Facebook
Flickr
Twitter
06/23/10
Hair Club For Men HORROR STORIES
| Love your site! I thought I should share my story too… I kindly ask that if you post my letter that you omit my last name, thank you.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 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 were 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 with a very friendly older woman who discussed the options with me, what they would recommend, and what it would cost (roughly). 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 calendar 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 achieved. 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 with 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 laid 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 unusually 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 panicked 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 with HCM was strictly, “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 proceeded to remove the matrix myself. IT HURT! It took about 20min and a pair of small hair-cutting scissors to get through the 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 nervously 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 with 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 at all. I think the real pity is how many people who have had experiences like mine or worse and not been able to do anything about it. Best of luck to you all… be confident in yourself–everything else will follow. Cheers.. John P. |
MESSAGE FROM AN HCM EMPLOYEE
As a HCM employee, all their clients should know that HCM will cancel your “agreement” (they don’t call it a contract), 30 days following a written notice by you. You do not need to wait until your “contract” expires! As far as the over priced initial fees to join their membership…good luck, it all depends on the State your in. Usually threatening to go to the media with your story will get you somewhere. They don’t want potential customers to know the truth and bad press cost them more. Also, as far as tipping the stylist, HCM pays low, low wages. The only way stylist are going to stay there, and clients have some consistency of the same person doing their hair, is to take care of them. My suggestion: take a week or two off work, get out the clippers and razor, get that thing off, shave your head, get a bit of sun and fresh air on your head. Relax… once you return to work, people will notice the new you. Most of them knew you wore a hairpiece and will think your new look is sooo much better. A week later nobody will notice. Good Luck!
I was 22 when I started wearing a hair piece. It was the 1970s and every one had hair. I put up with wearing a stupid rug for 38 years and suffered all the usual problems. Irritations, Itching, Cost, Bad color match, Dreading windy days and bright sunshine. Even though I hated it I couldn’t find the courage to get rid and shave my head. Finally after a bad experience with a fitting of a new piece I finally got the courage to shave my head. I had worried for years about the reactions of others. I need not have worried 97% of the comments were good I was amazed; people said I looked younger and my confidence grew. I have never regretted it for a second. If you wear a rug and feel trapped and can’t get out just go for it you won’t be sorry. If you have doubts just remember people don’t laugh at bald heads they laugh at rugs and combovers. Do you really want to be THE GUY WITH THE RUG? Don’t kid yourself most people know you wear one. John
Hello john P.
I got screwed by HCM in Canada and Sure Hair International. I would not recommend any of these companies, they are just scammers praying on insecure people.
HAIR CLUB FOR MEN SUCKS.!!
Where do I start? well, I started loosing hair at an early age. I am from Bangladesh and people in Indian subcontinent are not that picky about their looks, usually. It did not turned out to be the case later on. When I came to Canada I started loosing hair, and when I was 25, my hair from crown and front are totally gone, gone with the wind. Ha ha. I never felt insecure about my looks and baldness nor did it bother me to approach to girls. As it turned out, while being in a society where arranged marriage is still prevalent, girls do ditch any proposal from a bald person despite his career, family and other things to offer. So I went to HCM in Halifax.
I was taken to the “DOCTOR” who put a camera on my scalp and showed me the horror in close up on a big screen TV. it was just horrible. As I did not show any motion to jump into their trap, the “DOCTOR” started by telling , ” you know what , you have very beautiful eyes. I wonder how gorgeous you would look if you had hair.” My friend who came with me started to laugh after hearing this. The woman continued her charade and I enjoyed it.
So eventually, me and my friend understood the whole BS and came out of that place laughing out loud. I am glad that I did not spend any money. The whole bio-matrix BS did sound like a big joke.
I am who I am and if someone does not accept because I am bald, well I deserve a better person.
