A Manchester beauty entrepreneur has shared the secret childhood pain that prompted his mission to treat local children with alopecia for free.
Sam Cinkir, CEO of leading skin and hair specialists Este Medical Group in Salford Quays, suffered horrific burns on his scalp due to haircuts using a sharp blade and vegetable oil.
It also sparked a fear of hairdressers that saw him go 14 years without a trim.
READ MORE: 'Life-changing' new hair-growth product aims to tackle baldness in men
And it is this heartache that gave him the desire to help children in Manchester who suffer from hair loss as a result of paediatric alopecia.
Sam told the Manchester Evening News : “I know how it feels to stand out from other children because of hair loss and it is a feeling that can stay with you for the rest of your life.
“No child should ever feel isolated and alone because of their appearance, but sadly it happens too often.
“In the village in Turkey where I grew up, we were sent to the mosque where the imam would cut our hair with a blade and cooking oil, and the intense heat of the sun would cause painful burns.
“Children from other villages at school would laugh at me and chase me with sticks, calling me names such as ‘baldy’ and I couldn’t do anything to make my hair grow back faster.
“It gave me the determination to help other children who suffer from childhood hair loss through no fault of their own.
“We have helped dozens of young people with hair loss conditions and it gives us such joy when we are able to help those who may not otherwise be able to access such effective treatments.”
Sam suggests that having a hair regrowth treatment could help a child’s wellbeing.
He explains that child patients he has helped want to be able to ‘not stand out’.
Sam added: “Many of the childhood alopecia patients we have already treated have talked about simply not wanting to stand out at school and among their peers simply because of a physical difference.
“Childhood alopecia can be a barrier to simply fitting in with your friends as it makes you stand out in a visible and obvious way, and it can affect your relationships with your peers.
“To regrow the hair and remove that barrier allows patients to just become another child at school, not the kid with bald patches.”
Sam wanted to work in the health and beauty field since he was a child, and he found true passion in his work at Este Medical Group and offer "life-changing" treatment.
He said: “All any parent wants is for their child to grow up happy and healthy, and childhood alopecia can be a very difficult thing to experience not just for the patient, but for their loved ones too.
“We’ve helped dozens of children with alopecia across the UK and every single time I am overjoyed to see them go through the regrowth journey and come out the other side with results that are genuinely life-changing for them.”
For one client, a 15 year-old Manchester based student, who asked not to be named, explained that receiving hair regrowth treatment has improved his confidence.
He said: "So far, I'm feeling more confident in myself knowing that at one point my hairs are going to grow back because of this treatment.
"Before, I felt really anxious about my condition by Este Medical, they have boosted my confidence quite a bit.
"With my personal situation, I get called a few names online, stuff like that, in this day and age aesthetics is one of the key things in a human being.
"The first impression are always how you look aesthetically.
"I believe hair is a part of identity for somebody, it takes a major part of somebody's identity.
"It basically transforms the way you look.
"I feel like I'm somebody else with hair, I'm more confident, I can go out into public without worrying about somebody staring at me or making fun of me.
"Hair is a key thing for me and I'm really happy that Este Medical is there to help me get my hair back."
Este Medical Group has a clinic in Salford Quays as well as six more clinics across the UK with clinics in Glasgow, London, Nottingham Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham and Leeds.
To get the latest email updates from the Manchester Evening News, click here.
