Hi Guys,

There has been a great deal of negative publicity on these forums about advanced hair studios. From reading a lot of what it being said, it is apparent that the following is true about AHS:

"¢ They are misleading about their ˜strand by strand' procedure. The consensus appears to be that it is nothing more then a toupee which is put together strand by strand. AHS do not appear to be transparent in this respect, which has obviously angered many of their customers. (who are posting here as a result)

"¢ AHS are an expensive option compared to other ˜toupee' suppliers. They can often be aggressive with their sales tactics and commit you to years of ongoing payments with their ˜maintenance hair cuts'.


This considered, what are the positives?? (Specifically asking the people who have not previously posted overtly negative statements about AHS)

1) Are the results as they as they promised? Do they meet your expectations?

2) Is the hair piece (or toupee?) a long term and comfortable option?


I have spoken face to face with a number of their customers from one of their Sydney centers, and most (that have had it for a number of years) appear to be pretty happy with the results. (despite the above negatives). This appears to be in total contrast to this forum.


Any help would be most appreciated.


Thanks
Brend1107

What is your connection to the AHS ?

I am simply a 25 year old potential customer of AHS who is incredibly confused about why there is such a gap between the people I have spoken to in the clinics and the people who have posted in these forums.

I am researching potential ˜treatments' for my hair loss. I have no connection with them in any way.

As I said, any help would be most appreciated.

Why would you even consider going to them when they charge thousands for mass produced Asian rugs? Advanced Hair will have lots of clients who will be happy to wear a hairpiece but they all have one thing in common. They're paying extortionately for what they could get relatively cheaply.

I'm a former client as I was deceived into wearing one of their hairpieces. I hated it; I was paranoid about being busted and I often had snide digs made at me. It wasn't all it was cracked up to be as it was restrictive and nothing like having my real hair. The colour faded and was only guaranteed for 3 months. A scum and a stench would build up on my scalp over the month ... yuk!

They get a good mauling on other forums too. When I was with them I didn't realise how easy it was to find another company. Here's some advice from a consultant that I found and extracted from another forum.

Use your directory to contact companies listed under wigs, hairpieces or something similar, but avoid the large franchises. See how much they charge for custom-made hairpieces. Prices will vary but should mostly be under $1000. But don't assume a lower price necessarily means a lower quality. Off-the-shelf hairpieces are crap but custom-made ones should all be fairly good.
See how long they've been in the business. Ask how they compare with the $3000 wig from AHS, and why they're charging so much less if they're not significantly inferior. Check on hair types. Ask about European Virgin hair. It's the sort Matthews, Gooch & AHS consultants have, and your niece should have for $3000 if only they weren't so profit driven. It will cost more but be much softer, and less prone to tangles and colour fade than the chemically treated Asian hair she has now.
Most custom-made hairpieces are made in Asia and cost not much more than $100. So if you pay $3000 instead of $500 say, the extra is mostly just company profit.
To keep it looking good, it should ideally be replaced yearly.

Be aware of this last point that you have to pay out yearly for a new one. This was withheld from me until it was casually mentioned at the fitting.

To answer your question, why would I consider it when I know they are overpriced?:
Essentially because that they say it is permanent solution, that is well maintained (through their appointments), undetectable and natural, like having your own hair.

To be honest, if they could deliver on these promises I would be happy to pay a premium over a standard toupee supplier. But unfortunately this does not seem to be the case.

Thanks for your feedback toddy.

They told me too that it was permanent but they have to take it off once a month so as to shave and clean and apply new glue. If they didn't it would come off anyway because your hair grows underneath it. The longer it grows the more it is dislodged. So it isn't permanent and it isn't a particularly special toupee either.

Brend1107,

Welcome to our discussion forum.

Hair pieces have many fancy names but they are essentially all the same, some obviously higher quality than others.

The only thing "permanent" about this solution is that as long as you continue to maintain and replace them and put in the time and money, you will have one.

I am certainly not adverse to hair pieces, they certainly do provide a means to cover our baldness. If patients are educated on how to properly maintain them and are willing to make the financial commitment, they could be a viable solution.

I never wore a hairpiece, but one of the best metaphors I've heard from a former hair piece wearer is that a hairpiece is a lot like a car. When you drive your new car out of the showroom for the first time, it looks terrific. But after driving for a few days through rain and mud, it never quite looks the same again.

AHS and a number of other firms offer hair pieces. Be sure to educate yourself on the quality and cost of purchasing, maintaining, and replacing them over the years and make an educated decision.

Best wishes,

Falc

There is no such thing as a permanent hair system. Any company that claims to offer one is intentionally misleading the public.

