Age is just a number until you ask a woman her age... It is for this reason that women and men alike would always attempt to cover up their hair loss to maintain a sense of their youthfulness and boost their self-esteem.
Women will hide their hair loss in weaves. Some men will opt for toupees. This was until trichology, the science of hair and the scalp began being popular.
In 2011, Wayne Rooney spent the equivalent of Sh2.2 million for a hair transplant to fix his baldness which started way before he was even 25-years-old.
It is after his hair transplant that over 30,000 other men were allegedly inspired to go for a similar procedure with bookings allegedly shooting up by 25 per cent at the trichology centre where he had the procedure done.
But it’s not only Rooney who was concerned about his premature balding. In Nairobi, there is one such centre (apparently the only one in East Africa) where men and women go for help.
The founder of the Hairhub Trichology Centre is Muli Musyoka.
In Kenya, it would cost you between Sh70,000 and Sh400,000 for a similar hair transplant.
The number of hair follicles required is put into consideration. A patient would need around 2,000 to 4,000 hair follicles. The pricing fluctuates with the number of follicles needed per graft.
“If you require 1,000 follicles, we charge about Sh80 to Sh150 per single graft. The cost is individualized according to requirement,” said Musyoka.
They work with medical doctors to first determine what has triggered the hair loss before deciding on the type of treatment to administer. Consultation costs about Sh6,000.
There are severe hair loss cases like alopecia totalis and alopecia universalis where people lose every hair on their head and body (including eye lashes).
Various forms and causes of hair loss include:
Genetic hair loss
“As a trichologist, I observe any changes on hair and the scalp and how to address them. Anything you eat, drink, smoke and whatever you place on your scalp affects hair growth.”
Musyoka got his trichology training from the International Association of Trichologists (IAT) in Sydney Australia while working at the Haco Tiger Brands as of Head of Education and quality evaluation.
Change of weather and stress
One of his clients was a lady from the UK. She has been around for about seven months now.
Her hair has been shedding because of the change in weather, Musyoka said.
“A slight change in weather or even a flu could stress the body triggering hair loss.”
Auto immune hair loss
Auto immune disease like alopecia areata, cause the body’s genetic programming where the white blood cells attack hair follicles ending in hair loss. This attack causes itchiness that you should not ignore if it persists.
“The moment you are at the salon and you ask the hairdresser to scratch hard while shampooing your hair, you may need to worry and seek an expert’s advice.”
Monthly anti-auto immune medication is usually administered over time to prevent further hair loss.
“This condition cannot be cured completely and may recur even after hair transplant – it can only be managed,” said Musyoka.
Smoking
Hair gets its nutrients through capillaries. Smoke from cannabis sativa or tobacco constricts capillaries thus reducing the supply of nutrients and water to hair.
Musyoka said that hair is connected to a lot of nerve endings and when there is any change in the body, it will start shedding; an indicator that something is happening to the body.
“If you continue smoking, the brain will stop producing hair,” he said.
Nutritional deficiencies
Musyoka states that you could be exposed to the sun for Vitamin D but when you hardly take proteins, you end up missing out on some other nutrients like irons and carbohydrates.
Water is also very important for growing hair cells.
“If you are a vegetarian with gluten-intolerance, you have a higher chance of losing hair so you should focus on getting proteins and other minerals from other sources,” he said.
Trauma
Hair trauma occurs when one’s hair is braided too tightly. Hair loss happens since the hair follicles is yanked out. Other causes include; post-partum alopecia (hair loss after giving birth), fungal infection, hormonal imbalance, accidents, burns or after radiotherapy, chemotherapy or failure to take medication as prescribed.
Caroline Cherotich, 40, got an 80 per cent receding hairline as a result of post-partum alopecia. This damaged her confidence and she decided to seek trichology services after doctors couldn’t do much to restore her hairline.
“I thought about it for a month because I was not sure how I would look afterwards. It cost me Sh180,000 but it was well worth it ,” she says.
Hair transplant:
Follicular Unit Extraction
A complete hair transplant procedure takes between five to eight hours.
If someone permanently loses hair to trauma, for instance, and their scalp is okay, grafting is done by picking hair from a different area and replanting it on the balding spot.
“We use the FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction) hair transplant system which means the patient will have no scars. It is a very natural procedure,” says Musyoka.
Growth factors
Other than hair transplants, growth factors can be used to regain hair in the case where the follicles are active but the hair is falling.
A blood sample is taken and spun at a very high speed using a special machine that separates the plasma and other blood components. The platelets are then picked and mixed with liquid calcium which helps in the release of hair growth factors.
“We inject the solution in affected areas on the scalp using very tiny syringes after local anaesthesia is given to numb the area and a patient walks out happy afterwards.”
Topical laser hair therapy can also be performed but this doesn’t work well on African skin as it may cause blisters.
Musyoka says that they help remove hair but that is not their focal point as they “are the hands that keep the hair growing.”
If you wish to spot a Rick Ross look, Hairhub are able to plant the beards for you. This is a trend that is speedily being taken up by moneyed boys in town as is the planting of eye brows for the ladies.
Creation of new hairlines is also a common trend for both men and women. Of all the patients seen at the trichology centre, 20 per cent are men.
“Most ladies after having a botched eye brow tattoo would want to grow the brows back and hair transplant is the only solution for them. We can also harvest hair from these areas including the arms and plant on the scalp,” he says.
