Ludhiana, September 28: IF medical science is giving us more and more specialists, welcome the experts of a new field — hair care. Tips for healthy hair or treatment for damaged hair may no longer be left to discussions in your peer group. Instead, opt for medical care. You may get a chemical treatment done to deal with the problem of hair loss and dandruff from a trichologist, the specialist for problems of hair and scalp.

Dr Sonal Shah, a trichologist who has done a course at Australia, now has her own chain of hair care institutes called Richfeel. Dr Sharanjeet Sandhu, who took her training under Dr Shah, looks after the local center of Richfeel. She points out, ‘‘Serious problems like that of falling hair or baldness among both men and women are major concerns of the people.’’ Dr Sandhu says that they trust only herbal and homoeopathy products, other than their hair supplement. A good diet chart is also suggested to the patient, she adds.

There can be various causes for hair loss — which can be as simple as change of place, pregnancy, a dusty environment, hair colouring or perming, to serious problems like jaundice, hormonal imbalance and stress.

Dr Sandhu recalls the case of a 27-year-old client, Gagan, who after joining Merchant Navy, started losing about 200 hair a day. ‘‘The hairloss was due to salty and hard sea water and poor climate. After treatment, the loss reduced considerably.’’

She adds that in the initial stages of balding, hair loss can be recovered, and controlled at a later stage.