Hair Club for Men

[saltydogs]

Has anyone used the Hair Club for a surgical transplant procedure? Do they do the surgery at their offices? Cost?

[gillenator]

Has anyone used the Hair Club for a surgical transplant procedure? Do they do the surgery at their offices? Cost?

Really, really do your homework on this one!

[Dr. Glenn Charles]

In the last few years they have opened up some surgical centers. Like any other chain it really depends on which location and/or doctor you end up getting. Some say that because they spend so much money on marketing and advertising that the most important thing is how many cases they perform, not how good each case comes out.

[TeeJay73]

I'd be a little skeptical of the Hair Club for Men, especially for surgery. They are a large chain, like Bosley. In year 2000, I had a 1st HT with Bosley, and it was awful. I "chalk" it up to lack of education and experience on my part, as well as Bosley's willingness to take advantage of my vulnerability. If I told you the details of my experience, you'd be convinced that they were after my money, and certainly less interested in giving me a good result. Large clinics provide relatively higher probabilities of mediocre, or even poor, results. All my opinion, of course.

Since then, I have had 2 HTs with IAHRS doctors (Doctor McAndrews and Doctor Alexander), and the results have been phenomenal.

I'd say that if you are on the verge of hair transplant surgery, consider a doctor in the IAHRS. You'd have an excellent chance of an awesome result.

TeeJay

[gillenator]

Research, research!

[blowmeup]

After reading this forum for over a year I’ve learned that more people need to read this forum

[Delphi]

After reading this forum for over a year I’ve learned that more people need to read this forum

Funny and true! It's so surprising that people still fall for the hair club ads even with so much information online.

[gillenator]

After reading this forum for over a year I’ve learned that more people need to read this forum

You can say that again!

[markz]

I have worked for large companies and small independent doctors as a consultant. I know a lot of doctors in the hair loss industry. Many independent doctors are fabulous. Most of them care deeply about their patients. Bigger companies stress volume and put a lot of pressure on the consultant and the doctor to do more surgeries. There are a lot of good doctors out there and just because a doctor works at a large company doesn't mean he is good or bad. The bottom line is that your independent local doctor may give you a better price and better service than a large company. Make sure your doctor is board certified with the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgeons www.abhrs.org. and is affiliated with the ISHRS.org. These are the largest and best organizations for governing hair transplant physicians. Most of all, do your research. I have seen a lot of good hair transplants but you can also get a bad one if you go the wrong person. I recently saw a client that went to a local plastic surgeon who left multiple scarring on the back of the head. This plastic surgeon had only had one month training in hair transplants and though he was board certified it was not in hair transplant surgery but plastic surgery.

Good doctors continually strive to keep up on the latest innovations and attend conferences. You can see which doctors are active in these conferences by going to the websites listed above. I have also seen very experienced doctors that have been doing transplants for 20 years but they refuse to keep updated on newer techniques thus making their younger, less experienced counterparts better transplant surgeons with more natural results.

[gillenator]

markz,

You stated that just because a doctor works for a large company, that does not mean he/she is a bad doctor. On the surface I suppose that is true. The problem is that there are no large companies, chains, hair mills, that I consider as "good". Do you know of any? No.

When I once worked for a large chain, I used to see new docs coming into the organization to "learn" the field. And like any other field, they were green in the beginning and had to start "somewhere". I always found it interesting to see how long they would hang around once they saw the operational side of things and how people would get "sold" and "slammed" into surgery.

Once the new surgeon either fulfills the internship requirements and ideally develops the fundamental skills and techniques involved in hair transplant surgery, he/she either moves on or stays "in the game".

The ones who move on into their own practice or join an independent who is proven and established in the field do so because they can operate in the best interest of the patient and have control in how they perform including the day-to-day operations of the clinic and OR rooms. They are more oriented in training their staffs and improving the methodology of surgical hair restoration.

The ones who stay long term in the hair mills usually do so because they have endless leads coming through the front door due to the high power marketing these large organizations employ. It's easier, quicker money to be made. Most of the consultants are paid by commissions and bonuses for production. It's a numbers game. Otherwise anyone that possesses a dime's worth of ethics would never hang around and be a part of the game that's played on patients.

Obviously I am speaking in general terms however it does not take long for any employee to figure out and witness first hand the unethical things that transpire in the large hair mills.

You never see doctors from these large organizations praised or recommended in public patient forums. It's always the independents that get the recognition and acknowledgements.