Hair systems do have limitations - they lose hair over time, the hair won't last forever, etc. - BUT a high quality hair system will look great. If it is made correctly and cut in well, it will be totally undetectable. There are a lot of people who won't believe this statement, but the proof is out there and you see it every day - you just don't know it! And they don't have to cost a bloody fortune either.

Short term solution to a long time problem in my mind.. Whats worse is they do not look natural. Look at the best photos on the hairclub sites. They always look the same with little exception.Everyone of us know someone who has a piece and everyone talks behind their back .. That in my mind is worse than being bald
Percentagewise I would guess maybe 10-20% are truly "undetectable" and that's being generious with ideal circumstances

I'm new to this forum, but not to the overall hair replacement/transplant process.

I wore a cheap piece for a while (was misled) and like others, hated it. I also wore some partial pieces while initial rounds of transplants grew in.

The partials were more realistic, but they too had problems, including coming off at very inopportune times! Also, there was the issue of having hair not quite matching the color of the rest of your hair or appearing a little too thick.

That last statement is a big concern. Often men will get a hair piece that is so thick that it looks fake. This is especially true for men well past 40 where there's no way they'd sport this luxurious mane. The result is that it looks fake.

Also, even some of the best hair systems can be detected. John Travolta, who once did have a very real great mane has lost considerable hair. However, he usually wears a hair system. Do a Google search for Travolta and hair piece and you might come across several pictures where astute photographers were able to zoom in on his supposedly undetectable hair system. One was able to see the weave along the hairline and other areas. Granted, one had to be up close to see this, but a good system should be able to withstand that scrutiny.

My point is that if a man of Travolta's standing and wealth couldn't pull off a professional hair system (given that he has stylists assisting him), it will be more difficult for the "average Joe".

If you do decide to get one, I would consider wearing a style where the hair line isn't as visible and having a little less hair so it looks more natural. Just be prepared to spend a fair amount of money to keep it maintained. Overall, it might end up being more expensive than hair transplants.

I agree with a previous post in regards to the "perm. solution" promise AHS have now in their advertising. It is ridiculous and they even GuArANTEE it! these guys have nerve dont they? I mean they know here offering a temp solution which is not prem. unless you have an endless bankroll to keep going back to them.

So lets just say someone avergae goes for there "guarantee" and a year down the track cant afford it anymore and well..have to lose the wig it then becomes a non-perm. solution rite? so there guarantee is squashed and wouldnt leave this open for a law suit?

scary

To Whom It May Concern:


Advanced Hair Studio has received recently several bad postings on this website.

We know that the postings were placed and incited by a well planned forum consisting of ex-employee(s) and or competitor(s). Their sole purpose being to tarnish the reputation of Advanced Hair Studio, for their own gain.

Obviously we recognize the fact that being in a consumer sensitive business like ours, we cannot please all clients all of the time as some expectations are too high or unrealistic; and on the odd occasion we can & do make a mistake, but Advanced Hair Studio prides itself on tens of thousands of happy clients; many of which are more than grateful for what we've done for them.

Subsequently those web postings that aren't contrived we ask to contact us so we can make amends, we ask that you contact Chris Attrill our Client Relations Officer, 15-17 Lansdowne Street East Melbourne VIC 3002 or Phone: (03) 9662 3011 Fax: (03) 9662 3412, or Email:clientrelations@advancedhair.com.au. He is Advanced Hair Studio's Client Relations Officer in Australia and New Zealand and is authorized to discuss all complaints and refunds.

If you are a legitimate complainant this would be much more productive than posting possible inflammatory statements on this site?

Yours sincerely,
Advanced Hair Studio

I agree with the new car theory on a hair system.or hair piece,OR WHAT I call now a dead animal on your head I know I was hair club member for over 20 years I could have had 5 transplants
and 10k grafts and still would have had money left
over.They look great when you leave but if you dont go back a least every 4 to 6 weeks it realy looks like a dead animal. but the systems today are far more advance.but still it is a piece no matter how you slice it.I guess I waited 20 years for good tecnolegy and good hair transplants witch now I have at age 49.4010 grafts dr dorin.
I know some people are not good canadates for a
ht,not enough donor hair e.t.c.but I can tell you this there is noting like your on hair growing evan if it does not look like a hair system

