Some dishonest doctors suggest that you try a few hair transplant grafts to see if you like them. They may suggest that a few grafts do not commit you to a complete course. This is not true. Like it or not, as you progress in your hair loss process, a small number of grafts are likely to create a medical oddity at some point in the future. The following is a list of rules to follow when looking for a hair transplant physician:

• Avoid doctors who use salesmen or non-medical people with no experience or formal training.
• Avoid doctors who use promotions or pressure you into making a decision.
• Avoid doctors who do not spend enough time to listen to your needs and understand your goals.
• Avoid doctors who quote you unrealistically low or high amounts of work, time, or money.
• Avoid doctors who tell you that their patients will not show off their results.
• Avoid doctors or salesman who tell you only good stories. Are they trying to hide something? Do they have the rapport with their patients that they claim? There are always down sides to any surgical procedure and these must be part of the information relayed to you.
  Are your doctor and his staff honest and forthright about the potential downside? Proper informed consent is required by law.
• Avoid doctors who specialize in minigrafts and recommend performing monthly sessions. If subsequent transplants are performed before the previously transplanted hair grows, the previous grafts may not be
  identified and could be damaged.

Until recently, anyone trying to find accurate information about hair replacement has faced a confusing and difficult task. Much of the literature about various hair restoration options aimed to sell you something. Deliberately confusing advertising from wig salesmen, surgeons experimenting with new techniques, and charlatans who scrub clogged pores to cure balding, were some of the obstacles one had to deal with. There is often a fine line between ignorance and incompetence in the hair restoration field, so the buyer of these services must exercise careful judgment when reviewing the material.

Doctors or scientists usually announce advances in medicine to their peers in medical or scientific journals. The public finds out about them later via mass media. This has not always been the case with hair restoration advances, as promotions by physicians often create false impressions of what is possible in terms of treatment.

Sophisticated techniques for hair restoration that achieve truly natural-looking results have only become available relatively recently. Unfortunately, many doctors practicing hair restoration are unaware of these advances. Widespread ignorance prevails throughout the medical profession on the subject of hair. Hair transplantation, as developed in the late 1950s, is still practiced with the large-graft techniques that produce a pluggy or patchy look.

In any field, advertising is an important way to educate the public, especially in the early phase of an industry's growth. Hair restoration physicians have used advertising for years. Because of the marketing in the late 1990's of Rogaine by Upjohn Company and Propecia by Merck, consumer awareness has reached a new peak. Many people want their hair back, as sales figures for Rogaine indicate. Good specialists in any field are hard to find, and understanding what your real options are can be very confusing. In surgical solutions, a mistake with the wrong hair restoration procedure or the wrong doctor can be a mistake for life. The problem that confronts prospective buyers is how to recognize a doctor's ability, honesty, and his or her standards in a specialized field where exaggerated claims abound.

Beware of slick brochures and claims that appear outstanding on the surface. Mentally subtract the glitz, and see if the written material has merit without the glossy pictures. Be dubious when literature displays beautiful women inappropriately. Do some research and see if the claims are accurate. If a brochure claims to condemn salesmen in the early presentation of the subject material, see if the medical group practices what they preach. Do they use salesmen as a primary advertising tactic? If the medical group invites you to meet with a doctor, do you actually get to meet with a doctor? Is the service personalized? Do patients have easy access to the physician after his fees are paid?