Hair transplants growing in popularity

A Beijing resident, who asked to be identified as Xiao Liu, is happy he had a hair transplant.

He noticed relatively heavy hair loss in 2013 when he was a sophomore in Zhengzhou University, Henan province, and tried using medication and shampoo to treat it.

After graduation, he became a programmer in a famous internet company. As his late nights increased, so did his hair loss.

In 2017, at the age of 26, he decided to have a hair transplant.

"Young people care a lot about how they look, because good looks benefit your career and personal relationships," Xiao said, adding that his friends and colleagues are open-minded about it.

He spent two months carrying out research online, comparing prices, reputations and certification of facilities, before choosing a private clinic and spending 34,000 yuan on the procedure.

Waiting times at public hospitals are too long, and the clinic he chose gave him a good discount and promised him a refund if the surgery failed, he said.

The number of female customers is also rising fast, and an increasing number of people without hair loss problems are undergoing procedures to change their facial hair, both Liu and Zhang said.

Female customers mostly want a widow's peak or lower hairline to make their face look smaller, while men want to reshape beards, mustaches, and hairlines.

A widow's peak, a V-shaped point in the hairline in the center of the forehead, is widely considered a beauty trait in China.

About 10 percent of Lotus customers have "artistic hair transplants," according to Liu.

Chen Xiong, who was born in the 1990s, had surgery to give her a widow's peak and lower her hairline when she was 25 years old. The procedure cost her about 30,000 yuan, and required her to take a few days off work.

Chen, who works in the fashion industry as an agent, said cosmetic surgery, especially nonsurgical procedures, is increasingly popular among young Chinese.

After recovering from her surgery, she combed her hair back from her forehead for the first time since she was 18 years old. None of her colleagues noticed her new hairstyle, but they did say that she looked prettier.

"I only wish I had surgery earlier. It was just a minor operation but it gave me the hairline I wanted," she said, adding that previously she always felt uncomfortable about her big forehead.

Apart from looking good, hair transplants also help strengthen someone's self-image, which is another reason they are popular among young people in first-tier cities, according to Zhang.

Many men don't like the shape of their hairline, beard, mustache or eyebrows, and will seek to alter their facial hair so that it fits better with their self-image and personality, Zhang said.