We were invited to meet on the occasion of Hair India 2012 to a wonderful site on the shores of the Bay of Bengal: Mamallapuram, a 7th-century port city of the South Indian dynasty of the Pallavas around 60 km south from the city of Chennai and UNESCO World Heritage Site, ‘where the ships rode at anchor bent to the point of breaking laden as they were with wealth, big trunked elephants and gems of nine varieties in heaps’ – as described in a 8th-century Tamil text written by Thirumangai Alvar.
We had ample opportunities both for scientific and for cultural refinement, enjoying the lectures from the national and international faculty, with illustrious speakers such as Alain Khaiat, Andrew Messenger Antonella Tosti, Desmond Tobin, Paul Devakar Yesudian, Valerie Randall, Zoe Draelos, and Patrick Yesudian, to name but a few.
In the spare time, ancient Mamallapuram invited with its rock-cut, monolithic monuments to dwell upon in timeless thoughts in an atmosphere vibrant with spirituality unique to the Indian subcontinent.
The theme of the meeting was “To Abolish Quackery in Trichology”. Indeed, the congress proved worthy of its ambition, both in terms of the scientific quality and integrity of the contributions of both established authorities and young upcoming scientists, and in terms of the fairness in the debates on the subject.
In summary, the consensus was that good medical practice in trichology aims at:
understanding the hair patient on an emotional level and his/her medical problem on a technical level
delivering sound patient education and effective trichologic therapy
representing trichology as a discipline based on evidence from science, engineering, and statistics
setting standards for good medical practice in trichology
and, supporting progress in trichology through continuous medical education.
Dr Ralph M Trueb
With a number of approximately 800 participants, both the excellent organization and the generous location proved worthy of hosting a meeting of international dimensions. Indeed, the Hair Research Society of India which organized Hair India 2012 can be proud of a success unsurpassed by the meetings of the sister societies, as far as I have witnessed them in person.
For this reason, I not only wish to express my gratitude and congratulate Dr. S. Murugusundram, the secretary of the Hair Research Society of India and his team, but ultimately encourage them to aspire for one of the forthcoming World Congresses for Hair Research, again ‘where the ships rode at anchor bent to the point of breaking laden as they were with wealth, big trunked elephants and gems of nine varieties in heaps’