The Centre plans to enforce strict safety standards for hair transplants

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. NEW DELHI : Amid a rising number of complaints over botched hair transplants, the Centre plans to reclassify the procedure from the ‘cosmetic salon’ category to a strictly regulated ‘surgical practice' to rein in malpractices in the $252 million industry, according to three government officials and documents reviewed by Mint.

The distinction is critical: salons provide non-invasive services such as styling, while surgical practice involves invasive medical procedures, including hair follicle transplantation, requiring anaesthesia, sterile conditions and specialized surgical expertise. The Minimum Standards for Hair Transplant Centres, drafted by the National Council for Clinical Establishments (NCCE)—India’s central statutory body responsible for healthcare quality and safety—mandate that only qualified medical professionals, specifically dermatologists and plastic surgeons with recognized medical degrees, be permitted to perform these procedures.

“The new rules aim to eliminate ghost clinics by specifying that only holders of a medical degree, specifically dermatologists and plastic surgeons, are permitted to carry out these procedures. While frequently marketed as a simple cosmetic salon service, hair transplantation is a surgical procedure involving anaesthesia and risks such as severe infection and medical shock," said one of the three government officials, on the condition of anonymity.

The reclassification follows the Delhi high court's May 2022 order, which held that hair transplantation is an aesthetic surgery that must be performed by qualified dermatologists or trained surgeons with the patient’s informed consent. However, the the ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFW)