On December 13, 2015, Gautam Gambhir’s half-century led Delhi to victory against Odisha in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2015. The night earlier, Gambhir’s teammates were replaced with officials from Advanced Hair Studio (AHS, a 45-year-old organisation that specialises in hair replacement and regrowth treatments) for the launch of Virtual Reality, a hair replacement procedure in India. The treatment is considered to be a highly sophisticated non-surgical hair replacement procedure. As Sanket Shah, CEO and MD of AHS (Indian subcontinent and Middle-East), took us through AHS’s plans for India, Gambhir sat there obediently, probably even indifferently, preoccupied with thoughts of his upcoming match.

Like the rest of AHS’s 200 brand ambassadors, including Shane Warne, Doug Bollinger and Jacques Kallis, Gambhir is first a customer of AHS. Its Virtual Reality and other treatments take care of things you’d rather not spend time thinking about; it’s like outsourcing something that’s bothering you. Serving customers ranging from the age of 7 to 90 years, AHS isn’t just for someone who pays a lot of attention to grooming, but even for people such as Gambhir, who couldn’t be more casual. The cricketer took some time out to talk to MW about the procedure, and how it’s changed him.

Before you were the brand ambassador of AHS, you were a client. How has your experience with AHS been? 

I loved every bit of it. As Sanket [Shah] said, once you get a full head of hair, your confidence is much better than what it used to be. And, they’ve been fantastic, especially from the service and technology point of view.

Considering you’re in front of the camera all the time, do you feel any change in terms of your personality after AHS’s treatments? 

Absolutely. I think it especially gives you a lot of confidence as well. To be able to look at your whole self in the mirror, I think, is very, very important. I think it comes from within as well. When you’re confident about yourself, it helps your personality. So, I’ve been very happy with what I’ve received at Advanced Hair Studio.

Since you’ve become a celebrity, do you think your attitude towards grooming has changed? 

I didn’t worry about grooming much as a kid, and neither do I now. I’m pretty casual about it. I don’t put much effort in dressing up. I’d rather be comfortable. I’m a casual kind of person. That is what I believe in. That is how I was when I was younger and that continues till today.

How does AHS fit into your routine? 

It’s helped me with the laser therapy. When you start noticing your hair is thinning, you want to control it then and there. At the very instant. Advanced Hair Studio’s laser therapy has been helpful in that.

Was the process convenient? 

Absolutely. Sometimes you start noticing something, but you don’t want to keep thinking about it all the time. Since I’ve been to Advanced Hair Studio, I haven’t been paying attention to it, because it’s been fine since.

If there’s something bothering you, does it affect your performance on the cricket field? 

As I said, if you start noticing something you don’t want to, it starts playing on your mind as well. It starts melting you mentally. You don’t want to focus or concentrate on something that’s not needed to be. Your mind keeps wandering off to your hair, and how it’s looking. You don’t want to do that. But, now, obviously, it doesn’t bother me anymore.

What is Virtual Reality? How would you convince others in India to give it a try? 

You convince yourself. When you look in the mirror, you get convinced. The thing is, sometimes you start taking your hair for granted. And, sometimes, you start taking other people for granted as well. So, it helps you in a lot of other ways as well. When you start to notice thinning and all that stuff, you can start by taking care of it right away. I have been very happy with Advanced Hair Studio, and I’m sure that people who come to them will be, too.

Who would you recommend it to in the Indian cricket team?

(Smiles) After one point, everyone.