Treating hair loss as a health issue, not just a haircare concern

Traya has treated hair loss as a health issue rather than simply a cosmetic concern. How has this approach shaped the way you have built the business and developed your offerings? We operate very differently from a conventional haircare brand. In most cases, consumers either buy a product off the shelf, such as an oil or shampoo, or visit a website and select products. In a clinical setting, a dermatologist may prescribe a particular set of products, with the approach largely focused on the hair follicle. We felt that hair loss also needed to be addressed internally because many of its contributing factors are internal. Stress, hormones, nutrition, gut health and sleep can all have an impact. Ayurveda has a wealth of knowledge around lifestyle, gut health, sleep, stress management and nourishing the body, while dermatology works at the follicle level. We saw the two approaches as complementary. Food science is the third pillar. What we eat can play an important role in supporting health and nutrition. Six years ago, we started looking at how dermatology, Ayurveda and food science could come together to manage hair loss not only externally, but as a health issue. We also realised that there cannot be one product that works for everyone. That is why diagnosis became an important part of our model. A person can take a hair assessment through our app and upload photographs of their scalp. We look at factors such as sleep, stress and digestion to understand the possible underlying causes. Based on that assessment, the treatment can address the scalp externally through products such as oils and shampoos, while also providing supplements for internal nourishment. The formulations are different, but so is the process. A person cannot simply visit the website and choose a product. The recommendation is based on the diagnosis. What led you to start Traya and build this integrated model? It came out of a personal health journey. My co-founder Altaf and I are also husband and wife. He had severe hypothyroidism when he was around 30-31 and had always experienced hair loss. At one point, he had gained around 25 kg and was struggling to control his condition. While continuing with allopathic treatment, we also explored Ayurveda and food science. Over six to eight months of focusing on his overall health, his thyroid came under much better control. His medication dosage reduced from 125 to 25, and during the same period his hair also started coming back. At the time, we did not think this could become a company. Two years later, we started discussing the idea of creating a chronic healthcare model where different disciplines could work together rather than operate in silos. When you think about chronic conditions, you typically think of diabetes, cholesterol or thyroid. We felt hair loss also belonged in that conversation, particularly because male pattern hair loss can have a chronic and genetic component. We started speaking to people and realised how much interest there was in hair loss. Everyone around us seemed to be experiencing it. That is how the idea evolved organically. We then spent around a year and a half on R&D to develop the formulations. The Ayurveda doctor who had helped my husband with his thyroid continues to head Ayurveda at Traya. He was the first person we brought on board when we decided to build the company. The haircare and hair loss market has long been crowded with products making broad or difficult-to-verify claims. What needs to change across the industry to bring greater scientific rigour and credibility to the category? The market is extremely cluttered, and I believe there are several areas where regulation needs to become stronger. One of the biggest issues is the use of terms such as “hair fall control” on shampoos and oils. In many cases, the underlying study may actually be looking at hair breakage rather than hair fall. A shampoo may reduce breakage because of its formulation, but that is not the same as addressing hair loss. There should be greater clarity around what products such as shampoos and oils can legitimately claim. Terms such as hair fall, hair growth and hair regrowth need to be used responsibly and backed by appropriate evidence. The second issue is transparency around studies. In the cosmetic industry, when a brand makes a claim and references a study, there is not always a requirement to make that study publicly available. If a consumer wants to understand whether the study involved 10 people or 100 people, whether it lasted 10 days or six months, or whether it was independently conducted or blinded, that information may not be accessible. In pharma, when a study is used to substantiate a claim, there are established mechanisms through which the evidence can be published and scrutinised. We need greater transparency in the broader haircare category as well. The third issue is that some brands may use ingredient-level claims rather than conducting studies on the finished product. When I first entered a manufacturing R&D setup and wanted to develop a shampoo, I was shown a list of ingredients and the claims associated with them. It made me realise that there can be a tendency to select ingredients based on the claims that can subsequently be made. An ingredient may have been studied in a particular context, but that does not necessarily mean the finished product containing that ingredient has been clinically studied. There are also significant challenges in the digital environment. Hundreds of brands can enter the market and make claims through digital advertising, while creators can post before-and-after testimonials without sufficient clarity around how those results were achieved or whether they are representative. There needs to be greater accountability and some form of regulatory framework for digital and creator-led advertising, similar to the oversight that exists for television advertising. Traya brings together Ayurveda, dermatology and nutrition in its approach. What have you learnt from bringing these disciplines together, and what are the challenges of taking such a model to scale? The biggest challenge is that this is a much more difficult model to sell. It is far easier to sell a ₹600 shampoo or oil. People can buy it without giving it much thought. Our approach requires the person to follow a complete routine. We may provide a kit containing four or five products, ask them not to use other products, look at their diet and have them use the app and follow the recommended regime. It is a much more involved process, and it is also more expensive to sell. The first two or three years were particularly difficult because nobody knew us and we were a new brand. What kept us going was seeing the results among customers. Word-of-mouth and organic purchases helped us survive. Even today, around ₹2 crore of our monthly revenue comes from people who purchase through referrals, without any marketing spend associated with those purchases. Existing customers recommend us to friends and family. From a marketing perspective, it is a difficult model. That is also what makes it difficult for copycat brands to replicate and scale. How is technology helping