Hair treatments cashing in on insecurity among balding heads

Nihad Amani

Hyderabad: Hair has always been considered an essence of beauty and attraction. Bollywood films like Bala and Ujda Chaman that depict how hair define a person’s appearance and identity. Hair clinics are clearly cashing in on this and raking in moolah with some costly treatments.

The expensive treatment consists of a consultation fee that ranges from Rs. 1,000 to Rs.5,000. The actual cost of different procedures can be anywhere between Rs. 4,000 and 1.5 lakhs. The additional expenditure for supplementary medicines, tube shampoos, do not exactly help either.

In the modern-day era, males are just as concerned as females, if not more, about the state of their hair. Doctors state today that hair loss has become a sign of shame, competition and stress. For those who bachelors, it is more than that because the bride’s would not accept a boy who does not have a headful of hair.

Such concerns are prevalent among the age group of 18-45 years.

On one hand, people praise celebrities like Tahira Kashyap Khurana and Hollywood actor Bryan Cranston for their skill and brevity in shaving their heads.  On the other hand, ordinary people who are bald or balding are funnily called like taklaganja and chaand. There are also who lovingly call a ganja as ‘chaand pasha.

A patient at Radiance Hair clinic in Ameerpet said, “I would die to have good hair. It’s terrible when we don’t have good hair.”

A number of hair loss patients also said that it is difficult for them to find a spouse, follow the latest style trends and retaining their self-confidence.

Plus, besides the financial cost, Rajan Prasad of the Smart Hairline Clinic is quick to point out the unbearable physical pain that patients undergo during treatment.

Many experts attribute hair problems to increase pollution, water changes and excessive use of products like gel and hair sprays.

Psychologist Pooja Jha categorically states, “Those who deem a hair loss as some sort of stigma are sick at heart. They need to know that hair is not the sole indicator of beauty. Those experiencing this problem find it difficult to maintain their self-confidence. They unfortunately end up feeling inferior to others. Our society perpetuates this myth of hair defining beauty is to blame.”

Commenting on how detrimental hair fall is to a male’s marriage prospects, Amazon employee Satish Kumar also believe that women have it better than men.

“It is more disgraceful when prospective females reject you for marriage for this reason despite excellent financial status and educational qualifications,” says Satish Kumar, an Amazon employee.

Whatever opinion one might have on hair or the lack of them the craze for putting back a lock on the head would continue to grow.