Thursday, June 24, 2010

Why I Joined Hair Club - My Hair Club Review

I had been putting up with my hair loss for just over 8 years and have quite literally tried everything; Rogaine, herbal ointments, various pills, supplements and vitamins, hair in a can (spray on), you name it. So, when I saw an ad on TV for Hair Club one night a few years ago I thought, 'Why the hell not, I’ve pretty much tried everything else?'

I dialed Hair Club's 800 number and was treated very well by the operator and at one point was even "congratulated" on taking the first step towards stopping my hair loss, however, the operator wouldn't give me any pricing information over the phone, which was a cause for concern. I asked the operator several times, but she said she honestly didn't know the answer. I mean, I know nothing is free right? It was worth a shot. Anyway, I made an appointment at the closest Hair Club center and went in on a Saturday to get the actual lowdown. I was quickly greeted by a nice guy, he looked close to 30 (name withheld) who had a full head of hair. His hair was all spikey and cool- pretty much exactly like the guys I simultaneously envied and hated because I couldn't do a damn thing with my hair. It was obvious, this guy wasn't going to relate to my problem.

We started talking about hair loss and why I had decided to come in, eventually I got the facts, er, sort of. I discovered that all the topical products I were worthless since no product can actually regrow a dead hair follicle. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE. My options, I was told, were surgery or a non surgical option called a "bio". After this we started talking about the good stuff, cost. The going rate for the best, and most natural looking surgery, is a few thousand dollars. Yes, it's expensive, but it moves takes some of your healthy hair follicles from the back of your head to fill in the balding areas in the front and crown. It made perfect sense after he broke it down to me. The cost was actually reasonable for the procedure, but it was a bit out of my price range.

We then started talking about the non surgical hair replacement option. Basically, Hair Club takes a sample of my hair, review it, and then match it with real human hair. They then blend the real hair into mine in to cover up the bald spots. To do this, Hair Club bonds the real hair to your scalp with the same way procedure people get their teeth capped and bonded, just with hair. Since hair doesn't actually grow, I would have to come back every few months to get it cut or 'reblended'. I had a lot of hair loss, so the price quoted me was lower than I had been expecting and I was intrigued. The rep told me that the entire process took about 6 weeks and that the actual application would take about two hours.

I really started to pushed him for the maintenance costs, and got from him, that the general maintenance costs were about what I was paying for car insurance. At this point, I was pretty much on the fence. How was I supposed to make a decision about my future when I don't know what this was gonna look like?

The Hair Club rep brought out a giant book of testimonial pictures, and honestly, there were some awesome before and after pictures. There were also several surgery and non surgical guys and womens pictures. Apparently surgery doesn't work for women, but why - I don't know. Anyway, then the sales guy, (yep, the same one with the awesome hair) told me about when he had come into Hair Club to get HIS hair back. This threw me for a loop. He had gone with the bio solution and even let me get as close to his hair as I wanted to have a closer look. Honestly, I couldn't believe it. When I first came in I would have sworn it was his natural hair. He told me his story and I could relatere. He then started to tell me about Hair Club's 30 day guarantee, so I figured, if I tried it and it wasn't for me, I’d just give up.

It is now three years later and, yes, I have a full head of hair. I pay a maintenance fee every month and, for me, it's worth every damn penny. I am so much more confident around people, especially chicks, its not even funny. Frankly, I love the results. Yes, there is maintenance. While it is affordable - no, it's not cheap. For me, it was totally worth it. Right now I wear my hair forward or spiked up. In the past I've worn it very messy, parted at times, whatever I liked really, it's up to me. No, it's not the hair I was born with, that said, no one knows that but me....well, and Hair Club.

My advice is to call the local hair club that’s close to you and talk to them directly, or lookup the 800 number. When you meet with a rep they will give you the facts, that part I really liked. This may not be a solution for penny pinchers, but if getting your hair back is actually WORTH it to you, like it was for me, you could do worse than a great looking proven solution.

11 comments:

  1. I always had heard that it was "Hair Club for Men", but a friend was telling me the other day that they helped her sister as well. I came across your blog while looking for women's reviews of their service and couldn't find any. Do you know of any women that have experience with Hair Club's products and - if so, what they thought of it? Thanks in advance.

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  2. I went to the Hair Club myself.I did the EXT products..and i am a woman..it really helped my hair loss...My question is why the hair club says the surgeries are not for women, but people lik BOSLEY really push for women to have this procedure?

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  3. I can't really say why Bosley pushes for women to have this procedure but I could gues....

    The fact is, some women actually can receive hair transplants successfully - but it is a VERY small percentage.

    Hair transplant surgery can work for treating female hair loss but only if the hair loss is concentrated in an acute area, very similar to the classic “male pattern baldness” seen in men. Unfortunately, that only accounts for about 5% of the women suffering from hair loss. So while this may be a viable procedure for a very small percentage of women, the vast majority will receive no benefit from it. Hope this helps!

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  4. I paid over $2,000 for 6 months program. It is like spa - one hour. the person will wash, condition and style your hair every 2wks. The hair got thicker - I think it was the vitamine more than anything...because 3 months after I finish the program, I am back to where I started - hair falling and thinning. They did not fix the problem - it is just expensice bandage. My doctor told me to take Biotin.

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  5. I was told there are many ladies with hair piece glue to her scalp. You can swim with it. But that is very expensive also - she have to come in every so often to replace the glue. Try vitamines - at least 6 months, because that is the hair cycle, I was told.

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  6. @maintain - I believe the 6 month program you are referring to is their "EXT" service. The vitamins help but the active ingredient is really the Minoxidil. Once you stopped using the vitamins, thickener and Minoxidil I'm not surprised you began to lose your hair again. EXT must be continued in order to work, for a more permanent solution you may want to look into your surgical options or the bio-matrix

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  7. I went today to my consultation and ordered the piece. I am little concerned about the contract and the how well adhesive works. I currently use a different system but I am looking for something better. Inam trying the Bio.

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    1. The Poly adhesive is medical grade and works incredibly well. They also have a variety of other adhesives for people with sensitive skin.

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  8. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  9. mr. blogger can you please discuss how much did u have to pay for all the procedure they did to you? im looking at doing the same non surgical bio system, and how much are we talking about the maintenance and how often is that?

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  10. I invested in the bio system 6 months ago in San Jose and it is the best investment i've ever made for my hair loss. as a woman, it is devastating for us to lose our hair.
    I had no idea that Hair Club did women's hair until one of my nurse friends told me she was a happy client and insisted I went in for a free consultation. I had NO idea she was a biomatrix client!

    I went in for my first consultation not expecting that Hair Club would have an answer to my hair loss. I was hoping for transplants however I had lost so much hair already that once I viewed through a videoscope why I wasn't a good candidate for transplants I got over being in denial and decided to go ahead with the biomatrix strand by strand option.
    Not only was the lace they used so light, the hair that they used to match mine was EXACT. my stylist did an amazing job with styling and layers. I HIGHLY recommend the biomatrix solution to any man and women out there suffering from hair loss if you can afford to spend $95 every 6-8 weeks for your salon visits. It's changed my life. I'm now engaged to an amazing man and landed a job I love because I am more confident now than I've ever been.

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