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Online Hair Loss Restoration Sales

Men and Women Seek Hair Thickening Solutions on the Web

Jul 19, 2008

Haircut good, hair loss bad, turtlehawk2002@yahoo.com (morguefile 164349)

While online shoppers can easily buy hair restoration products on the Internet from the privacy of their homes, consumers should do their homework before ordering.

Forty years ago, television commercials would feature before-and-after photos to prove hair-thickening results. On-air spokesmen included Cy Sperling, president of the Hair Club for Men, and Chicago Black Hawks superstar Bobby Hull who lost his hair in front of millions of adoring sports fans.

Today, online drug stores including CVS.com, drugstore.com and walgreens.com offer a wide range of products for men and women looking for answers to their hair loss challenges.

The least expensive items are marketed as hair thickening products, followed by a more expensive portfolio centered around the words hair regrowth. Finally, the highest-cost items are sold as products to combat hair loss.

Note that the prices in this study do not include shipping costs, which the seller sometimes waives.

Hair Loss Products over $50

Of the three online pharmacies in this study, only Drugstore.com sells hair loss products for prices in excess of $50.

At Drugstore.com, two fluid ounces of DS Laboratories Spectral DNC Breakthrough Hair Loss Treatment costs $52.99. This product is blatantly marketed to clients in advanced stages of hair loss hoping for a miracle hair recovery. Similarly, 50 maximum-strength Viviscal Renewal Tablets also cost $52.99.

For $149, HairDX does not offer a solution to hair loss, but does help clients analyze which areas on their heads are genetically predisposed to future baldness. The objective of the HairDX screening test is to identify hair loss patterns early so that treatment can be initiated when there is a greater likelihood of success. Clients receive:

Two Isohelix DNA Swab Packs - each of which contains a swab, a collection tube and a cap
A postage-paid, return mailing envelope with the client’s order number printed on the label (Confidential test results are delivered to clients via a secure website after a certified laboratory performs the tests).\

The most expensive item for treating hair loss costs $249.99, a 3-month supply of Physicians Formulation Hair Regrowth Treatment for Men.

Hair Regrowth Products from $15.99 to $49.99

The lowest-price hair regrowth treatment on CVS.com is CVS Women's Hair Regrowth Treatment (unscented) for $15.99. CVS.com also has 2 CVS-branded extra strength hair regrowth treatments for men, with the twin pack selling for $28.99. The CVS hair regrowth package for women costs a dollar more, but includes two more ounces than the men’s version. CVS.com also offers 3 different versions of NuHair brand tablets each for $24.99. At $49.99, Rogaine’s Extra Strength 3-pack is for men who have a general thinning of hair on the top of the scalp but is not intended for frontal baldness or a receding hairline.

Drugstore.com has 16 hair regrowth products under $49.99. The least expensive of these is a one-month supply of Rite Aid Extra Strength Hair Regrowth for $19.99. Some products target specific demographic markets, like the University Medical Regenetresse Intensive Treatment System for Women with Thinning Hair at $25.99. Higher-priced products address their audiences fear of others finding out about their use of hair growth aids. Two examples are Frederic Fekkai More Nighttime Follicle Boosting Treatment for $35 and DS Laboratories Spectral.RS Breakthrough Treatment for Thinning Hair at $37.99. In addition, DS Laboratories Spectral.DNC-L Topical Treatment for Advanced Stages of Baldness costs $45.99 for two ounces.

Walgreen has 17 hair regrowth products, more than the other two online pharmacies in our study. Walgreen’s lowest-priced offering is its own unscented brand of Women's Minoxidil 2% Hair Regrowth Treatment, which matches the competitive CVS product at $15.99.

Hair Thickening Products for Under $18.

CVS.com sells two personal care products for $7.99 under hairstylist Marc Anthony brand called Instantly Thick Hair Thickening Cream and Shampoo. At $12.59, the online pharmacy also offers an 8-ounce can of Jason thickening conditioner for $12.59. CVS also has its own brand of unscented women hair regrowth treatments at $15.99 and extra strength hair regrowth regimes for men at $19.99.

Drugstore.com lists Avacor thickening shampoo at $8.09 for 6 ounces, while 5.1 ounces of Nioxin volumizing gel costs $9.49. Nioxin Scalp Therapy System 1 for Fine Hair goes for $17.99, as does Schwarzkopf’s hair tonic for men.

Walgreens.com also sells the Marc Anthony Instantly Thick Hair Thickening Shampoos for the same price as CVS.com. The Walgreens site also offers 3 other brands of hair thickening shampoos, creams and serums ranging from $6.99 to $13.99.

Conclusions on Online Hair Restoration Purchases

There was very little price differences for the regular prices for hair restoration products among the online drug stores in this study. Both CVS and Walgreens offer special discounts on selected products.

Potential clients should check with their family doctors before embarking on a potentially expensive and frustrating mission to regain what mother nature may have genetically programmed their hairlines to do.

Cy Sperling? He’s no longer president of Hair Club for Men. And Bobby Hull? Rumour is that the Golden Jet wears a weave.

The copyright of the article Online Hair Loss Restoration Sales in Buying Online is owned by Daniel Workman. Permission to republish Online Hair Loss Restoration Sales in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.