make personalised hair loss assessment and treatment more practical, and where does the role of doctors remain critical? Technology is an enabler rather than a replacement for doctors. From the initial hair assessment onwards, we use algorithms to analyse a person’s condition and understand what they may be experiencing. We now have around 30 lakh data points that the algorithm uses. This allows us to provide a more individualised assessment, including an indication of whether a person may respond to treatment and over what timeframe. We also do not allow every person to purchase treatment. In some cases, the algorithm identifies that we may not be able to help, and the person is not allowed to proceed. Once an order is placed, every case goes to a doctor. The doctor reviews the algorithm’s assessment, dosage and recommendations, and can modify the prescription, change a product or reject the case altogether. This doctor review remains critical. In a conventional clinic, a doctor may see around 30 patients a day. At Traya, technology allows a doctor to review around 120 cases a day because much of the information is already structured. The case details and photographs are available, and the algorithm has prepared a preliminary prescription for the doctor to review. Our algorithm has now reached what we estimate to be 99.99 per cent accuracy, although doctors continue to review every case. This has improved significantly over time. We currently work with around 300 doctors, including MD dermatologists, MBBS doctors and Ayurveda doctors, along with a smaller number of nutritionists. Nutrition is increasingly supported by AI. Can you give an example of how the technology helps determine whether someone is likely to respond to treatment? Our treatment fundamentally operates around the health of the hair follicles. Hair fall, hair damage and hair length are relatively different problems from hair regrowth. For example, if someone says they experienced significant hair loss 15 or 25 years ago, perhaps after having a child, and they are now 52 and menopausal, the follicles may have eventually ceased functioning. Once the follicles are no longer viable, no treatment can bring the hair back. The same principle applies to people undergoing chemotherapy. The follicles remain active, but the treatment causes the shedding. Once chemotherapy stops, the hair can grow back. Such patients do not necessarily need a hair loss treatment; they should focus on nutrition, exercise and overall health. On the other hand, if someone is younger, generally below 45-50, and the hair loss is relatively recent, there may still be viable follicles that can potentially be regenerated. This is important because one of our core values is to be an honest brand. Technology helps us identify cases where we may not be able to deliver the outcome expected and prevents those customers from starting a treatment that may not benefit them. Where do you see the biggest opportunities for science-led hair loss care in India? The opportunity is enormous because hair loss is so widespread. Even after six years, despite our efforts to educate people, many continue to buy hair fall shampoos. Honestly, we would be happy if people simply went to a doctor, even if they did not choose Traya. We are trying to bring scientific, pharma-grade molecules to people, but access to specialist care remains a challenge. Our survey indicates that only two in 100 people experiencing hair fall actually consult a doctor. India has around 15,000 registered dermatologists, which is a very small number relative to the population. In major cities, we may feel that dermatologists are easily accessible, but the situation is very different across the country. That creates a significant opportunity for the broader haircare industry to distinguish between hair care and hair treatment. Shampoos, oils, serums, spas and salons are part of hair care, but hair loss can be a treatment issue. The same distinction applies to skincare. People may use multiple skincare products without consulting a doctor to understand the underlying reason for acne or another condition. Another issue is that some of the most efficacious molecules used in treatment are not available through OTC products because of regulatory restrictions. In hair, for example, minoxidil is available through pharma products prescribed by doctors. Similarly, certain molecules used for acne treatment are available through prescription products. The opportunity, therefore, is also about education and improving access to evidence-based treatment. Traya reported a topline of Rs 343 crore in FY2025 and is targeting Rs 500-600 crore in FY2026. At this stage of growth, what are the key levers for taking the business to the next level? One important area for us has been our ability to penetrate the interiors of the country. Although the first purchase can be relatively expensive, at around ₹2,500 for the box, we have seen adoption beyond the major cities. Last month, we delivered across around 19,000 pincodes, out of approximately 25,000 pincodes in the country. Around 80 per cent of our revenue last year came from outside Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities. This has changed our view of the market. Earlier, we were largely a Tier 1 and Tier 2 brand. Over the last one and a half years, we have focused significantly on making the model work across Bharat. The opportunity is no longer limited to Tier 1, Tier 2 or Tier 3 cities. There are states where we already have strong penetration and others where we need to build awareness. Uttar Pradesh is currently one of our top states in terms of revenue and brand awareness. Over the next two to three years, our focus will be on bringing some of the other states closer to that level. How are you building the operational infrastructure to support this expansion? Our largest office is in Mumbai, where the leadership team is based. We also have another office nearby where our medical team operates. Around 120 people, including doctors and the escalation and coaching teams, work there. We have an office in Bengaluru with around 60 people, primarily supporting engineering and technology. Beyond our own offices, we have outsourced coach centres across India. Every Traya customer gets access to a hair coach, and we currently handle around 2,500 coach conversations a day. Customers can book an appointment through the app to speak to their coach, discuss their progress, provide feedback and plan their next month’s kit. As we scaled, we realised we could not continue hiring everyone in Mumbai. We therefore built centres across India, which also helped us address regional-language requirements. We have centres in locations including Siliguri, Amritsar and Indore, along with support for languages such as Kannada, Malayalam and Tamil. These centres allow us to access qualified people at a more sustainable cost than Mumbai. We also have an academy where people undergo a three-month training programme to become hair coaches. They have to complete the training, take examinations and receive certification before becoming a coach. The post Treating hair loss as a health issue, not just a haircare concern appeared first on Express Pharma.