Hasson&Wong before/after pictures

[JohnnyBald]

I have noticed an important detail when you look at Before/after pictures posted by Hasson & Wong clinic in their website

 

If you pay attention to the background ( the blue wall behind the patient) , you can notice they use different lighting depending the picture was taken after or before, like for example here, the wall color changes

 

https://hassonandwong.com/hair-transplant-results/patient-1918/?v=3e8d115eb4b3

Not only just this patient , but I was feeling this is the case of all patient pictures posted.

 

I was wondering if they use different lighting when taking pictures after to make the transplanted hair looks thicker than it is in reality

[mamzuka]

You are right. There is a real difference in the lighting. That's a good observation but the patient still looks much better no matter how much lighting is put on the subject.

 

This industry is loaded with that kind of stuff. Look at KFC commercials. The chicken on TV looks great but what i see when I pick it up at the store doesn't look nearly as good.

[YouOnlyLiveOnce]

Deceptive photos is a huge issue from clinics and patients alike. Guys often cherry pick their result photos to get praise, which I don't really get. Then, clinics will often compare wet or precariously positioned hair ( basically hair at its worst) to final results when hair is shown at its best.

 

Dr. Hasson performed a transplant on me, that I'm satisfied with mostly. When taking my before photos I remember him exposing the bald area and saying something to the effect of ' We'll try to make it look as bad as possible' My pre-op pics were nothing like I'd ever actually wear my hair.

[Spidey]

before and after pictures are usually taken anywhere from 6-18 months apart... I know for a fact they have two different blue walls. They never use flash in their pictures, which creates the illusion of thicker hair.

[JON86]

A person needs to look for patients in person and not just ones a clinic provides. Do your work seek out patients. There are tons of deceptive pictures out there. One of the things that bothers me is when a clinic has the same few cases on their website for years. To me it screams they don't get consistent results .

[Spanker]

Flash can actually help the frontal shot but hurts the top down. The reason the color is different is because that room has a window and shots are taken at different times of the day, overcast, ect, it's not a conspiracy theory or anything.

[Wwiizzkkiidd24]

Yeah i dont think there trying to con you they are to some people the best in the business so why would they want to do that and tarnish there reputation over something like that.

[Garageland]

Johnnybald,

 

I am not quite sure of your intentions here to make a post on this subject and make serious accusations that perhaps we edit our photos to enhance the after result but let me explain. The patient that you linked to I would say that the after photos are brighter if you pay attention to the colour of the wall.

 

 

So in this case according to your logic on judging the colour of the wall rather than the subject we have possibly altered the contrast of the above photo to make the after photos lighter. This would make the final result look thinner, wouldn't it? What benefit would there be to lighten an after photo.

 

The answer is a combination of things which can only be overcome if you have a studio with consistent lighting and the same photographer, camera etc. Dr Wong has a blue background in one of his surgery rooms which is a different shade of blue to that of the one that is more commonly used in the hallway. Before photos are usually taken in his room at 6.30am by Dr Wong or one of his technicians after photos taken months years later are usually taken by my colleague Doug when the patient come in for a follow up. Getting consistent lighting is a challenge for any clinic that uses an area that has changes in natural light.

 

As we do not have a studio to take photos the lighting changes depending on the time of day. The blue background is there so that you can judge the result and not be distracted by the background.

 

We am very proud of how we display our results and this has been a constant source of praise from patients on this forum over the years. Many clinics have followed our lead over the years showing large, bright, hi res, no flash photos with the same consistent angles.

[Aftermath]

As someone who has has numerous procedures with dr hasson and at least 4 sets of before and 4 sets of after photos I can confirm there is no special lighting, they were taken in the same room, the same positions with the exact same background and lighting, no flash was ever used and no trickery is involved, as with Garageland I'm actually disappointed this thread was made along with the implications it brings with it. H&W's integrity shouldn't be questioned and I'm disappointed it was, both doctors and all the techs and reps strive to provide the best care humanly possible, there is nothing underhanded and the results are as real as it gets. I for one am someone whose life they have improved immeasurably and as a result I will forever be in their debt so when ridiculous threads like this are made I feel it's my duty to give you the truth as I've seen and experienced it

[esrec]

It's entirely possible this is done untentionally sometimes too. On the flipside, there's also countless patients who manipulate their own photos to make them look better--which I don't understand.

 

The dude above has substantially more hair--no way around it. He also seems to be eating and tanning more too.

[Rashid36]

is it true that some doctors would rather not deal with more complicated cases or risky ones?

Edited February 22, 2016 by Rashid35

[YouOnlyLiveOnce]

is it true that some doctors would rather not deal with more complicated cases or risky ones?

 

That might be true. I think H&W enjoy the cases that would seem 'complicated' or 'risky'. The impact and change is much more rewarding and they have the history of knocking those types of cases out of the ballpark.

 

Of course, strategic planning has to go into every transplant. The level of loss and donor availability ultimately decides whats possible. The best doctor in the world won't have many options if you don't have the hair to move.

[Davis91]

It's ok to raise questions about a clinics photo practice. Just know that Hasson and Wong are widely acknowledged as being among the earliest industry leaders I documenting their cases. A lot of their photography techniques were previously discussed on this site by their former rep.

Edited February 23, 2016 by David - Moderator

[Stig]

My surgeon actually pulled the same stunt. The day of surgery pre-op pictures have much different lighting to the 6 month pictures to the 1 year pictures. I did ask them about it, and the reason I was given was that the patient advisor was out of office the day of my surgery (which is true), so the surgeon himself took the pictures and messed up the lighting.

