World-renowned hair replacement innovator Richard Farrell owes his fame to the smart blending of art and technology to create non-surgical hair systems. A familiar name in Hollywood, he has worked with Bruce Willis, pop icons like Janet Jackson and several celebrities in India.

When Farrell conducts demos even in Hollywood or conducts talk shows on TV, he still has big crowds milling. Off late, he has become more famous among people suffering from hair loss, burn victims and post-chemotherapy cancer patients.

He now has studios and salons the world over including Thiruvananthapuram and a bigger one coming up in Bangalore.

Excerpts from an interview:

Your technique is a big hit in the West.What’s so special about it ?

Non-surgical hair replacement is a relatively new concept. My technique is called ultra-custom hair replacement which is different from wigs, extensions or hair fixing. In these times when they use high-definition cameras, wigs won’t do the trick. What I do is put on or restore one’s hair to its original density that does not come off if you pull. That’s where my work becomes important and I’m the only person who makes his own systems from scratch.
Other companies buy cheap material from China for hair fixing.. what they do is mere coverage... there’s no artistry.

Who are the Indian celebrities on your client list?

This is a quiet business and I have got a good reputation. I came to India because one of my celebrity clients in Beverly Hills knew one of them here. Your industry here is bigger than Hollywood and I have many celebrities as customers which perhaps no one knows. But I can’t reveal their names because they all want to look natural. I can say this much that the four biggest stars in Bollywood are my clients.

Tell us about your experience in Hollywood.

I may have worked in about 100 movies so far. Most of my work has been on prosthetics (replacement for a body part) for science fiction movies.. for instance the monster grabbing a navy seal under water and we make a prosthetic on the head where it looks like the claws come out the other side. We do fun things like that or we do some things for characteristic artistes like Bruce Willis in The Sixth Sense.

You feel good when your work is seen on the screen. But in Hollywood you have to hang around with directors and producer to get your next film. I don’t want to be in movie sets that way and rather be happy with stars or individuals.

Tell us more about your technique?

I use a fine material categorised as ‘tulle’ which is made in looms in Switzerland. It is a very intricate process. We procure finer hair from Russian collectors, draw these and sort them out into fine and medium, then we make all the different colours, take templates of the people’s skull and make head shapes.

In 8 to 12 weeks the hair is ready. There are different ways of fixing it. We have to shave off the hair sometimes and in many cases the hair integrates. For Janet Jackson I put a grid on her whole skull by tying it into her hair. She has this straightened African-American hair to which we put this beautiful Italian hair to intermingle with it for her World Nation tour. That’s just fun.

How expensive is your service ?

Our work costs a little under $900 to $1,500 for a person. In the US it costs much more. He or she need not worry about his hair for at least five to seven years after they put it, and then they have to repeat the procedure. It is pretty economical. From movie stars to the common people, I’m sure that at some level most people can afford it. My experience is that cancer patients get a lot of confidence when they see their healthy image staring at them. It drives others crazy because it makes them look so good. In the US, 65 per cent of my new consultations come from women.

What’s your dream?

My dream is to set up studios in all the main cities of the world. We already have covered a lot of countries. I have just come from consultations in London, Paris, Milan, Rome and Greece. I want to be everywhere, at least in the main cities. We are looking forward to opening a bigger studio at Jayanagar in Bangalore this September.