Hair Loss Discussion Forums

[MacGuy90680]

Hey all...

I came across this website on a Google search and am glad to see there are many of you out there who are follically challenged like me and are sharing your stories.

Recently, I saw an advertisement for the Hair Club for Men on television and it struck me funny because I had actually gone to the the Hair Club for Men (or "HCM") about two years ago and had dramatically different results than advertised. Hence, on this cold and rainy Saturday afternoon and recovering from a nasty flu, I feel compelled to share my story of what went on with that place.

I started to lose my hair around 19yrs old...slowly thinning over time and the hairs on the front of my scalp would just stop growing after a certain length (about 1"). I saw my barber regularly and one day I recalled him telling me, "Well... you better get married early..." which ended up being the last time I went to him. I decided if I was going to go bald, I was going to do something about it at least. A few days later, I called the Hair Club for Men here in Orange, California and set up an appointment for one of their "free consultations".

I walked in and saw there was two other men sitting in the lobby with baseball caps on, looking nervous. I thought, "Hey, I may have a friend or two here after all." Ironically, I was called ahead of both of them, and was asked to sit in a comfortable room and watch a video. After the 10min video about who HCM is, what they do, and how it works, I felt confident that they may be able to do something about my ::ahem:: problem. I met w/ a very friendly older woman who discussed the options with me, what they would recommend, and what it would cost (roughlyl). After all was said and done, the procedure was to cost $1,300.00 and would involve routine hair appointments to adjust/cut the "matrix" (a glorified toupee that is glued to the scalp..literally). I decided to go ahead with it and in two weeks I was scheduled to return for the procedure. I was soon after escorted into a special room and sat down in a room reminiscent of a dentist's office (chair and all). My head was measured, a hair sample was cut, and they took pictures of my head from both sides, front, and back. Soon after, I left, and was ready to return in two weeks.

I counted every day on my calander and when two weeks rolled around, I was ready. I even went so far as to shave my facial hair (go-tee) to try out the "new look" for all it was worth. I went in and with little-to-no wait, I was escorted to a room that looked like a beauty salon. The top of my head was shaved, leaving the sides. They put the Matrix on top, with unusually long hair still attached to it. They would begin to cut the hair shorter and shorter until a semi-reasonable, desired look was acheived. About 30min later, I was done and it looked a lot different than I was used to.

I was scheduled to return in 3 days to make sure that all is going well, and if any adjustments needed to be made. Arriving home, I saw my family and was greeted with smiles and congratulations. Considering I had been struggling personally with the reality of my own hair loss, I thought it was a relief of having to deal w/ one less insecurity. That night was the most difficult time I had ever had sleeping. The matrix itched horribly and would pull on my scalp if I layed on the pillow in any direction except facing straight up. I was starting to get stir-crazy until I finally learned to sleep on my back the whole time. What an ordeal, but I figured it was a small price to pay at the time.

Probably the first thing I began to notice is that the hairline in the front (and I saw this in the commercials, but carefully photographed) of the hairline is unsually thick...and not natural looking at all. I remember saying something to the girl who was fitting/cutting it, and she said, "Oh, just put some more glue on it.." and was handed a bottle of skin adhesive.. I was starting to have doubts at this point.

A day or two go by, I'm of course noticed at work, but sensitively of course. Later on, I started to feel the itching coming back; I found relief in the sharp end of a letter opener and would periodically poke at spots that would cause me to itch. On the way home, I noticed that the Matrix was starting to come up off my scalp...peeling back. I paniced and didn't know what to do. I called HCM and told the receptionist what was going on. I was advised to wait until my appt in 3 days and to just press down on it with a comb if it continues.

When I got home, it was a nightmare... the glue that they applied was actually causing me to itch more. I promptly headed over to HCM and told them what was going on. I was seen right away and they re-applied the matrix w/ a different type of glue they had. It didn't help, the next day I found the matrix on my pillow almost completely peeled up. Mortified, I called them again and advised them of my problem. I was told, "Well, you're just going to have to work it out somehow." I went down to HCM and they took another look at it and did another re-application. Again, the next morning...same problem. I followed every instruction they gave to the letter and was having worse and worse luck. The last phone call I had w/ HCM was stricly, "We can't do anything...sorry...just bad luck..". I asked for a refund, even a partial one, and was told in a staunch voice, "No Refunds, period."

After I got off the phone, I started to cry... I felt both taken advantage of, ugly, and just plain screwed. I took a walk to the medicine cabinet and proceded to remove the matrix myself. IT HURT! It took about 20min and a pair of small hair-cutting scissors to get throught he glue and hair that was trapped underneath the glue. I think this was the worst nightmare I had ever gone through, and ended up feel so ashamed of myself for this. Not a religious person, I even began to think this was sort of God's punishment for vanity. Regardless of what it was, it sucked, and I started to think that I couldn't be the only one going through this. I took a Bic razor to my head and after a good shaving, I was completely bald.

