Indian Men Getting Hair Transplants to Succeed at Work

It used to be that the ideal job candidate could be spotted by his or her CV, but in India things are moving on apace and the right man today not only fits the bill but looks the part, too.

According to a report in The Times Of India, the desire to correct things like acne marks, moles and hair loss are driving the cosmetic surgery industry like never before, with men between 25 and 45 especially keen to look better on social media and in selfies.

The disadvantages of hair loss in business have been documented previously and this news follows a recent German study into the workplace benefits of having employees who feel youthful - something hair can play a significant part in.

The number of men looking for cosmetic treatment in the Delhi region, says the article, is now almost on a par with that of women. Unsurprisingly, in the area of hair loss, it is significantly higher.

Numbers steadily rising

Dr Anup Dhir, a cosmetic surgeon quoted in the article, says that “From the 200 enquiry calls we get about the various treatments and surgeries we offer, 150 of them are from men. Out of those 150, 100 turn up for treatments.” He adds that the number has steadily been rising for the past two years.

What seems an especially attractive option to middle-class Indian professionals are hair transplants, the idea having become popular after a wave of Bollywood stars underwent surgery for new locks. Famously expensive though cheaper in India than in the UK hair restoration procedures are said to be particularly popular among IT and corporate professionals who can easily afford them.

An IT professional interviewed in the article comments that, “One has to look confident and smart while being proficient in work to survive competition today. You have to be the complete package.” The interviewee admits to having had a hair transplant to address his male hair loss.

Appearance is important

is a big deal in India we reported earlier about how scooter-riding students in Bangalore were shunning helmets because they were worried about it messing up their hair or making it fall out. While a rather extreme reaction, their concerns are not entirely unfounded.

Repeatedly taking a helmet on and off could lead to strain on the follicles. However, whilst a degree of hair fall is technically possible (this would be classified as Traction Alopecia), it is incredibly unlikely. If the helmet was tight enough to cause hair loss, it would also cause painful headaches which would be warning enough to nip this in the bud. There is a high prevalence in Male Pattern Baldness across India, however, and it seems possible that men are attributing the far more common - and likely - genetic hair loss to the (largely imagined) stress that wearing a helmet places on their hair.

One aspect not covered in the Times Of India article is whether or not Indian men are increasingly turning to medically-proven hair loss treatments to stave off their baldness possibly because the doctor interviewed in the article doesn’t appear to offer them.

What many thousands of men around the world have found is that bespoke non-surgical treatment courses, devised by specialists, often produce encouraging regrowth at a fraction of the cost of a hair transplant. By using a combination of MHRA and FDA approved treatments as well as additional hair growth boosters where advised, many Belgravia clients - both in the UK and abroad - have seen impressive regrowth results. Surgeons often recommend men use these treatments for a minimum of six months prior to a transplant, as well as on an on-going basis afterwards to preserve their results.