Nadeem Uddin Khan, CEO and Founder of Harley Street Hair Clinic, famed for performing a hair transplant on football legend Wayne Rooney, is on a mission: to tackle taboos around hair loss among the South Asian community.
Hair loss is a common issue that affects people from all backgrounds. However, within the South Asian community, it often carries additional layers of taboo and stigma.
The cultural importance of hair, particularly for women, can contribute to feelings of shame, embarrassment, and a sense of diminished beauty and femininity. The stigma can lead to psychological distress, low self-esteem, and social isolation.
One of the primary challenges faced by British South Asians dealing with hair loss is the lack of open conversation and awareness about the issue. Due to cultural norms and societal pressures, people may hesitate to seek help or discuss their concerns openly. That reluctance can prevent them from accessing the necessary support, information, and treatment options available to them.
What’s more, the unique hair characteristics of South Asians can present additional challenges when it comes to managing hair loss. The intricacies of diverse hair textures and styling practices may limit the visibility of hair loss and delay early intervention. Additionally, cultural remedies and traditions passed down through generations can perpetuate myths and ineffective treatments, further exacerbating the problem.
Breaking the taboo around hair loss in the British South Asian community requires creating safe spaces for open dialogue, raising awareness about available resources, and promoting the acceptance of diverse beauty standards. By fostering an environment that encourages education and support, people can access the necessary tools to navigate hair loss and its impact on their well-being.
Speaking to the Asian Standard, London-based Mr Khan said: “In South Asian communities, hair is particularly linked to cultural identity and beauty standards, where many value not just a head of hair, but luscious, flowing, and thick healthy hair.
“In the media and in South Asian culture, hair is seen as a symbol of good health and attractiveness. In many Bollywood films you see that women cultivate rich and flowing hairstyles as opposed to shorter cuts, and men tend to prefer thick, dense, and flowing hair.
“While hair loss can have emotional and social impacts, it’s rarely been discussed openly in South Asian society and, when it has, it’s almost always discussed in a comedic fashion.
“However, despite the availability of surgical options in South Asia for hair loss being historically limited, there has recently been a rapid explosion in hair restoration treatment. There’s also been the start of great changes in perceptions and the ability to talk of hair loss concerns, but there’s still more to do to break down these taboos.”
When asked why he felt the need to address the issue he said: “This taboo of not openly discussing hair loss means that there is not the education or awareness needed to help with it, and many South Asians turn to ineffective advice and treatments based on myths and remedies.
“But now men and women have greater options to help with hair loss than ever before due to the advancement of technology, and safe, effective restoration procedures.
“I believe that acceptance of hair loss is an important step to addressing this taboo – which hopefully better communication of hair loss concerns will lead to.
“I’ve seen many South Asian males who are beginning to embrace the shorter haircut or talk about their hair loss, which is a big shift from preferences over the last two decades. I hope to see this continue.”
Speaking about his own experience, he said: “I was the first person in the UK to have an FUE hair transplant after suffering with hair loss for years. At the time, I kept it a secret from my South Asian parents, as it was still a taboo topic to talk about. Now I want to speak openly about my hair loss journey to encourage others to do the same.
“So many men like me, and women, experience hair loss and usually it starts quite early on in life. This is nothing to be ashamed of – we should be encouraging the conversation to normalise South Asian hair loss, especially as there are treatments out there that can help just like they did for me.
“I’m also keen to keep innovating the hair restoration techniques to continue to improve the quality of results and satisfaction of hair transplantation.”
