Money for Nothing Hair Loss Treatments
July 7, 2008 | By Spencer Kobren
The idea behind hair loss treatments is that you give money to someone, preferably an ethical, qualified professional, and they help you arrest your hair loss. Ideally, they will help you regrow some of your hair.
In the real world, this isn’t what usually happens. Frequently, hair loss sufferers are so desperate to stop the balding process or trigger regrowth that they’ll put their scalp and their money on the line and in the hands of just about anyone who promises to fix the problem.
In a recent article titled Hair Growth Treatment Leaves Big Hole in Woman’s Wallet, the Chicago Tribune reports that Shelley Lindsay, a forty-year-old hairdresser, paid almost eleven thousand dollars for a hair loss treatment in which she was offered a money back guarantee. Sounds promising, doesn’t it?
The regimen was strict. It involved sitting under a futuristic laser device, applying tonics to her hair twice daily, and taking three pills plus dietary supplements every day for six months.
At the end of the treatment period, Lindsay saw no results. Steven Bennis of the Natural Hair Growth Institute in Deerfield extended treatments for another month. Still no results.
Lindsay wanted her money back. Of course, Bennis refused. Unfortunately, Lindsay had signed a contract that gave Bennis the power of deciding whether or not the treatment worked and ultimately, he had final say in whether a refund was warranted. He ruled that it was not.
What we have here is a typical he-said-she-said scenario. Bennis says the treatment worked. Lindsay says it did not. Each has their own photos and other evidence to support their claims. However, this is a case that is unlikely to go to court since Lindsay signed that contract and agreed to give Bennis the power of judgment over the success of the treatment.
The Natural Hair Growth Institute might be nothing more than a scam. Shelley Lindsay might be the con artist in this situation. It’s doubtful we’ll ever find out the true before and after hair count for Shelley’s treatment. But there is something we can learn.
There are a countless number of unethical people out there trying to provide you with hair loss treatments. Sure, a couple of of them work. However, the vast majority are nothing more than snake oils. And nothing says snake oil like a service provider who offers a money back guarantee in which the snake oil provider gets to decide whether that refund is deserved.
Hair loss sufferers and other people who are looking for products and services that alter one’s appearance must arm themselves with the realization that there are companies and so-called professionals who lie for a living. They will take your money, wave their arms around and utter some magical babble then hold out a mirror and insist you now have twice as much as hair on your head.
Don’t believe the hype. Do your research, get referrals, and don’t sign any contracts that fail to protect you or require you to give up your consumer rights. In other words, don’t let the frustration of hair loss drive you to make foolish decisions.
Be a smart hair loss treatment consuemer and remember to check with The American Hair Loss Association before buying any product or service to treat your hair loss.
~Spencer Kobren
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I was a customer of NHGI and I’m now trying to get a refund. He said, he will send me a package of my before and after photos within 30 days and it’s now week 3 and I haven’t received anything yet.