Going for a Hair Loss Consultation

This page will give you guidelines on what you should be asking regarding treatment if you go to a clinic for information. What to ask and what to avoid.

Should you ever decide to visit one of the various hair loss clinics for advice regarding hair loss, what will it entail, what should you do and what can you expect?

Firstly "Beware" of seductive advertising brochures. If you should get your hair back, you will not suddenly be surrounded by beautiful women as these sales brochures seem to imply !!

Another point before we start, you will never hear the words "Sorry we can't help you" they will always try to sell you something!!

All hair loss clinics exist for one reason and one reason only, to make money and the more the better. There is nothing wrong in this as that is what business is all about, making money. However this will mean that you are not getting independent advice as clinics have to sell to survive and they want you to buy their products or services and not just get their advise and go elsewhere to buy.

The reason for a consultation is seen by the customer and the clinic as two completely different purposes.

The person going to the clinic is hoping for independent advice as to how best their hair problem should be handled.

They put faith in the clinic and expect the consultant to have a lot more knowledge than them as regards to hair loss and the various cures and remedies to help prevent it.

On the other hand the clinics see anyone that enters the clinic as someone to make money from.

The reason for a consultation is for the consultant to sell you something. 

This is usually written into the first line of the company training manual. The objective of a consultation is to make a sale. Remember this statement whenever you enter a clinic.

So you can see that you are not going to get independent advice if the consultant has to make a sale, and he will only recommend his own product, so his advice cannot be unbiased. From the minute you meet the consultant he will be manipulating you into saying yes to buying his product or services.

Some of the clinics only deal with hair transplant and minoxidil while others deal with everything to do with hair loss from shampoos to scalp cleansers to ultra violet treatment, wigs and even laser treatment.

When you first meet the consultant he or she will more than likely have a general chat with you to try and put you at ease before asking you what your problem is. Remember hair loss does not have to be a problem so do not feel intimidated that he is calling it a problem. He is out to convince you that baldness is not good for your image.

If you are recommended a course of scalp cleansers and special shampoos that are claimed to be the cure for your hair loss, for a large sum of money, usually around one thousand pounds for a six month's course, Beware!!!

If these so called special shampoos did actually work then everyone would use them and hair loss would be a thing of the past.

Alas this is not the case and every year thousands of people actually buy these useless lotions. Ask the consultant what these wonder shampoos contain and why they work. Try and get full product details and results off clinical trials. If they have non, beware. Buy Nothing.

You will probably find he does not know what the shampoo contains, and will probably try to talk technical to confuse you. Ignore him. Most commercial shampoos contain the same ingredients, but do not make unrealistic claims.

Another shampoo sales pitch you will hear is that your follicles are clogged and this wonderful potion will unclog them and reverse your hair loss. Forget It.

Beware of clinics telling you that their shampoo is having a great affect on you because they can see large areas of new growth since your last visit.

It is very easy to convince someone that growth has occurred because that is what they are wanting to hear.

If you are told hair has grown always try to get a relative or friend to examine the area for growth as it may be very difficult for you to see yourself.

You may well be told that you have poor circulation. Again Forget It.

If there is ever a cure found for hair loss and baldness you will see and hear about it in the media. It will command large amounts of television and press coverage because of the potential of the product and the huge money it would generate.

A consultant working for a clinic will certainly not be the most updated person about a cure. He is there solely to sell his own companies products, and his company will not be the ones that discover a cure as it is not the hair clinics that invest millions of pounds on research into hair loss. It is the major drugs companies that invest the money on research and development.

That is how they make their money by developing new drugs and medicine.

A consultant does not get paid if he does not make a sale. The majority of consultants are all on commission only, so they have to pressure you into some sort of sale to earn a living.

If the clinic is going to sell you something make sure it is what you want and not what the consultant wants to sell you.

Always ask to see and speak to past clients of the clinic. If the clinic will not come up with any past patients ask yourself why, after all if they are as good as they say surely someone would be singing their praises.