Hair Club is a SCAM! They intentionally never refer to the “Bio-Matrix” as a toupee because they want to keep the customer curious until they can get them in the door for a hard sell. Get the truth and share your stories:
Hair Club for Men Scam.
i made mistake signing a cotract with hair club for men, , i tried to cancel just 4 days later as i changed my mind, but they would not cancel, so i will get a bill for $3800 , heck with them i will not pay the bank, will let them know i cancelled as they di not want to , too bad, let it go on my record screw it, i they hd any fairnes in them they would have agrrena d canceled, this proves, thet they suck,
I was 25 when I decided to get a “hair system” at Appollo in Knoxville TN. It was a horrible NIGHTMARE! I had naturaly curly hair which allowed me to camolauge it somewhat until I got the fake toupe glued on my head! I went in and an older guy had an awesome piece on! It was not too thick (which made it more natural) and it was white to match the rest of his hair! I got excited bc it looked so natural. Apparently the base of the hair piece was ultra thin… I did not know what that meant. So I am taken back to a back room where clear saran wrap was placed over my head and the guy marked my bald spot with a marker. Cut a piece of my real hair and said he was sending it off to get it matched with color and density! Sounded great… I was set to come back in 4-6 weeks when ever it came in. So I ended up calling everyday after 5 weeks to see if it was in. I had to borrow 1300.00 dollors from my mother ( whom was the only one to know about it) in my family to pay for it. During the first consult I was informed that I had to buy two hair pieces bc ‘they shed’ and when one gets to thin… they have to send it back to have more hair put back in it… and during that process I would have another one to wear. So I go in for it to be put on and it was AWEFUL!. A country old red headed woman sits me down … cuts my real hair very short and then brings out my see through hair piece with extremely long dark curly hair on it. She shaves the top of my head where any remaining hair was and glued it on my head with medical glue! She then cuts the hair pieve to “blend”. The hair piece was soooo rediculously THICK! That it was obvious a hair piece! I never had hair that thick! It was so thick that it resembled a kitchen rug or carpet! Once I got home I was so embarressed I ran in so no one could see me into my own bathroom. I took thinning shears and scissors and tried to thin it out as much as poss! Still too thick! I put lots of gel on it to get the mass size of it down to a min. I worked on it a LONG time and even ripped a small spot in it to make a look a like crown on it! It was so bad. So my family said they liked it and I went to work and pple in the office said that they liked my “hair cut” I was always paranoid about it. The glue would wear out and the toup would shift off center often. I was so unhappy. The first night that I had it on… I could not sleep bc it itched sooooooo bad! I had to go bad and had the woman working there readjust it and put double sided tape un the scalp part of the piece and then glue it on bc the fake synthetic hairs on it were stabbing me! So I wore the piece for about three months until it shedded to the poing of balding! I went back for the second piece that I bought to be replaced on my head while the balding one was sent back to the “factory” to be rethreaded! The woman glued the piece on my head… and she put it on too low! My hearline was way too low! No one has a hair line like that!!! So I made her RIP it off my head and replace it! It tore my skin! This was bad. So after wearing that piece for a month I had to get it re-glued on my head bc it was comming off again! This same idiot who put the piece on too low the last time does it again! This time I left with it… I went homw and looked in the mirror and felt threatened bc of it all again! Yes my self esteem was pretty bashed by then even worse then ever. So I had a major mental breakdown … crying like a victom… I got angry and a good grip of my self and got brave. I ripped the super glued hair off of my head with the help of my mother. It took 30 minutes to rip it off. It pulled pieces of my scalp off! My pictures are horrible!!! I saved my botched scalp and began the healing process. 6 years later I still shave my head and am in freedom. I dont care who does not like it…. I am a very handsome man. My bald head is very complimentary of my attitude about this sort of thing! This whole experience was unnecessary and could have been prevented. My scalp did heal back with no scares (thank you GOD) and suggest no one get a hair piece glued on their head. It looked fake. It was constantly itching. It caused me to be more paranoid than ever and people did know it was a hair piece regardless of what they said! When I called to tell these idiots that I was not coming back they could not understand why after me telling them what had happened. So I went back to Appollo to pick up my second hair piece ( because I paid 600 bucks for it) the woman that glued it on my head too low… said how good I looked bald! OMG! Never Again. Learn from my nightmare experience.
Where are all these bald men???? I love them! I can never find any!