I called my credit card company and explained to them, briefly, my situation. The lady I spoke to at BofA was more than sympathetic to my situation and felt that I had a compelling reason to get a refund if for nothing more than dissatisfaction. I have to say that BofA was pretty cool about the whole thing and seemed to work pretty hard at trying to get my money back. After I called BofA, I contacted the BBB and submitted a formal complaint against HCM for the whole thing. After a few letters were sent, both the BBB and BofA decided on my behalf and I received a full refund from HCM providing I sent the matrix back to them. I suppose I was very lucky because I was told early on to contact both the BBB and my credit card company by my family--I didn't even want to think about it at the time but they pushed me to fight it.

It is now 2, almost 3 years later and I still see the commercials on the television every so often. I can't help but remember those two guys in the lobby, waiting nerviously as I was to see if they can fix their hair problem. I'm here to say that I neither thought better of myself or my looks by going through that whole ordeal.

Perhaps by writing this I give someone else considering HCM some perspective to what I went through with it. It's exactly as advertised procedure-wise, but the results are not at all what you see on television. After a while, I began to notice other men and the hairlines they had and would think to myself, "there's a Hair club job". Later on, a girlfriend of mine said to me, "What's up w/ that guy's hair over there?" I looked and noticed it was a HCM job. I then told her the story of it all and even though we aren't together anymore, it really calmed my insecurity, "Why? It's not the only thing we look for, ya know... I'd rather you be bald and who you are." I guess it's just hard to know that 'inside' and no-one can really tell you when you have your mind set on something.

My advice is to just do the best w/ what you've got, save your money, and just stay in good shape and health. Try Rogaine but I found it to dry my scalp, and would cause flakes. I stopped using it after a year or so and didn't notice much, if any, difference. I'm not saying it didn't work or that it won't work for you, but I didn't have any positive or negative reactions to it other than the dry scalp.

I don't think the HCM is a bad organization or anything, but I do believe they fill a niche of preying on peoples' insecurity with a service that (at least in my opinion) isn't very successful.

[drake]

Macguy - Thanks for sharing your experience with the Hair Club for Men. Hopefully this will help educate a lot of other people considering HCM, and some of them won't have to go through what you went through.

I had never looked into the company that much, but I always thought it was a hair-transplant network for some reason. Their commercials don't seem allude to the fact that they're selling what is basically a pricey wig. Now that I look at their website, it does say "non-surgical" hair replacement product.

You said that Rogaine gave you dry scalp/dandruff, right? Did you by chance use Nizoral shampoo with it? I use it, and it does a pretty good job controlling dandruff, and is supposed to have some sort of positive effect on DHT. If I remember correctly, they used Nizoral on all the patients in the Rogaine FDA study.

[MacGuy90680]

Cheers drake... I think these forums do a lot of good for people, like myself, who are looking for suggestions, information, and at the very least, empathy.

No, their commercials (in my humble opinion) give bald(ing) men something they are looking so hard for--hope. Unfortunately, I think what is good for one may not be good for another. I think if you're comfortable going w/ a toupee/wig setup, you can do it a lot cheaper and more comfortably than through HCM. I was reading through this other website, www.baldrus.com, and read through quite a few other stories like mine. I really feel for some of these guys and what their experiences were (especially the ones in their late teens/early twenties).

In answer to your question, I was actually using Selson Blue periodically to control the flaking/dry scalp and it seemed to work quite well; however, it would require me to use it almost every-other-day because of how severe the drying became. When I started tallying the cost of it all, I finally gave up. The alcohol in the Rogaine was just drying the hell out of my scalp, and no doubt my hair.

I've not heard of Nizoral--thank you for the suggestion. If I decide to start a treatment, then I will look into that as an option. Would you have a link to look at, or would a simple Google search suffice?

[drake]

Actually, I looked again at the information. It was the FDA trial for Propecia (not Rogaine) in which all participants used Nizoral. It's supposed to be great for removing sebum and debris from the scalp and follicles, allowing treatments to work more effectively.

I think they used the nizoral shampoo once every 3 days.

Also - you mentioned that the Rogaine dried out your scalp. There is a product that also contains minoxidil (active ingredient in Rogaine) called Scalpmed. Supposedly it is easier on the scalp than Rogaine, but it's quite expensive. There's a review on our site here - Scalpmed.

[ethompson]

I had the same experience except they only offered to "redo" the job.

It looked horrible. they plasic net "showed" in the front. The woman was so pissed when I refused all the "coersion" to keep it on, that they tore the crap out of my existing hair when they took it off. I am a very strong minded person and they almost conned me into thinking it wasn't that bad. It was horrible. The first time I got out of the car after getting it applied a kid and his father did the stare and laugh.....he said "that a wig dad. "but a good wig" his dad said. This was 10 years ago and I had much more hair than I do now. To give you an idea of my hair www.hulasoft.com/family

This is a "hard sell" psycological screw tactic. Since you have no choice once they sell you to keep coming back ..they have you by the ...@#$.

