Hair Club Reviews: Your choice for hair restoration, regrowth, and replacement?

Losing your hair is not a pleasant experience. It makes many people feel old and less attractive and can even become a constant reminder of your mortality. There is hope for the millions of people who suffer from androgenetic or chemotherapy-induced alopecia or whose hair is thinning for another reason altogether.

Hair Club offers a variety of comprehensive techniques designed to restore, replace, or regrow hair. They rely on clinically proven medical interventions and innovative salon treatments that can transform your hair in as little as a few hours. Take a tour through our complete guide to Hair Club to find out which approach is right for you.

Hair Club’s in-center treatments offer a variety of options that create natural results in as little as a few hours. We highly recommend the Xtrands and Xtrands+ approach to anyone who lives close enough to a center. It’s fast and effective, and it falls in one of the more reasonable price ranges for treatment with such dramatic results. Surgical therapies are pricier, more dangerous (though marginally), and slower — after a transplant, you still have to wait for your hair to grow in. Their lines of hair care products that can slow hair loss and even boost growth are great if you live too far from a center for in-person treatment, but you can also get comparable products from other companies for competitive prices.

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We extensively test each health service we review. We try our best to give you, our readers, an unbiased exploration of at-home health services, free of marketing jargon or gimmicks. We evaluate the service based on our adherence to quality, the latest medical evidence and health standards, and a simple question: would we buy the product or service ourselves if it weren’t part of our job, and would we recommend it to family and friends?

Additionally, like all health-related content on this website, this review was thoroughly vetted by one or more members of our Medical Review Board for accuracy.

Founded in 1976, Hair Club (originally Hair Club for Men) is a multiservice company dedicated to helping people suffering from hair loss. They’re an ideal choice for just about any type of hair loss, including androgenetic alopecia and telogen effluvium, among others. They offer topical treatments, surgical and non-surgical replacements, and salon services to help hair appear fuller. Men seeking prescription finasteride to help them combat hair loss should know that no one in Hair Club’s network of specialists can provide you with such a prescription.

Hair Club’s hair loss intervention methods fall into three categories: regrowth, replacement, and restoration.

• Regrowth - With the help of products like minoxidil, laser therapy, and specialized hair care products, customers should see a reduction in hair loss and potentially a reversal of the process.
• Replacement - These services utilize either natural or synthetic hair to add thickness and length. Customers can select clip-on extensions or invest in a process that ties new hairs to individual strands already on the scalp.
• Restoration - These are the more invasive options, two of which surgically transplant either individual follicles or entire follicle grafts. The other option is subtler and resembles tattooing to even out thinning hairlines.

How does it work?

One of the best things about the regrowth approach is the variety of options available to you. Not only will you be able to try different things to see what works best, but you can also combine many of these treatments to increase your chances even further.

EXT

Hair Club’s Extreme Hair Therapy is an all-inclusive non-surgical course of action that combines in-center visits with the company’s most effective hair care products. The visits include scalp massages and laser sessions, as well as deep conditioning treatments and salon services. The included at-home kit comes with shampoo and conditioner, minoxidil, a scalp cleanser, a scalp massager, and supplements. Specialists at treatment centers provide you with expert advice and motivation, and you can digitally track your progress with their Trichoview scalp analysis.

Minoxidil

Shown to be effective in plenty of clinical studies, minoxidil (the main ingredient in Rogaine) effectively reduces the amount of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) on the scalp. DHT is the primary culprit in androgenetic alopecia, and studies show that minoxidil and other DHT blocking agents allow follicles to recover from its damage. That means hair loss can slow to a stop, and growth can begin again.

Laser

While they may seem like high-tech snake oil, laser treatments show comparable efficacy to minoxidil in most studies. That’s because the lasers in use emit a precise 650 nm frequency that increases circulation to the scalp and stimulates hair follicles. They’re an excellent choice for anyone skeptical of chemical or pharmaceutical intervention. Still, they are among the most expensive treatments if you wish to own a laser device in your home. In the short term, laser treatments appear to be safe, but long-term effects are still unknown.