I currently am a hair club memeber. When I initially joined I started on the “gold” program which is a slightly thicker base. When my order came in the color match was perfect but the density was way too thick “medium”. When i saw myself in the mirrior i was horrified. I decided to try the piece out and actually wore it in public. Unfortunately the density was so thick evrryone noticed it right away. I was disgusted and demanded a better hair piece. I upgraded to the “platinum package” instantly and when it came in I saw a huge difference. The base of the platinum system is a fine french lace, which is extremely thin. With the gold package I couldn’t feel the water on my head when taking a shower or the wind when it was blowing. With the platinum package, the system was so light I was actuay able to feel the water dripping on my head in the shower as well as the wind blowing on my head. The initial density was also a medium light which was extremely natural. When I began displaying this system to friends and family they were shocked as to how real it looked. Not only was the hair from this system much finer, which made is feel and look much better, but the density matched mine perfectly. I actually had a few friends who are going bald state that when they saw my first hair piece they were amused at how fake it looked. However, after seeing my platinum system they were contemplating joining too. I just signed up for the executive plan which runs a swiss lace system which is a higher quality system than the french lace. The hair is also much finer, making it even more silky and smooth. The thing people have to remember is that you pay for what you get. Fortunately, there are ways you can make even the cheaper systems look more natural. You can request lower densities on the non lace systems (anything less than diamond system) in extra light, light medium light, medium, Ect. For lace systems medium light is the highest density and you can order down to extra light. You can also order different densities in different areas of the system. Ex: medium light for the entire system except for 1/2″ of front hairline which could be ordered in a lighter density. You can also have the knots in the systems bleached, making the hair look as though its growing from the scap. You also have to remember that you get what you pay for. The hairstylists at my hair club personally told me anything below the diamon system is crap and anything above the platinum system wasn’t worth the steep price. However, they also told me they couldn’t see why I was paying a mortgage payment on a hairpiece. So for those of you contemplating joining hairclub just remember its costly and unless you order a higher end system (platinum plus) you may not be satisfied. If you do join, during the consultation ask to see the systems that the hairclub carries and ask for the types of bases each uses. The systems run from bronze all the way up to premium. Youur going to notice a huge different between not only the quality of the hair but the bases as well as you progress up to higher level systems. Also, remind the people are hairclub to order a light or medium light system if your ordering a lower end system as medium density wlil make it look like a bear is hibernating on your head.
ANYONE whos thinking of HCM… just go bald. Women really dont care.. I did HCM when I was 26 till 29.. honestly… you can wash your hair as much as you want, its still going to feel like your wearing a cast on your head.. I mean this by.. its super oily underneath, then feels grose, then some days its over dry.. im talkin about your scalp. YOU WILL find things to run underneath it just to scratch your insanely itchy head. LISTEN TO ME YOU CANNOT DRY YOUR SCALP AFTER A SHOWER.. IMPOSSIBLE.. so when you grab that pricey hair products and the mouse or styling stuff.. your basically adding it to the wetness under the HCM. They say BLOW DRY.. but some days you dont have time to blowdry.. and your doomed for a day of insane torment. And while you lost your hair.. it was in fact the reasonong of DRY SCALP… to what are you doing with HCM everyday.. blow drying it more and more.. something you never did before. ALSO!! The sticky tape that usually goes on the front.. on your forehead ends up being a pain in the summers.. can become a rash.
No offence for HCM.. but seriously I ripped that crap off my head when I was 29.. and said who cares anymore. Its more of a pain to “think” who can see it, somedays in the summer.. who can smell it!?!?… its just a waste of your life. Try shaving your head.
Also you know the rumour wearing hats can make you bald… well if you get HCM and you still have hair on top.. just thin.. guaranteed in 2-3 years its gonna be gone by wearing this thing.
DONT DELETE MY POST OR THINK ITS A SLAM TO HCM… its just THE TRUTH.
When you get HCM.. they colour it to match your hair.. then it lasts till next visit.. then they colour it again… then the next and the next.. and trust me.. each and every visit.. this colours comes out quicker and quicker per month. I dunno maybe they have better setups then yearly “systems” like they did 15 years ago… maybe they dont I dunno.
But honestly this is just a novelty… you will enjoy it for 6-8months.. but when the day comes you find its a huge pain in the ass… its like going bald in one single day.. which you wont really want happening… and you may become a recluse for a few months. lol.
****DONT DO IT. If your concerned about women?? dont be. You get that hot girl with the HCM and eventually your going to have to explain why during sex your tape is sliding.. or coming off. Id rather be turned down by a gorgeous girl for being bald… then be in bed with one and she smells the sweat under your HCM, or your tape unattaches, or she catches your nail in your system while running her hand through it.
Dont be depressed with hairloss. You’ll be MORE DEPRESSED WITH HCM. its fkn grose.
