Bald but not beautiful

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The world looked on in shock recently as supermodel Naomi Campbell’s photos revealing a bald patch were splashed across the globe. As fans and members of the fashion fraternity began discussing the reasons behind the model’s shocking hair loss, the issue of overuse of chemical treatments has come into the forefront once again especially considering the fact that youngsters tend to blindly follow anything that’s in fashion without realising the consequences of the same.
Hairstyle experts also highlight the fact that these days’ youngsters, who have the spending power are willing to shell out any amount of moolah when it comes to their tresses and are also game when it comes to experimenting. “The world is not perfect and nobody is satisfied with the way they look,” points out celebrity hairstylist Sapna Bhavnani, who says that whenever people walk up to her with a picture of a celebrity sporting a particular look and request her to ape it, she always advises them to stop imitating and start being original.
While being original is one part of the issue, the other one that experts highlight is the increasing incidents of balding and hair loss among women. “We always associate these with men, but the truth is that a rising number of women have been complaining about the same. It’s time ladies realised that balding is a reality and they need to take steps to prevent this,” explains Dr Vanitha K. Rao, an ayurvedic consultant.
In Naomi Campbell’s case, hair experts are of the opinion that her habit of undergoing hair-weaving treatment over a period of time is what has led to such unnatural hair loss. “The negative effects of chemicals on one’s hair is not new, we might not realise it now, but these are things that build up over the years and their effect begins to show only later on. One needs to understand that our hair is very fragile and it must be treated with the same amount of care like the skin or any other important organ,” believes Dr Blossom Kochhar, beauty expert and aromatherapist.
Dr Sangeeta Amladi, head of medical services of a popular skin and hair clinic has this to say, “It’s important to understand that it’s always a combination of internal and external factors that lead to this situation, for example, you might have straightened your hair but this will not necessarily lead to hair loss because at the same time you might be suffering from vitamin deficiency, anaemia or even stress, this combination of external and internal factors can also lead to severe hair loss.”
However, Indian women can take solace in the fact that they can be untouched by most of these problems thanks to traditional habits like oiling one’s hair often, going in for massages and even following a diet that incorporates food that’s healthy for the tresses.
A recent world wide survey by renowned trichologist Dr Yash Kamat, the Ex-Director of TRI Princeton based in New Jersey, revealed that Indian hair is the healthiest while Caucasians and Africans who are known to tightly braid their hair, often overuse styling products, etc. have the poorest quality of hair.
“We still follow the practice of oiling our hair and going in for massages, even top actresses indulge in these, but they might not want to reveal that openly. Our diet also plays a key role in this and that’s why south Indians in particular are known to have great hair because of the inclusion of coconut oil and curry leaves in their diet. Another factor is that we still follow a lot of homemade recipes when it comes to hair care, the penetration of artificial styling products is not very high in the Indian market,” elaborates Dr Vanitha.
At the same time it’s hard to eliminate the use of chemical products for the hair given the way styles and trends are changing so dynamically. Keeping this in mind, Shweta Sodhi, national style educator and sales manager of premium brand of hair products says, “It’s important to select products carefully, they should be used to enhance your hair and not change it completely. And always trust your hairstylist, he or she is like a doctor who knows and understands your scalp so never ignore their advice.”