Haircare products

Hair Club offers several lines of hair care products designed to reduce the presence of scalp DHT, condition and protect hair, and cleanse your head of follicle blocking dirt and oils, and make your hair appear thicker and fuller. Of the ranges Hair Club has for sale, their EXT line is among the most powerful, and you can purchase it whether or not you enroll in the complete EXT program.

Supplements

Dietary supplementation against hair loss shows promise as a helping hand in your overall effort, but it may not be sufficient on its own for most patients. Common supplements include biotin and saw palmetto. Biotin is a protein that boosts the health of hair, nails, and skin. Saw palmetto performs well in hair loss studies when taken orally and has a significantly lower side effect profile than prescriptions like finasteride.

How does it work?

Hair replacement is a non-surgical intervention that takes time-tested techniques and brings them into the 21st century with advanced methods and materials. You can approach replacement in a few different ways depending on your goals and your stage of baldness, but there’s a form of replacement that should work for just about anybody. That makes it an especially good choice for individuals whose baldness might not stem from androgenetic alopecia.

Xtrands

Ideal for anyone in the early stages of baldness, Xtrands is a process in which a technician meticulously ties strands of natural or synthetic hair to your existing hairs. You’ll have the opportunity to select the hairs from a wide assortment of options, ensuring a close match for thickness and color.

Because the process is so involved, it can take quite a while, but in the end, you’ll have hair that looks just like your own covering any thin spots on your head. Once it’s in place, Xtrands hair can withstand anything regular hair can, from frequent washing and styling to swimming. If you live within striking distance of a Hair Club center, it would be wise to return for any future haircuts, as their salon stylists will know exactly how to cut your Xstrands hair to keep it looking just right.

Xtrands+

If your hair loss has progressed to the point where the basic Xtrands approach would be insufficient, Xtrands+ fills the gap. It still uses the technique of tying new hair to existing strands, but it combines that with the addition of a full head of natural or synthetic hair that attaches to your head with a medical-grade adhesive. To ensure a proper attachment, technicians will shave the top of your head if you still have some hair up there. That will allow the bond to last as long as possible and give the techs a specific point to blend your new hair into any existing hair.

In addition to selecting features like color and thickness, you can also match for density and natural whirl or shoot for an entirely new look altogether. This matching makes Xtrands+ a viable option for anyone who wants to experiment with a wildly different hairstyle than their natural hair might allow, whether or not they suffer from any hair loss.

Maintaining an Xtrands+ look is as simple as keeping normal hair healthy. You can wash it, style it, cut it and do just about anything else you like with it. However, it will require a few trips to a Hair Club center each year since natural hair growth and time can slowly interfere with the adhesive. Because of this regular maintenance, you’ll pay monthly for Xtrands packages, with prices starting around $289/month.

Hair extensions

For some people, hair loss manifests itself as a general thinning that doesn’t appear too obvious on the scalp but can leave a head of hair looking flat and lifeless. Some folks also simply want to get their hair looking longer and more luscious in short order, and for either group, hair extensions are a viable option. Hair Club’s extensions don’t differ too significantly from clip-in extensions you can get at just about any salon. However, their decades of experience and wide, high-quality hair selection does make them an excellent place to go if you aren’t sure who to trust for the job.

How does it work?

If you want a solution that doesn’t require regular trips to a Hair Club center, prescriptions of any kind, or an extensive array of products, hair restoration may be the right choice. The most common procedures are surgical, however, so they bear some increased risk compared to other methods. Hair Club restorations are a joint effort between Hair Club and Bosley.

FUE hair transplant

Follicular unit extraction (FUE) is the less intense of the two surgical options and would work best for patients whose hair loss hasn’t progressed too far. A surgeon will evaluate your scalp and select a donor area from which they will remove individual follicles to implant them in areas of baldness.

