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Turbans causing baldness in Sikh men
- By Jeremy Harkin
- Published 10th November, 2009
- Causes of Hair Loss
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Jeremy Harkin
Jeremy has enjoyed a varied career in advertising and media. He is now a freelance editorial consultant working with mainstream men's mags and their associated websites.
A leading hair transplant surgeon claims that an increasing number of Sikh men are seeking surgery for hair loss that is caused by tightly wrapped turbans.
Experts from the Farjo Medical Centre claim that men as young as 20 years old are coming to them for transplants after suffering from traction alopecia – where the hair falls out because it has been under strain.
Sikh religious law requires the uncut hair to be worn in a tight knot called a ‘rishi,’ which pulls on the hair causing hair loss. Boys begin tying their hair in the rishi from as young as five, and continue to wear the rishi under their turbans once they are old enough to do so.
Many Sikh men wear their turban for 24 hours a day, leading to severe baldness, particularly around the front hairline.
The founder of the Farjo Medical Centre Dr Bessam Farjo, who is also the former president of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery, is calling for men to wear their turbans less tightly wound. He says, “we are treating a significant number of patients who have suffered hair loss caused by wearing a turban. Hair transplant surgery can restore the hair permanently, as long as the wearer puts less stress on the hair.”
Experts from the Farjo Medical Centre claim that men as young as 20 years old are coming to them for transplants after suffering from traction alopecia – where the hair falls out because it has been under strain.
Sikh religious law requires the uncut hair to be worn in a tight knot called a ‘rishi,’ which pulls on the hair causing hair loss. Boys begin tying their hair in the rishi from as young as five, and continue to wear the rishi under their turbans once they are old enough to do so.
Many Sikh men wear their turban for 24 hours a day, leading to severe baldness, particularly around the front hairline.
The founder of the Farjo Medical Centre Dr Bessam Farjo, who is also the former president of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery, is calling for men to wear their turbans less tightly wound. He says, “we are treating a significant number of patients who have suffered hair loss caused by wearing a turban. Hair transplant surgery can restore the hair permanently, as long as the wearer puts less stress on the hair.”