I had it removed and asked for my money back withing three days as I was under the impression that you have three days to get out on any contract...but that of course is why they have you sign up so far in advance.

I later found out that my hair stylist-conman's young son was in the hospital with sever diabetes or something and actually ended up dying.

Very unfortunate.

The ONLY solution they sold me was a wig glued to your head. Do not go this route. Get a good wig that you apply and take off yourself. because after all was said and done it was still glue on my head. and that..itches.

[davidfox]

I find it so amazing that you guys were not pleased with your experience at HCM. I have been a member since Oct 2005 and could not be happier.

My only complaints are that the hair line if not as natural as I would like if I pull my hair back to make my whole hairline visible (but it looks fine if only half an inch or an inch is visible) and its very itchy. I was in today for a service and we talked about ways that the hairline can be made more natural looking (details are beyond the scope of this thread).

Also it is expensive - about $250 per month, but for me this has been offset by the fact that I got a new job that pays about 7 grand per year more, and I would never have gotten the promotion had I remained a "ball cap" guy (this is an office environment).

I think the difference is that you guys saw the commericals and expected the results to be as good as a natural head of hair. I was referred by an HCM client, so I knew all the negatives before joining, and still opted to do it.

On the plus side, I must say that I thoroughly enjoy being able to put gel in my hair again, and also hair "wax" if I want to go for a wavey GQ style on a particular day. Some days when I am spending time on my hair just because I can, I burst out laughing. So yes I now have an itchy scalp, but I can also talk to girls at a bar now. I love my life now. For the last 10 years I refused to go to weddings or church or funerals or anywhere else where a ball cap would be considered inappropriate. This is the best thing I have ever done.

I am sorry that HCM didn't work out for you guys, and I mean that very genuinely. I would be deeply depressed if I had to stop being a member now for some reason. If anyone else is curious about HCM, I would be more than happy to answer any specific questions or post before & after pics.

[davidfox]

I should add that not everyone can do the HCM thing without anyone noticing.

I had worked for a year at my job without ever being seen without a ball cap. I lived in fear of it being accidentally knocked off.

When my brother joined HCM I asked him if I could examine his hair every time he was in town, and I would dig through it with my fingers, examine the hair line, etc. After talking to him and seeing his new hair 4 or 5 times, I thought I'd give it a try. So I kept my ball cap on at work for the next few months until I got my new hair.

So then I had to give a presentation at work, and used that as an excuse to "dress up" a little, shaved my normally scruffy face, got "square" framed sharp-looking glasses and showed up with my new hair and no ball cap.

Everyone said, "Dude - I have never seen you without your hat on.

I am sitting here laughing as I remember that day. In retrospect, I should have used more gel or slept on it a couple days before "unveiling" it at work. The first two days the hair does look a little bit too full. I have since learned that a ton of gel will fix that. After that though, there is absolutely no way someone can tell. No way.

Anyway, to get back to the point, if you are showing up at work bald every day and then suddenly show up with hair... I mean, c'mon, there is no way to explain that. If you are a ball cap guy like I was, then it might work for you. Or, the next time you change jobs, you could do it then.

[MacGuy90680]

I know I speak for others when I say that I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who has battled w/ this, and tried to do so w/ HCM.

[jl26]

Davidfox - it sounds like the itching bothered you somewhat. Was it just a minor irritation, or that you were willing to put up with it for the great results you got? Maybe the difference in experience just has to do with how each person's skin reacts to the glue and stuff.

[davidfox]

Yeah, the itching bugs me, but I am happy to put up with it. It sounds worse than it is. Maybe once every hour or so, I get an itchy spot, I scratch it, and its gone.

The itchiness is not from the adhesive, it is caused by the fact that skin needs to be cleaned every so often, and after 4 or 5 days, you gotta scrub it. (Sorry if anyone finds this gross. ) So after a few days, it gets itchy, you clean it, and you're good for another few days. If you want to clean your scalp every single day, go for it, it is just a pain in the butt. 4-5 days works for me.

In the interest of helping any guys out there who are considering HCM, I have taken a picture of my hair and would like to find a way to post it here, either in the forum itself or put it on a web server somewhere so I can post a link here. I don't see an option here for posting pictures, so I will look for somewhere to host this pic. In the mean time, if anyone would like me to email the pic, just lemme know. It is a semi-close up showing how I'm wearing my hair now, with a bit of hairline showing.

I sound very pro-HCM, and it does work for me, but there are people for whom HCM doesn't work. In previous posts I have listed a few reasons HCM is not for everyone. Here's another one: You can't move to a city where there is no HCM office. Also, I agree that the HCM salespeople oversell their product. I think they would sell just as much "hair" if they would level with their prospects. I knew all the positives and negatives, and still bought.