I went to them in 1990, felt like I'd just bought a used car, the salesman had that "used car salesman" persona, I loved the rubbish story about how they had to apparently send a strand of my own hair as a sample to Florida so it could be matched perfectly LOL why can't they match it here in Australia? I got sick of having to go back every 4 weeks to have the thing tightened at $50 each time (but you get a complemetary shampoo) so I stopped going back and went to a wig maker who converted the hair piece to clips so I can tighten or remove it myself, it (the hair piece) has actually been a good friend over the years and looked good with blond frosting to match my own (at the time) frosted hair, girls seem to like it and didn't know it was fake (most didn't anyway).
The thing that got me was the way the salesman dealt with my question "is hair fusion just a wig?" his reply "No certianly not, wigs can be removed and may fall off, our systems don't" fair enough....but it is still a wig!
I don't know what they are like these days but hair pieces have come a long way and the AHS systems are probably pretty good.
My hair piece lasted about 7 years and was my only way of hiding the crappy mess on my scalp from scalp reductions and the even more disfiguring TPO flap hairline, at least you can take a wig off.

To all Aussie and UK cricketing fans,

Ricky Ponting has been wearing a wig from AHS since 2007 and few have noticed it.

I was asked by a mate to take notice how Ricky Ponting always keeps his cap on in all interviews and warm ups despite now having a "full head of hair." He will not even take his helmet off when scoring a century in the fear of exposing the rug.

He will only show his hair when he has to, such as at a cricketing awards night. His hair will always have a slight fringe to hide the glued on hairline which is typical with all the guys that wear units.

Take note how rare it is to see Ricky Ponting with his cap off when ever you see him from now on.

In the end, only a select few know for sure if he is in fact wearing one. But his density transformation in the front and mid scalp is huge compared to 3 years ago. This means he either had hair transplantation or is wearing a rug.
The fact that the hair always stays hidden underneath a cap indicates that it is more likely to be a rug. What would he have to hide if it was a hair transplant?

These companies are just another "person' trying to capitalize on a persons situation. they charge outragous amounts, make false claims, and advertise in a very fishy manner.

At the end of the day, they don't look real!!

Advanced hair studio is such a slimy company, I got conned proper by them in my most desperate hour. The place was a joke, paid a ridiculous price for rogaine, stupid sessions under a laser.

Sometimes I didn't even get the rogaine as they said they were waiting for delivery, that happened three times!

3k to sit under a laser and get rogaine that I can buy on the net for £10, what a con!

They even joined this forum and replied to this thread accusing everyone one as competitors or ex employees lol

That's the kind of company AHS is, Con men laughing all the way to the bank.

BUYER BEWARE! Run, their 'hairloss consultants' are just salesman that know nothing about hairloss, they are there to close the sale and then laugh as they con another sucker out of his life savings.

I don't mean to insult anyone here if they do use a hairpiece, but with the advances made in the medical treatment of hair loss and what is available to hair loss sufferers today, hair pieces (in my opinion) are obsolete. Sure, there may be better wigs out there now than in the past. But at the end of the day, a wig is a wig regardless of whatever fancy name someone sticks on it, and they will always require lifetime maintenance (and a lifetime financial commitment too). I know that some people may not like the thought of having hair transplantation, or may not be suitable for it for whatever reason, but is wearing a wig really better than being bald? I know I'd certainly rather look like Kojak than EVER put a hairpiece on my head. Just my opinion.

The trouble with them is you cannot comb your hair back..if you are hell bent on geting one why not get a transplant at the hairline and wear the rug from behind the hairline ..Id like to someone do that because i think that would give you a great natural look.

Advanced Hair Studio is the biggest load of crap ever. I signed up 6 months ago and nothing has happened the guy said i was an ideal candidate for the Laser Therapy and then said he had done the strand by strand system himself and pulled this picture out of the draw of himself bald... bollicks.. Charged me $3500NZ for nothing..

First of all there is absolutly no scientific studies proving laser therapy to be effective in reduce or reversing hair loss.. They just have this as part of the system because they know you can buy it from the pharmacy. As for the seronoa and shampoos.. there crap as well...

Advance Hair Studio doesnt want to help you find a solution to you hair problems. because its in there interest to milk you for all the money you have for the rest of your life. So whatever system they come up with, it will always be ongoing.

I suggest either using Rogaine and Propecia directly from the pharmacy. It will probably be about 5 times cheaper than Advanced Hair Studio and there is scientific studies that state propecia is effective in reducing hair loss, Rogaine is about half as effective as propecia.

I think the best solution is a hair transplant. These are highly effective now adays with all the new technology and most importantly the new hair your regrow will be for life!!. What they do is take hair from the back and sides of your head (which are resistent to balding) and implant to the areas where your balding. You are only limited to the amount of hair at the sides of your head however new stem cell research suggest technology will be available around 2011 in which and infinite amount of hair will be able to be used.

I urge you not to be ripped off by Advance Hair Studio the way I was, they are the devil.