The surgery can last up to eight hours, though recovery time is short, with many patients resuming normal activities in a day or two. The cost, however, is high, with procedures ranging anywhere from $4,000 to $12,000 depending on the extensiveness of the surgery.

Biograft

Biograft utilizes follicular unit transplantation (FUT) for patients with more severe hair loss, which can be a better option than FUE since the technique can remove larger grafts of follicles with each incision. The technique also utilizes Hair Club’s Xtrands+ replacement methods, effectively combining a proven surgical solution with an effective non-surgical approach to thoroughly blend your transplanted hair with your natural hairline.

Because Biograft is a more advanced surgery that includes a reliable non-surgical procedure, it will cost you more than the basic unit extraction would. Modern methods of FUE and FUT are refined enough that there is usually no risk of scarring.

RestorInk

This process isn’t designed to give you a full head of hair, but it’s a maintenance-free solution that can look something like an intentional buzz cut or a full shave that’s had a little time to grow back. The RestorInk process is more or less a tattoo on your head that resembles tiny hairs. Up close, it might not be the most convincing option, especially for those in advanced stages of hair loss, but it can get the job done for many, and it’s ideal for straightening out hairlines that have begun to recede.

Hair Club centers are vital for access to just about all of their services and are especially important for EXT and Xtrands customers who require frequent visits. There are just 106 centers nationwide, so they can get pretty spread out, even in big city areas. Los Angeles has only two centers within a reasonable range for its residence. Denver has only one. There are three in New York City, including the five boroughs, but only one in Manhattan. The website offers an interactive map feature that can help you find the center closest to you.

If you need to travel a good distance to reach a Hair Club center, keep in mind that you’ll likely need to make more than one trip. Many procedures are time-intensive and can require the company to order specific hair to match yours. That means you’ll need at least one trip for your consultation and another for your procedure, plus any necessary follow-up visits.

It’s also worth noting that Hair Club operates on a franchise model, so their centers are owned and operated by individual entrepreneurs. Hair Club has its standards and practices they impose upon their franchisees, but it’s not easy to gauge how strictly they enforce them. If you have more than one center within your reach, be sure to look at reviews to compare them.

For added convenience, Hair Club centers are open Tuesday-Saturday, so folks with a regular 40-hour workweek can still find time to address their hair loss needs.

While androgenetic alopecia is not a common cause of hair loss in children, the phenomenon is far from unusual. Causes can range from endocrine problems and nutritional deficiencies to alopecia areata and even ringworm.

You could easily consider Hair Club for Kids to be the organization’s charitable arm since any qualifying children between six and 17 will receive treatment free of charge. More often than not, those treatments come from the Xtrands family of replacement techniques. Hair Club does not perform surgical hair restoration for children.

Hair Club offers a wide range of services, and the degree to which any one of them will apply to you depends mainly on the nature and severity of your hair loss. Someone who’s just begun to notice thinning hair around the crown of their head or a receding hairline will likely need less intensive treatment and pay less for it. On the other hand, those with advanced hair loss may find that surgical solutions and even Xtrands options may be too expensive for them.

It would be cynical to conclude that Hair Club has a vested interest in providing you with minimal pricing information, preferring instead to get you on the phone or in person where they can sell you harder. But we can’t deny that discovering concrete prices for any of their services beyond the product they have to sell is a challenge. If you ask their live chat to give you the most straightforward range of possible prices, they instantly pivot the conversation and start asking about your hair loss without answering your question.

The company does list a few starting prices or ranges on their site, but with no way to evaluate how your specific hair loss needs will affect those prices, you’re left hoping things won’t get too expensive.

To recap some of the pricing details we’ve discovered:

Haircare and regrowth products range from $16 for basic shampoos and conditioners up to $3,500 for top-of-the-line at-home laser treatment devices. If you choose to utilize the company’s EXT service and receive regular treatments at one of their centers, those packages’ prices start at $199/month.

