Since ancient times, healthy hair had always been a symbol of a good life, impressive personality, and powerful aura. It is believed by many historians that the ancient science of cosmetology has its origins in Egypt. An ancient Egyptian papyrus dating back 3500 years offers a list of treatments for many illnesses, including that for ‘bite hair loss or most likely alopecia areata (AA)’. The term alopecia was first used by Hippocrates. That ancient treatment remained unchanged for the next 1500 years. Cornelius Celsus, in 30 CE, described the AA disease as scalp alopecia in spots and called it ‘windings of a snake’ disease and prescribed caustic compounds and scarification treatment for it. Although in 1813, there came a modern description of AA, the treatment mostly remained caustic agent-based.
Contemporary research in this area is widely focused on areas like genetics, dietary modulators, the microbiome, immune cell types in AA pathogenesis, the role of atopy, mechanisms in which immune cells influence hair growth, primary antigenic targets, and the new development and treatments based on the past and present discoveries. This is modern hair care science. And your search for modernist scientific hair care ends with Cara Clinic Pvt. Ltd., a one-stop solution provider for all your hair related issues.
In an interview with Insights Success, the clinic’s Founder, M.D., Dermatology, hair transplant surgeon, and aesthetic physician, Dr Mohd Asif, talks more about the hair care science in general and about his clinic in particular. The excerpts are given below.
Describe us about Cara in detail.
Cara Clinic Pvt. Ltd, Santa Cruz, Mumbai, was founded by me and Dr Aleena Rehman in 2018. I am an M.D. Dermatology, a trained and certified hair transplant surgeon and aesthetic physician, while Dr Aleena Rehman, D.L.O (ENT), is trained in facial aesthetics and non-surgical nose reshaping.
We envisioned Cara as a place where anyone could benefit from cutting-edge hair loss treatments such as regenerative hair loss treatments, Sapphire FUE hair transplantation, and beard hair restoration. Cara was founded by us to provide clients with comfort, convenience, privacy, and thoroughly researched hair treatments.
What made you venture into the hair care space?
Hair science dates all the way back to ancient times, and we believe it will continue to be a never-ending field in the near future. Hair loss or thinning affects both genders and causes a slew of social problems such as professional rejection, depression, social abuse, lack of confidence, and difficulty in finding a partner.
Modern science is working at the tissue level, such as hair transplantation, and at the cellular level, such as hair PRP, to regenerate hair. We believe that modern hair science has the potential to benefit millions-billions of people, and the prospect of changing people’s lives fills us with joy. Still, much work is required to assist people to the best of our abilities, and we aim to provide good hair care through CARA Clinic.
What kind of offerings do you provide to your clients?
At the moment, we have classified hair care into three categories:
- Hair Regeneration: Our goal is to assist existing hair through cell-based regenerative treatments utilising autologous platelet-rich plasma solutions. In every case, we are extremely successful at restoring hair thickness and overall hair volume.
- Hair Restoration: The final results of hair transplantation must be undetectable, have a healthy overall hair volume, and improve our clients’ quality of life. Our goal is to assist the balding area through surgical hair restoration techniques such as sapphire FUE micro-incisions. There is a lot to discuss about sapphire FUE, such as how micro-incisions enable rapid recovery, maximum hair density, excellent safety, non-scarring hair transplantation, and completely natural-looking results.
- Hair Maintenance: We understand the value of hair restoration and how to overcome the fear of losing them again. Hair loss is less likely to occur with proper hair care or maintenance. We provide timely support for hair regenerative treatments and are extremely successful at it.
What kind of challenges have you faced while entering the hair care space?
Due to the fact that we are being completely candid here, we have never calculated our challenges thus far. We were immediately successful in terms of hair care treatments. Yes, there were some financial difficulties, widespread awareness issues, and multiple lockdowns due to covid, but we view these as part of the lifecycle and have nothing to do with true hair care difficulties. Being a dermatologist-led team with extensive experience in hair issues has always aided us in avoiding minor problems.
How was Cara Clinic affected in these pandemic times, and what were the steps you took to curb the damages while helping your clients and maintaining the safety of your employees?
We launched our venture in 2018 and were met with the wrath of lockdowns and covid outbreaks a year later. Numerous people suffered greatly as a result of this, and we believe our suffering is insignificant in comparison to others. Our team has committed to not abandoning our clients/employees during this trying time. We ensured continuous hair care through online consultations, in-person hair treatments that adhered to all Covid precautions, and on-time salaries for our employees with the option to work from home. One thing we excelled at was client education via social media; we attempted to reach out to our viewers and assist them with their questions and answers.
What would you like to advise the young generation of entrepreneurs?
To be honest, we believe that every successful entrepreneur in the hair care industry is young. If you’re a start-up, you’re probably struggling to attract more customers, but if you’re on the right track, you’ll succeed eventually. If you haven’t evolved with the times and haven’t embraced modern hair science, your success will be limited. Finally, focus on the “return on investment” from the consumer’s perspective, not just yours. A healthy balance of the two will bring joy to everyone.
Where do you envision Cara to be in the long run, and what are your future goals? How do you plan to embrace the changes happening in the hair care space?
At the moment, we are focusing our efforts on cellular and tissue level hair care treatments with great success. Our goal is to educate the majority of people about long-term hair loss solutions. We are interested in expanding into new cities. We are always open to new and scientifically supported hair care treatment strategies, as well as collaborating with international communities to achieve the best modern hair care possible. We have already established a strong international network and aim to be a global leader in hair care science.
What is the current industrial scenario of the hair care space?
The current state of hair care is a mix of good and bad practices. As is the case in other countries, some hair care cosmetics instil a sense of hope in consumers in the absence of sufficient scientific research. While these cosmetics are easy to avail of, they can cause a great deal of disappointment for consumers when they fail. This is the time for individuals to gain a basic understanding of hair thinning or hair loss issues and the treatments that are most effective.
There are clinics that are making an effort to educate the public via social media and other platforms, but the final goal will take much longer to achieve. Things are improving now that people are becoming more aware of hair care through social media platforms that are more focused on lifestyle and well-being.
How are cosmetics affecting the health of hair?Â
Hair cosmetics are used to enhance the aesthetics of your hair by removing excess dust or secretion from the scalp, restoring proper hair texture, and correcting superficial skin and hair damage caused by a variety of factors. You may notice a variety of fragranced but sulphate and ammonia-free shampoos, conditioners, hair waxes, hair gels, and hair treatments such as colouring, smoothing, perming, and keratin treatments. Not all of them are safe; some may have an adverse effect on the quality of your hair. Nonetheless, there is a solution to every problem; a skilled dermatologist can recommend the optimal hair care regimen for your hair. It’s not that you can’t colour or wax your hair; it’s just how you use these treatments and how you’ll address any issues with your current hair cosmetics.
A Proficient Leader
Dr Mohd Asif is a pioneer in establishing the role of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and has received numerous awards for his work at both the national and international levels. In 2011, while completing his junior residency at Hindu Rao Hospital in Delhi, he developed an interest in PRP. He was then awarded a dissertation on PRP, on which he conducted research for three years during his residency programme in Jaipur, between 2013 and 2016. His first publication on PRP occurred during his residency and was published in the British journal Cosmetic Dermatology. He has since used PRP treatments for a variety of purposes, most notably hair regeneration. He has over ten years of experience in skin and hair care and is also affiliated with numerous aesthetic care centres and medical colleges.
