It is not clear what graduates of this school actually do with this degree, but this really isn't an area of interest nor expertise for me. Getting back to the original question, despite it being "something" as a field, the institution in question does not seem to exist. Or, perhaps, there is a miscommunication hear. It's all quite, um, unique.
Normally, trichologists have a certification from some organization. It's an unlicensed field. So, when I saw that Kari Williams was using the doctor title, I thought she might be a dermatologist until I did some digging and saw that she claims having a PhD. I'm a little more informed than the average consumer, so I can imagine that her clients and potential clients could be misled. There are two problems here: she's calling herself "doctor" in a field connected to healthcare, and her doctorate isn't from a real school.
Interesting findings. I learned a lot. I am bald, so won't bother a trichologist, especially Dr. Kari Williams.
I didn't know what that was, and given the new forum, my kneejerk reaction to the thread name was to wonder whether this was some form of trinitarianism or something.
I learned the word when I was going bald - around 55 years ago. Never bothered with one. Google gives us the origin: "The term derives from Ancient Greek θρίξ (thríx), "hair" and -λογία -logia. In most jurisdictions the title of a trichologist, not the field of trichology, is considered a para-medical discipline. The Institute of Trichologists was founded in 1902."
As Rich points out, Huntington University of Health Science offers a Doctor of Science in a personalized concentration and one of those is Trichology. Degree is approx $32,000 (each course is $1600). Ms Williams apparently didn't graduate from there. I suppose the degree might be worth 32 plus grand if hair is a passion. https://www.huhs.edu/course/doctor-of-science-in-integrative-healthcare/#1646937399640-af723958-67c2
The leadership, faculty, and staff are as ethnically diverse as you would expect in Knoxville, TN. https://www.huhs.edu/faculty-staff/
One of the faculty has a PhD is Alopecia research: David Kingsley PhD, WTS, LTTS University of Portsmouth, School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences (UK), PhD in alopecia (hair loss) research; City University of New York, BA in psychology (highest honors);