[mamzuka]

Deceptive photos is a huge issue from clinics and patients alike. Guys often cherry pick their result photos to get praise, which I don't really get. Then, clinics will often compare wet or precariously positioned hair ( basically hair at its worst) to final results when hair is shown at its best.

 

Dr. Hasson performed a transplant on me, that I'm satisfied with mostly. When taking my before photos I remember him exposing the bald area and saying something to the effect of ' We'll try to make it look as bad as possible' My pre-op pics were nothing like I'd ever actually wear my hair.

 

Did I read this correctly????

 

I have no real problem with lighting and backgrounds but this is very disturbing to me that Dr. Hasson was trying to make your hair look as bad as possible for the before photo. Did I read this correctly??!!

[Spanker]

Did I read this correctly????

 

I have no real problem with lighting and backgrounds but this is very disturbing to me that Dr. Hasson was trying to make your hair look as bad as possible for the before photo. Did I read this correctly??!!

 

This is a hard one to a certain extent. If you have a comb over, you can't see the area that transplanted if you don't show I meditate post op, which I don't think they do. So, he could have just been exposing the bald. Anyway, my only issue with this thread is that I haven't seen them do anything shady and they have honest documentation from what I can tell. There would be plenty of people that would come into question (no top down shots, consistently fuzzy pics, etc, pics that look like they are from 1990, etc) on documentation but H&W are one of them.

[bunsenburner]

I don't find the slight differences in lighting concerning. Reproducing conditions is always difficult, even when all variables are minimized.

 

What I do find concerning is the comment made by "YouOnlyLiveOnce." Can you elaborate on this further? You say Dr Hasson "messed up" your hair in the before pictures to make it look worse or thinner; you also believe this was not an accurate representation of how your hair looked on a daily basis. Were the photographs with the "before" hair "messed up" the only ones taken? Or did he take a series with the hair normal and then others with the hair messy? Were any of these images used for online marketing or patient recruitment purposes?

 

The final results are usually judged by how the patient looked before the procedure. If the before images are being purposely exaggerated, it is hard to assess the final results.

[Spidey]

I think there's a difference between making the hair look "worse" than it is, and to reveal the extend of the hairloss.. When my hair was styled and laid somewhat naturally, you could not really see the extent of my hairloss. Majority of people would even say I was a NW1 and had not issues, but once you pulled the hair back you could definitely see the extend of my recesssion...

[matt1164]

This is done in a lot of industries. Have any of you ever been to open houses that look nothing like their pics online. Obviously you wouldn't buy a house without seeing it and you should try to meet as many patients in person before getting a ht. I honestly don't think the hair transplant Drs on this site are really that deceptive.

[Garageland]

Yes when taking before photos we need to expose the areas that need addressing. Patients come in with all manner of comb overs and cover ups sweeping hair forward and back to to the sides to cover up the thinning areas I could post many examples of this but we know as patients that we do it.

 

We get so many patients that attend a consultation with hair combed and sprayed to be locked into place that they don't look like they need any work done until you do the great reveal you see what needs to be done. We do not mess up peoples hair with an intention of making it worse just for the photos but we need to see the thinning areas and in many cases we need to move the hair around to do this. If you look through our gallery there are not examples of where someone has had his hair messed up to make it look worse. Please remember these photos are taken for the patients and clinics benefit very few of them we are allowed to post.

[Bill - Seemiller]

I have not seen the recent photos however, as a patient of Dr. Hasson, I don't know that they were taking before and after pictures under the same lighting conditions and the same background.

 

If that has changed, that is unfortunate however, given the impressive nature of their results, I can't imagine that they would be attempting to engage in deceptive lighting conditions to make the results look better when they're already outstanding.

 

Bill

[Dutchie]

Yes when taking before photos we need to expose the areas that need addressing. Patients come in with all manner of comb overs and cover ups sweeping hair forward and back to to the sides to cover up the thinning areas I could post many examples of this but we know as patients that we do it.

 

We get so many patients that attend a consultation with hair combed and sprayed to be locked into place that they don't look like they need any work done until you do the great reveal you see what needs to be done. We do not mess up peoples hair with an intention of making it worse just for the photos but we need to see the thinning areas and in many cases we need to move the hair around to do this. If you look through our gallery there are not examples of where someone has had his hair messed up to make it look worse. Please remember these photos are taken for the patients and clinics benefit very few of them we are allowed to post

That sounds perfectly believable to me

[lorenzo]

Its amazing how bored some people are. Hasson and Wong show the best before and after picture than any other clinic in my opinion. I have witness 100's of photos being taken before and after and the condition are exactly the same.

[bunsenburner]

Garageland and Lorenzo:

 

Thank you for commenting. It is good to hear variables are minimized and objective photographs are attempted during both the before and after sessions at Hasson & Wong.

 

However, it would still be advantageous for "YouOnlyLiveOnce" to clarify his earlier statements. I still believe the severity of the pre-surgical images are the best gauge of the success of the matured post-surgical images. It is crucial that these not be exaggerated. It sounds like this is not the case, but it would still be helpful to hear from "YouOnly LiveOnce."

[bunsenburner]

Garageland and Lorenzo:

 

Thank you for commenting. It is good to hear variables are minimized and objective photographs are attempted during both the before and after sessions at Hasson & Wong.

 

However, it would still be advantageous for "YouOnlyLiveOnce" to clarify his earlier statements. I still believe the severity of the pre-surgical images are the best gauge of the success of the matured post-surgical images. It is crucial that these not be exaggerated. It sounds like this is not the case, but it would still be helpful to hear from "YouOnly LiveOnce."