Dr Jonathan Palmer Bio
Dr Jonathan Palmer before he grew his hair. photo taken at Imperial College London.
Dr Jonathan Palmer is the founding director and lead scientist at HairKnowHow. Jonathan is the principal scientist behind the development and adaptation of the assays used by HairKnowHow to determine the health of our client’s hair.
Dr Jonathan Palmer at the World Trichology Conference in London
Jonathan is a family man with two young children who, when not working within the HairKnowHow laboratory, can be found skating or climbing with his children or pottering about in the garden.
Dr Jonathan Palmer is in the garden posing with his daylilies. As the name suggests, they each last one day only. Nature is capable of producing so much beauty.
Jonathan was always a keen scientist. From around the time he could crawl, he could be found gardening with his parents or, as he got older, destruction testing anything he could get his hands on in the garden with a hammer. Another forte was taking things apart but not always succeeding in putting them back together. At around twelve years old, Jon started taking an interest in hair, primarily by watching adverts on television where he noticed the unscientific information being discussed or used in the adverts – this Jon never forgot.
Jonathan’s latest scientific talk at the ITC for the Trichology community, “Revealing the Hidden World of Hair”
Jonathan’s passion for science at a young age and constant asking of questions led him to study science at a deeper level in secondary school. After college, he took his first scientific position within a local biotechnology company making diagnostic test kits and assays for national blood banks. Jonathan then attended university, gaining his undergraduate degree in molecular biology from Greenwich University, London. Jonathan then moved around within the biotechnology industrial sector, working in Sydney, Australia and many of the top universities in London, UK, including Kings College London (KCL), University College London (UCL), and Imperial College London. At these universities, Jonathan developed a specialisation in microscopic and biochemical assay development, across an array of materials, including biofilms, hair, transcription factors and cancer therapeutic drug-like molecules working with partners such as Cancer Research UK and Procter and Gamble (P&G) and others.
Dr Jonathan Palmer working in a laboratory in London.
During Jonathan’s time in the academic sector, he gained his PhD in Chemical Engineering from Imperial College London, and after that, he completed two post-doctoral research positions. Jonathan’s interest in science grew as he learned more and more about the natural world and the need to help people.
Jonathan, looking for a new challenge after his time in academia, thought of ideas where he could have the most impact using his two decades of scientific knowledge. Finally, having recalled watching those hair adverts as a child, he decided this would be his new purpose. To help people get the most out of their hair by analysing it using the best assays and latest scientific equipment, all to ensure people get the correct products for their hair, maximising their hairs health and beauty. This way, the public could get the haircare products they needed rather than guessing and getting lost with all the claims made during haircare advertisements and the myths surrounding some products.
Dr Jonathan Palmer in a laboratory at Imperial College London
Having dedicated experienced biologists with molecular, biochemical and chemical engineering expertise acquired outside the haircare beauty sector would help breathe new life into the hair and beauty sector, which Jonathan believed was needed. By supporting the consumer directly, he could help increase public confidence in themselves, the products they were purchasing and actually help the comsumer see the changes in their hair health.
Jonathan had already researched hair. One such work package involved tracking small chemicals diffusing in the fibres and learning where they went and their potential impacts using confocal laser scanning microscopy. So, Jon thought this was an excellent opportunity to learn the current state of the art regarding haircare product science and hair analysis. Jon was also excited about the potential of helping educate the public on both the sciences and hair science through YouTube, blogging and social media -something he had never done before. This information would help the public make informed decisions about hair health and product purchasing.
Jonathan created HairKnowHow to fulfil this mission.
“My journey so far creating HairKnowHow is one of the most amazing adventures of my life. I love my role within HairKnowHow; I enjoy learning something new every day and then passing this on to others”. - Dr Jonathan Palmer
For those who know Jon, he’s now researching the latest trends in hair care products, having just written another hair guide page. He couldn’t be happier.
The HairKnowHow team.