HYDERABAD: Stress and fast lifestyle have not only led to the rise of various lifestyle diseases, but hair loss too. Dr Pradeep Sethi, a hair transplant surgeon from AIIMS (New Delhi) and founder of Eugenix Hair Sciences, was in Hyderabad recently. He talked to Express about premature balding.
“Earlier, we used to see baldness among men only after the age of 30-35 years. But, nowadays, the signs can appear after 20. Another new trend is that more women are showing signs of baldness. It has been found globally that our fast lifestyle is leading to early onset of many biological processes including puberty,” said the doctor.
Talking about the reasons behind hair loss, he added: “Several factors like poor diet, urbanisation, pollution, irregular sleep schedule can contribute to hair loss in both men and women. I have found that working women suffer more from hairfall.
One can lose hair due to non-communicable diseases like diabetes and cancer, which have been on the rise in the last few years.” Explaining the types of baldness, the expert said: “Hair fall is a generic term, which called alopecia in medical parlance. There can be different types of hair loss. The first one is called pattern baldness, in which a person loses hair from the sides or top of the scalp.
The other one is called non-pattern baldness in which a person can lose hair from any part of the scalp.”
“Nowadays, there are medicines to prevent pattern baldness. If a person has a history of baldness in the family, and can recognise the early signs, then medicines can help stop further hair loss. In case of non-pattern baldness, a person might be losing hair due to some deficiency, or because of an ailment. The hair fall can be arrested once the underlying issue is addressed.
Deficiency of iron and Vitamin D in the body can lead to hair loss. Adding green leafy vegetables to the diet, which contain a lot of water-soluble vitamins, can help in ensuring better health and hair. In case the patient wants to go for hair transplantation, he should make sure that he approaches an experienced and ethical doctor,” added Dr Pradeep.
— Kakoli Mukherjee kakoli_mukherjee@newindianexpress.com @KakoliMukherje2