DEAD SERIOUS. have a great day. Just saved you thousands.
I just read a few posts up…. thinking my post was going to be DIFFERENT… wow everyone knows what HCM is like.
I WISH I HAD THIS WEBPAGE 15 years ago to read.. would have saved me ALOT of hassle
Any guys on here thinking about it.. read read read!! we are not lying to you.. its a nightmare.
One guy above mentions the “digging in”… YES MAN!!!!!!!! I forgot about that!! when I went in for regluing. ( i feel more stupid explaining “regluing ” today then ever!!!) Anyhow REGLUING.. you could see the line of the front of it near the temples.. where it dug in all month. Also when you leave HCM it feels like you have some chinese torture device on your head. Ever see those girls at the clubs with their hair tied back soooo tight they look oriental almost.. This is what you feel like the very first day you leave HCM.. BUT!! not a pony tail tied back.. but like your hair is tied to the ceiling!! straight up!!..
Anyhow wow like I said NOVELTY.. for 6-8 months.. trust me you’ll get sick of it .. sick of the driving to a special location every month.. using a major city.
“Hey can I buy 3 rolls of tape this week” WHAT THE FK!!! WERE WE THINKIN???
and the… ” would like our precut tape??” WHAT THE FK kind of racket was THAT!!! precut toupee tape.
Donald Trump or Howie Mandel? which appears cleaner?? you got it !! DONT DO HCM
Saved me some money.
Scott
I’m sorry about everyone’s bad experience. I was one also “suckered” by believing that wearing a rug would restore my confidence and being bald was unattractive. At first, the euphoria of having hair again never seemed to wear off. After a while, though the maintenance and discoloring became a nightmare and it took an extra 10 minutes just to get the hair to sit right after showering. Plus, at times the itch was unbearable and while I’m sure people “could tell”, I was not ready to stop hiding under my rug. Additionally, the tape and glue would ooze out and on hot days, It had a musty smell. During my time wearing it, I rarely took it off, except to wash it by hand once in a while.
Finally over 10 years ago, I finally got the courage to toss the wig for good. It felt great not only having the water hit your head while showering, but the freedom of not having to worry about being found out, etc. People don;t care if you are bald. However, I have found that most people respond in a negative way to hairpieces and coverups.
PLEASE!! if you are thinking about getting a piece, don’t! The maintenance, itching, aggravation and embarrssment are not worth it. Don’t let HCM let you feel worthless because you are bald. Learn to love yourself.
Just go bald and enjoy it no one cares for ur baldness,trust me.
Sure hair international is a scam and so is Hair club for men. There are a lot of complaints about Hair club, but guys sure hair is even more of a fraud. They will bad mouth hair club and then do the same thing themselves and give you crapy product or better yet not give you the product at all, only take your money
last year i went to HCM for supposedly 250$ scalp analysis appointment, waiting in a room, This guys shows up, starts talking about HCM and bla bla, took a picture of my scalp, and i guess that was the 250$ free scalp analysis, @ that time ill be honest i was very upset with my hair loss, i need to do something, and ill admit i was getting excited to have a full head of hair again, i showed him a picture of me when i was 21 with full head of hair and hes like yea we can def get u to look like that again in a matter of weeks, and we have a promotion right now, so i said ok ill think about and ill get back to you, hes like o but the promotion ends in couple of days, if u can put some money down to lock in the prom, so anyhow as naive as i was at the moment of excitement i gave him 100$, long story short the next couple days i had done more research and read stories like these, and i made up my mind i would rather go bald than f*#&n put sum bs rag on my head, i had gone back in 2 days to get my $ the D bag claimed that the 100$ was acquired by the company, so it took me more than 3 weeks to get my $ back, ridiculous, the guy total scammer, he made up sum bs promotion up, just to make a sell!! very bad experience, i decided to go with bosley hair transplant, @ least i know its my own hair, not some kitchen rag glued on my head…
WOW!!! This truly amazes me…. I thought i was the only one who got scammed. I was 24 years old when i went to them…. My hair loss wasnt bad but it was getting there so i wanted to cover it up before people noticed. Spoke with the sales guy and he assured me that that was all i had to pay was that one time $3500 and id be done with it… Only thing i was supposed to pay after that was for the hair cuts that wer $90 which was fine… But that was it no 290 a moth to get new systems never mentioned that once… Long story short place Sucks dont spend your money….