Anyone who has had his hair restored will always be willing to tell fellow sufferers about how it has changed their life. You should always meet a past patient of a hair transplant clinic as it is the only way you can check out the surgeons work.

They may have the walls of the clinic adorned with his medical degrees but this does not necessarily make him an expert hair transplant surgeon, very few people are.

Photographs are no good, too much can be done to deceive the camera, it is easy to disguise hair loss for the camera, and to change the before and after photos most clinics use as their sales pitch.

An example being that in most of the before photographs the hair is wet and combed back to make the hair loss area larger than it actually is.

When the after photographs are taken the hair can be sprayed with artificial hair thickener and carefully combed into place covering a larger area than it actually does.

Should you do decide to have any treatment done, always try to get a free trial, whether it is a transplant or some special shampoo. The most successful clinics will never have any problems with doing some treatment for free to prove that the treatment works and is not painful. With hair transplants be aware that if they do treatment, that the amount that they will carry out will be very small and will therefore be virtually painless, but when you have the full treatment done it will actually be a lot more painful. Even if it is just shampoos they are trying to sell you, try and get a sample before parting with your hard earned cash.

Whenever you decide to go ahead with treatment then do not pay for the treatment in advance. You are not required to pay in advance so do not do so. If you pay as you get treatment then at least if you decide not to continue then you will not have wasted all your money.

By paying in advance then you have little chance of a refund should you decide to cancel your treatment for any reason. Once a clinic has your money then getting it back will prove to be almost impossible.

If possible pay by credit card then you may be covered by their insurance should any problems occur.

If you decide to have a hair transplant, always go to at least two clinics to see how professional they are at their presentation and attitude towards you. Ask to meet the surgeon who is going to carry out the treatment.

See if you like that person, and also to see if they have a full head of hair. If they do not have a full head of hair enquire why, because if their treatment is so good then surely they should have a fine head of hair. You will be amazed at the number of people trying to sell you their products yet these same products do not appeared to have worked for that salesman.

Another reason to go to at least a couple of clinics is to get an idea of prices. Hair transplants usually range from £1000 to £5000, so it can pay to shop around and compare prices. Never ever go for the cheapest price just because it is the cheapest.

Only go to a reputable company and one that has allowed you to meet people who have had the treatment performed already. Anyone who has had a successful hair transplant will be only to delighted to show off their new head of hair.

If you have found the right clinic and met the people who will be looking after you during the treatment, then haggle over the price.

A clinic will nearly always drop their price to what you can actually afford, but they try not to make it look as though they have dropped the price.

Once you have had a consultation and a price quote from a clinic, and you have not signed to have any treatment, then they will keep on making offers to you, dropping the price each time they make a new offer.

They give various reasons for the drop in price such as saying they will give you discount if you let them take your photographs to use as before ad after publicity photographs.

They will probably never use the photo but want your business anyway. Another excuse is that they do not have enough patients to fill a particular day so can offer you a special deal if you can come in on a certain day.

You can get up to fifty per cent off on this type of offer so be warned, you should not pay the full price that is first quoted by the salesman.

Many hair transplant clinics now offer a money back guarantee should you hair transplant not work. If performed correctly a transplant will always work, some units or plugs may not take but these can easily be replaced.

If someone was to give you a bad hair transplant and butchered your head, a money back offer would mean nothing.

Most clinics never worry about being sued as they know that in court most people will be too embarrassed about their treatment being made public.

At the end of a consultation do not sign any forms just for the sake of it or just to get rid of the consultant. These are legal documents and you may well find yourself sued to pay for treatment for a hair transplant you do not want.

Remember the company will not mind taking you to court as they know you will probably be to embarrassed to fight the law suite in case any of your friends find out.

Hair consultants are salesmen and trained not to take no for an answer, they will not even let you get away with "I want to think it over" They will question and badger you until tell them what you actually want to think over.

Then they will proceed to try and get your signature. Tell them you are going to another clinic for a second opinion before you actually decide whether to have treatment carried out or not.