Replacement options include Xtrands treatments and hair extensions. Both Xtrands and Xtrands+ are monthly subscriptions that include styling and maintenance services starting at $289/month.

Restoration is the most expensive treatment range, with RestorInk treatment starting at $1,200 and surgical FUE treatments starting at $4,000. Those surgical treatments can range well over $10,000 in some cases.

Hair Club centers accept cash and major credit cards, and they offer third-party financing, but centers are free to partner with whichever financial institutions they see fit. That means you could get the same treatment for the same price at two different centers and end up with disparate payment terms. Those can include higher interest rates, additional down payment requirements, stricter penalties for late or missed payments, and more.

Don’t expect Hair Club to take your insurance, HSA, or FSA, as virtually every insurance company denies any claim related to hair loss. There have been a few exceedingly rare circumstances in which a company granted some coverage. But to put it in perspective, insurers will not even pay for treatment if you’re going through chemotherapy and lose your hair. To them, that’s still a cosmetic concern. It couldn’t hurt to ask, especially if you have medical documentation surrounding your hair loss, but don’t get your hopes up.

For many people who struggle with hair loss, no amount of money would be too much to stop the process and get their hair back. But there are only so many of us for whom money is no object. For the rest of us, it’s worth considering which of Hair Club’s offerings deliver the most value.

In short, their regrowth and replacement options are very much worth it. Regrowth products and Hair Club’s EXT system contain ingredients and methods that show promise in study after study. And replacement is an instant, low-maintenance, and natural solution for many customers. Both replacement and the EXT experience require repeat visits to Hair Club centers, however. The farther away you live from your nearest center, the less valuable the proposition becomes, especially if you have to hop a plane or drive for hours on end to reach your destination.

Whether Hair Club’s surgical options suit you is a more personal question, as the process is minimally invasive but far more permanent. Xtrands allows you to choose a hair type that matches your own or to experiment with something new — new colors, textures, shapes, and more. But after surgery, you’re left with what your body produces. Of course, Hair Club’s Biograft combines surgical transplantation with Xtrands to get the best combination of natural hair and durable, versatile results, but this is by far the most expensive option.

Ultimately, you have to decide how much money, time, and maintenance your hair is worth to you. If that number is low — particularly for anyone whose hair loss has only just begun — you might want to stick with essential hair and scalp care products. Hair Club sells these, and you can get comparable products from companies like Hims and Keeps at prices that rival Hair Club.

Hair Club admittedly partners with marketing firms, data brokers, and other third parties that may have access to your identifying and non-identifying information gleaned through their platforms. They don’t get into specifics about their privacy protection practices or specify how they safeguard personal financial information.

Since the company does not deal with insurance providers, you don’t have to worry about your social security information or medical records falling into the wrong hands, but that doesn’t mean the system is impervious to bad actors. The safest course of action when it comes time to make any purchases will be to do so at a Hair Club center if you have one conveniently nearby.

At Innerbody Research, we customize our evaluation criteria depending on the type and nature of the health-related service or product. For health products and services, we have five areas that we use for our evaluations, including:

Quality: How well does the company deliver its core service(s) to the customer? For testing services, does the company adhere to the latest and most advanced testing technologies and achieve a very high degree of accuracy? For non-testing telehealth services, is the quality of the service high enough that we would recommend it to loved ones without hesitation? If not, why not?

User-friendly: How intuitive and user-friendly is the service? Does the device, program, app, or website achieve a good degree of user-friendliness for its customers?

Value: Are you getting your money’s worth? Are there any hidden costs or charges? Does the company offer discounts?

Privacy: If health data is stored, will your data be stored securely? Are payments secure?

Customer support: Particularly in situations where ‘one size fits all’ doesn’t make sense, how well does the company help to make the service ideal for you?