I’ve seen your informative website the Hair Transplant Network and I’m currently deciding who to go with. But I don’t see Bosley as a recommended physician or clinic. They claim to be the best in their TV ads.

I live in Florida (Miami) and want to know if you recommend their
clinic in Miami or Boca Raton.

Like many hair loss sufferers, I first got interested in hair transplantation after seeing a Bosley TV infomercial. When I saw my first Bosley infomercial over ten years ago I thought I had just found the Moses who was going to deliver me from the slavery of hair loss. His infomercials, tapes and brochures became my ten commandments. I virtually slept with his video under my pillow.

But in time I came to realize that outstanding promotions do not equal outstanding hair transplants. What I did learn is that the best value (quality and price) is not to be found at the heavily advertised national chain clinics. Rather the best values are the gem in the rough hair transplant clinics that do virtually no advertising and get patients from good word of mouth on and offline. Unlike the national chain clinics, these quality independents often do just one patient a day and focus on quality rather than quantity.

These high quality independent hair transplant clinics with proven track records are the clinics presented on the Hair Transplant Network and the Hair Loss Learning Center. These independents are also often praised on our discussion forum. I recommend that any person considering a clinic first use the “Find” feature on our hair restoration discussion forum to search our forum database for any info about the doctor or clinic they are considering – including Bosley. They will then find any good or bad experiences posted by actual patients. Generally the patient reviews from the national chains like Bosley have not been favorable.

To learn about independent hair restoration physicians in South Florida who have proven quality track records visit our recommended physicians in Florida.

Since getting involved with hair restoration as the publisher of the Hair Transplant Network, I’ve met Dr. Lee Bosley on several occasions at various hair transplant meetings. In person he is Marcus Welby, Moses and your kindest grandfather rolled into one – just like he is on TV. So I found it very interesting to read Dr. Bosley confiding to the New Yorker in the January 9th, 2006 issue that “I have my regrets, in retrospect. I got to the point where I felt pretty guilty doing it.”

Apparently since selling the Bosley Medical Group four years ago to Japanese wig maker called Aderans for $40,000,000, he now feels comfortable in recounting how horrible hair transplantation was in the early days. Some how his candid comments reminded me of Robert McNamara’s recent confessional interviews in which he apologized for his part in orchestrating the Vietnam War. Strange what old age will do to a man.

In this New Yorker article Dr. Bosley described his early work in the 1960’s by saying “If it grew at all, it was in different directions – clumpy, bedraggled, three hairs of out of a plug . . . if there was any hair growing at all it was a success – it was – look it’s growing! – and it looked like crap.”

So how did a company who by its founder’s own admission provided results that “looked like crap” become the largest hair transplantation company with ninety two offices? The answer is lots and lots of TV.

According to the article Dr. Bosley worked his way through medical school in Omaha by “selling pots and pans door to door”. So apparently he learned a thing or two about sales.

With the power of TV, even sub pare results would not stand in the way of success. After all, this was in the days before the interactive Internet in which hair loss sufferers like you could talk back. With TV – perception could over come reality and still largely does.

Dr. Emanuel Marritt, a famous hair transplant surgeon who is now retired, explained it in the following way – “You have a population of patients who are emotionally extremely vulnerable, willing to pay anything. And you have a doctor with a mountain of advertising debt who needs to break even. It’s a conspiracy of two: a patient who doesn’t want to hear what he really needs, being operated on by a doctor who doesn’t want to tell him.”

The article states that today the Bosley Medical Group is “both the world’s most successful transplant company and among the most maligned.” The article points to Bosley Medical Group’s many lawsuits. For more detailed information visit the Bosley Medical Violations Site.

Apparently Dr. Lee Bosley who in the article is described as the “self-anointed Renoir of transplantation” is still plugging away (so to speak) in the back office for a fee that is twice the regular Bosley price. Despite selling the Bosley Medical Group he retains an office and with over 38,000 hair transplant procedures to his credit, he is ready to take on number thirty eight thousand and one.

His TV fans will no doubt sleep better knowing that some lucky morning they may begin their day as his patient.

So my suggestion is to look past the infomercials and sleep tight and don’t let the late night hair infomercials bite.

Pat, Publisher of the Hair Transplant Network and the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center

 

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