These AIIMS doctors went from job hunting to starting their own hair transplant clinic, raking in Rs 12 Cr turnover

Dr Arika Bansal and Dr Pradeep Kumar Sethi completed their post-graduation from AIIMS Delhi in Dermatology and Venerology in 2006 and 2008, respectively. Upon not being able to land a job in the national capital, they decided to move to Rishikesh that faced an acute shortage of skincare clinics. 

In an interaction with SMBStory, Pradeep Kumar Sethi, the 42-year-old hair transplant surgeon, says,

“There were not many skincare clinics that catered to the population residing in Rishikesh and the surrounding areas of Badrinath, Kedarnath, and Gangotri, among others. We both didn’t find any suitable jobs, and the gap in the area for skincare specialists forced Dr Arika and me to start something of our own.”

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In 2008, the duo started National Skin Clinic in Rishikesh and Dehradun. Within a year, the doctors witnessed a rising trend of hair transplant treatment in the market. The growing concern around baldness and hair fall boosted the duo to research on the technology further. 

After successful research and training, Pradeep and Arika began with hair transplant treatment consultation for patients around Rishikesh and Dehradun. However, in 2014, they shifted their base to Gurugram to cater to a wider audience and launched Eugenix Hair Sciences.

At present, Eugenix Hair Sciences rakes in Rs 12 crore annual turnover. It claims to have treated over 7,000 patients globally, including Singer Anup Jalota, Kings 11 Punjab CEO Satish Menon, politicians, and industry leaders. Eugenix competes with the likes of Dermamiracle, Advanced Hair Studios, AKESO, and others.

Edited excerpts from the interview:

SMBStory [SMBS]: How did you start Eugenix, and what technologies do you use for hair transplantation?

Pradeep Sethi [PS]: A few years ago, hair transplantation was a foreign concept in India. The technique existed, but people were sceptical to rely on Indian doctors, Hence, they preferred travelling to the US to get the treatment done. 

Dr Arika and I visited renowned international and national clinics, attended conferences, workshops, and did a lot of research on hair transplant techniques. She is the third Indian doctor to attain the accreditation of Diplomate of the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgeons (ABHRS), and we both are active lifetime members of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgeons (ISHRS), US.

Before starting a formal hair transplant clinic, we used to give consultation to patients in the surrounding areas of Dehradun and Delhi-NCR. In 2014, we shifted base to Gurugram and got a lot of recognition from our clients. 

We started Eugenix with an aim to provide quality hair transplant, hair restoration, and allied services to people in India, as they would often travel abroad to get these treatments. 

Following this, we opened a branch in Mumbai’s Bandra region in 2017 that is now seeing good traction. 

SMBS: What technique do you use for hair transplantation?

PS: We have performed hair transplant surgeries on more than 4,000 patients in India. We have also treated over 900 Grade - 6/7 baldness cases. We have also been successful in implanting over 1,25,00,000 grafts for our clients.

Eugenix is approved by the Indian Association of Dermatologists and Venereologists (IADVL), which allows us to train dermatologists for hair transplant surgery in India. We use the most advanced hair transplant techniques in conjunction with the latest thinking on aesthetic density like Direct Hair Transplant and Follicular Unit Extraction techniques, where the surgeon manually cuts channels in the scalp before implanting hair follicles. These techniques are employed judiciously to provide permanent and natural results to our patients, all under one roof. 

We offer consultation to patients with different hair loss issues like male pattern baldness, female pattern baldness, and hair loss after childbirth. We also facilitate repair for failed hair transplant surgeries and hairline reconstructions.

SMBS: What is the impact of your work on customers and society?

PS: Since its inception, Eugenix Hair Sciences has performed hair restoration surgeries on more than 7,000 patients globally, which include patients from the UK, the US, Europe, Australia, Africa, Japan, and India. 

We are currently at a position in the hair restoration market where we are known for giving the most natural results, and this is what this industry is all about — a result-oriented process.

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Every customer who is looking to undergo any hair treatment is expecting trust and transparency. Through the help of digital media, we are working hard to educate individuals who are looking to get a hair restoration done but have very limited knowledge of the process.

SMBS: What are your challenges? How do you deal with the competition?

PS: Awareness is very crucial during the entire process of hair transplant treatment or any allied service. Most of the Indian patients are not quality sensitive and end up getting bad procedures from inexperienced hands, and come for corrective jobs, which is very difficult. 

Educating patients has been quite challenging. However, it has been our main focus for the last two years — to make them informed enough to make the right decision. We create informative videos on YouTube and social media posts to educate people on hair transplantation.

Hair transplantation is an art, and we try our best to enhance our skills daily, despite focussing on the competition from others. We are soon planning to expand Eugenix to Europe and Africa.