AHSsucks2

Here’s my full story. My crown started thinning in my late teens and by my early 20’s, I had very little hair on top at all. Not being the best looking guy, this was a serious blow to my self-esteem. So around 5 or so years ago my parents encouraged me to make an appointment at the local AHS studio. So I did without knowing anything other than their advertising spiels. At the initial consultation the studio manager said that my hair was too thin to make laser treatment a viable solution. He then put a camera to my head in one of the sparse spots to show very few hair follicles and then in a dense spot to show the comparison. A clever ploy in softening me up. He played a couple of video clips on a PC that were purely AHS commercials, and suggested the Strand by Strand option. He explained that “strand by strand replacement” hair would be weaved “seamlessly” with my existing hair. I was quoted about $6,000AUD – plus $75 a pop for refittings, and their recommended shampoos. I didn’t argue with the price, however as I know now the pricing is arbitrary between customers. At no point did he indicate that the system was a wig, that it would be glued to my head with literal glue, or that a large part of my good hair would be shaved back to plonk the wig on. When the wig arrived, I was suitably surprised that so much of my existing hair was being shaved back. However I rolled with it. The wig was so incredibly thick, and the colour did not match very well at all. The 1st system was smaller than the rest to make a “gradual” transition to the AHS systems. By gradual there was a 100% increase in size between the 1st and 2nd systems. Go figure. The first set of systems that I encountered had a rubber base that was very thick. A large wad of glue was spread over my head and a strip of thick tape encircled all but the front of the system. This always felt so uncomfortable and the adhesive would start to smell by the 2nd week after each refitting. On hot days the smell would make me sick. The thick tape strip meant that where the side of the wig joined my normal hair, the hair fell over the side of the system to cover would sort of bubble out as it was not flush. It must have been so obvious to everyone else that I was wearing a wig. The edges were never seamless. Furthermore the waviness of my real hair never matched the wave profile of the wig, even when I requested that a wavier system be ordered. The second set of systems had a mesh style of base rather than rubber. The idea is that you can see through to the scalp. However this created another set of problems. The thick tape could no longer be used, and instead they used a thin double sided clear tape. It was useless, and had a tendency deteriorate quickly and not stay in place. They slipped to the side of the wig and often created a sticky spot in the wig hair. The glue that went under the mesh would also break down and seep through the mesh, and make the wig hair sticky. More importantly, THE WIG DID NOT STAY IN PLACE AFTER 4 WEEKS! The recommended "Carl Howell" shampoo's and conditioners are shit! They feel like cheap style shampoo's that don't actually break the surface tension of the water. I'd be ashamed to put my name to it, but whatever. Beyond the problems with the systems, the studio was atrocious. The fitout was so old and cramped. The studio manager often looked dishevelled and sleep deprived. He was incredibly rude at times. There were never enough hairdressers on hand to deal with the number of people coming through the door, which was just not good enough for $75 every fitting. I mean, how can you not afford staffing with all the money coming in the door? In the end I made a snap decision to stop using wigs and just shaved my head completely. Best decision I made. I estimate I spent over 20,000AUD with AHS. I know this is the hair restoration network, for me personally this was the best choice. Had I decided to continue different things, I probably would have gone down the minoxidil + generic propecia route. Fuck you AHS. I've had my say now. I'm at peace.

If you want a concise summary of AHS's appalling attitude to any questioning of their products, have a look at this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4C-nTcCJhw I think my favorite quote comes right at the beginning of the video, where the unknown AHS spokesperson states: "Hey, if you really want to know what's going on about hair loss, who you gonna believe? Some balding stooge that put out stuff for his own amusement? Some supposed experts that are answering questions about procedures that are patented, or have no access to real science behind them, or perhaps even for their own gain?" I couldn't make this stuff up. The thousands I put into getting some cheap wigs crudely cut and glued to my head gives me the right to tell people what I think and question your pathetic business practices. Or am I just another "balding stooge"? Advanced Hair Studio are nothing more than glorified hairdressers with a bit of glue, and they shouldn't represent themselves to be anything but that.