Shamila Gupta Rawal, MD, a board-certified otolaryngologist/head and neck surgeon, specializes in the management of hair loss and rejuvenation of the face and neck at The Rawal Institute for Hair Restoration and Aesthetic Medicine. Dr. Rawal is the only hair restoration surgeon providing comprehensive surgical and non-surgical treatment for all types of hair loss in Madison, Wisconsin, with an expansive patient base that travels in from coast-to-coast. 

Hair loss is a topic that is very important and often under-stressed. As a patient of her own, Haute Beauty expert Dr. Shamila Rawal understands the issues that stem from hair loss. This understanding, coupled with specialized training in aesthetics as a head and neck surgeon, allows Dr. Rawal to provide hair loss patients with options to regain their youthful appearance and self-esteem. To learn more about the treatments Dr. Rawal has available at The Rawal Institute for Hair Restoration and Aesthetic Medicine, Haute Beauty Editor Brooke Klaiman went on Instagram live with Dr. Rawal, to discuss each one in detail. Here are highlights from their conversation:

Brooke Klaiman: What is the main cause of hair loss? 

Dr. Shamila Rawal: The underlying cause of hair loss is a decrease in blood flow and lack of nutrient delivery. Whether this is from inflammatory conditions, cellular aging, hormonally based, or a variety of other sorts of autoimmune types of conditions, when the blood flow and nutrient delivery to the hair follicles is diminished, the blood can’t flow, and hair loss persists. 

Imagine your scalp as a garden. If you are not providing it fertilizer, water, oxygen, and the proper components the plant will suffer. A lot of my investigation in my office with my patients is deciding what is causing diminished blood flow. We want to get to the root of the cause, no pun intended. 

BK: Which treatment option is your go-to or is it based on a patient’s individual needs? 

SR: It is 100% based on a patient’s individualized needs. There is going to be a fundamental reason for diminished blood flow. To increase and improve the environment for blood flow and nutrient delivery, we will find the cause and then decide which treatment we would move toward low-level laser light therapy, platelet-rich plasma (PRP), medications, etc. 

If we have genetic and male hormone-induced hair loss, treatment can be as simple as medications. When my patients come in, I use a microscope to get a detailed view of the scalp, hair follicles, and hair shaft. I want to prescribe treatments to a patient that would be optimal to give them a tangible result. You can throw every treatment at a patient and even give them the kitchen sink but that is not the best way to approach hair loss. 

BK: What is Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP)? 

SR: PRP is a regenerative modality where we are drawing patients’ blood but not adding anything to it. The platelet is a component of your blood that has growth factors. By harnessing the body’s own power and healing, if we can help guide those platelets in our body towards an area where the growth is weak or the cells are damaged we can actually affect healing and improvement in those hair follicles in the case, or collagen or PRP for skin rejuvenation as well.  

Watch the entire conversation below: