CONSUMER
WARNING ABOUT
BOSLEY HAIR CLINICS AND BOSLEY.COM WEBSITE
A
non-profit site for consumers who want more information about hair loss
treatments. Knowledge is power.
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Consumer Red
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Summary: The Bosley hair restoration business has been the subject of numerous patient complaints, lawsuits, and violations relating to its medical procedures, advertising, and business practices.
News:
Bosley Cheats!
It turns out it fakes the biggest part of its marketing
Bosley admitted it exaggerates the effectiveness of its treatments saying it uses special photography tricks and makeup to enhance the "after" results shown in ads. This proves it doesn't care about deceiving the public as long as it can lure customers to meet its sales quotas.
Although authorities may require disclaimers to prevent consumers from being misled they can be hidden in fine print.
'Doctored' Ads
New Website: Bosley May Soon Be Obsolete
Anyone who is considering Bosley or hair restoration in general should check out the non-profit website BosleyReview.org.
The site describes Bosley's sales centric business model, how patients can be forced into wigs or other treatments, and how Bosley hair transplants could soon become obsolete if you believe its medical director (stem cell therapies).
New Site at BosleyReview.org
Study Contradicts Bosley Marketing Claims
"The hair grafts transplanted may not last permanently" is the conclusion of an unbiased examination of the longevity of hair transplant results. In the largest study of its kind 90% of patients experienced thinning or degrading hair transplants after four years. "Recipient site influences" were thought to be partly to blame.
This is something Bosley is well aware of and many patients have experienced. The long term thinning and disappearance of hair grafts has been acknowledged by leading members of the ISHRS, a society Bosley subscribes to. Here is the study link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8061642
Bosley Settles Class Action Lawsuit
From Bloomberg Law 11/22/2022:
"Hair-restoration clinic Bosley Inc. will pay $500,000 to settle a
proposed class action arising from an August 2020 ransomware attack and
data
breach that exposed the personal information of more than 100,000
people."
The Plaintiffs (former clients) said Bosley lied about security measures and protecting their information then committed fraud by concealing a data breach for months because it was afraid it would hurt business. As a result Bosley's clients have a diminished value of PII and heightened risk of identity theft for their lifetimes. Despite this the settlement averages out to a paltry $5 per person.
True to its nature of preferring to keep customers in the dark Bosley did not bother to provide an explanation or honest accounting of what happened.
See the lawsuit page for more details about the case.
The Medical Board finished its investigation and reached a decision in this case resulting in disciplinary action against Bosley's Assistant Medical Director (see below).
INVESTIGATION OF VIOLATIONS (2018-2020) The Attorney General and Medical Board of California filed a case for unlawful and unethical conduct at Bosley
The
charges
included
Violating the Standard of Care, Repeated Negligent Acts, and Aiding and
Abetting the Unlicensed Practice of Medicine.
More information available at www.mbc.ca.gov
Make sure to look out for your own interest and read the fine print. Bosley is known for setting up credit patients with onerous contracts and exorbitant fees.
Class Action
NEWS
Hostile Workplace
Claims/Disclaimers
Fear Factor
Conflicting Advice
Targeting Women
Sales Incentives
No Refunds
Crisis Response
The Board said numerous violations took place at Bosley's main office in Beverly Hills which acts as a model for its other locations.
Charges Filed for Violations at Bosley HQ
In a case that shed light on
sleazy and illegal practices at Bosley hair clinics the Medical Board
of California asserted that
non-medical personnel were allowed to diagnose and make recommendations to
patients and perform important parts of the surgery. The case stemmed from
a patient who repeatedly tried to get help after
suffering complications including pain and swelling during the
weeks and months following a procedure but got little empathy or response.
(Update) Bosley Doctor Disciplined / Put on Probationary Terms
Bosley physician and Assistant Medical Director David Paul Deutsch has been disciplined and put on probationary terms after he admitted to several allegations and charges brought against him in a Medical Board complaint including lying to prospective patients about being board certified.
Read the Stipulated Settlement and Disciplinary Order here
(Complaint, cont.) Among the eye opening details of the case—right before surgery Bosley allowed a salesperson without any official health care training or license to consult with a patient about his important drug and medical history, and "all physicians at the Bosley Medical Group are independent contractors", which means they don't even work for Bosley.
A Hostile Environment Conflict at Bosley
John Ohanesian v. Bosley
In an ironic and cruel twist for former patients John Ohanesian, former CEO in charge while Bosley scammed thousands of people with bogus ads and ineffective surgery, is suing Bosley complaining they are trying to cheat him (case active in 2020).
During his stint Ohanesian launched legal action aimed at shutting down websites that provided consumers with detailed information about Bosley's medical violations.
Under his watch Bosley was repeatedly sanctioned by authorities for blatant acts of false and misleading advertising
Unfair Workplace
Many reviews describe Bosley as a difficult place to work with a throwback management style.
As an example the Medical Assistants (mainly women), who perform the bulk of the procedure including the preparation and placing of the grafts, are paid barely above minimum wage.
Who's Doing the Surgery
For a $15,000 five hour procedure a Medical Assistant on a surgical team is paid only about $70.
From job portal Indeed.com:
"Average Bosley hourly pay ranges from approximately $14.15 per hour for Medical Assistant to $15.02 per hour for Office Assistant"
Copy Wrong
Dr. says Bosley copied hair transplant methods and YouTube video
Florida hair doctor Brett Bolton filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming Bosley stole his company's marketing video from YouTube, rebranded it under the Bosley name and linked it to their website.
In its court response Bosley said the royalty-free license granted by YouTube made it legal to copy and redistribute Bolton's video, plus he freely allowed his competition to use his surgical methods.
Bosley has been involved in litigation with more than twenty doctors
Claims and Disclaimers
Bosley's business model allows it to make representations with limited
accountability to unhappy patients. Although ads must carry disclaimers
(due to disciplinary action)
they
are
often buried in the fine print.
The doctors can say they have no responsibility for what is in Bosley's marketing materials or pass the blame further down to the salespeople. Patients who complain are often chastised for having "unrealistic expectations".
Who is Bosley?
The Bosley Medical
Institute, or Bosley, is named after founder and infomercial
pitchman L. Lee Bosley. His continual pattern of deceptive advertising
and medical board violations made him the most
widely
disciplined physician in the country. (source: Public Citizen
consumer advocacy group)
Dr. Bosley claimed to have invented the scalp reduction, one of the most destructive and ineffectual procedures ever performed.
Ad Nauseam
Bosley infomercials loop the
same material and you can spend up to a half hour without learning anything. The
patient examples leave out important
details like what types and how many
procedures were performed and the
costs.
The slickly-produced videos employ tricks to boost the impression of results including makeup and dyes, topical concealers or keratin fibers (fake hair), creative hair styles and combovers, and selective lighting and camera angles.
The paid-for testimonials fail to mention other treatments and drugs that were used and procedures performed by other medical groups.
Court documents revealed that Bosley spends as much as a third of its revenue on advertising and promotion.
Bosley Sells Drug After Denouncing It
After slamming the drug finasteride (a.k.a. Propecia) for having
vicious side effects including impotence, or
erectile
dysfunction,
Bosley now promotes and sells it, leaving consumers scratching their
heads.
Bosley's Negative Stance on Propecia
Information Is Your Wild Card
Using
practices like selective disclosure (not telling the whole truth to
potential patients) and
Sales Incentives
and Bonuses consumers may not realize Bosley has stacked
the deck against them.
Bosley Text Robots? (Bosley Medical Accused of Violating Federal Law)
A
class action lawsuit was filed in 2017 against Bosley in U.S.
District Court alleging violation of the Telephone Consumer
Protection Act, or TCPA. The plaintiff says he and other consumers
incurred call charges and lost valuable time as a result of unsolicited
text messages.
LegalNewsLine
The suit says Bosley uses automatic telephone dialing equipment with the capacity to store and dial telephone numbers without human intervention in an effort to solicit more clients.
Fear Factor When
having a medical procedure most of us worry about getting the wrong
information or worse yet finding out it was all for nothing.
UFC commentator Joe Rogan says he fell for the hair replacement
surgery sales pitch.
After visiting an office and viewing before and after pictures he was convinced it would be a sure thing. He now says it was one his biggest mistakes of his life (not only was it ineffective it left him with scarring).
After undergoing multiple procedures Rogan now sports a shaved head.
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Many are surprised at how invasive these procedures can be and wonder why they weren't warned. To share a negative experience about Bosley: info@bosleymedicalviolations.com |
Feedback |
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The Grafts Stopped Growing The part in ads where it says the replacement hair is permanent isn't true. Over time it can thin and fall out like other hair (and did!) in my case - 90% of the grafts eventually died. |
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Paying Extra to Heal? Can't help but feeling gouged...the Bosley office charged me over $500.00 in extras for meds in what they call a post op healing "kit", which I would have thought most doctors would have included for free. I later found out by reading others experiences that it may have been optional. I guess the lesson here is not to trust anyone and do your research first. |
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Warning to Newbies You have stumbled across one of the worst, most heartless companies there is. Take your virgin heads and run away now while you still can! (Note to noobs: A "virgin" head is one that has not been cut up by surgery -something that is very good to have) If you have not proceeded yet thank your lucky stars you may have avoided one of the biggest traps of your life. |
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No Redo I went to Bosley to have treatment for thinning hair in the front of my head. I paid $12,000 for the procedure. I returned in one year. I had pictures to show what I looked like when I started with them, and what I look like now. The Doctor who saw me said they would do it over, at no charge. After careful consideration with my personal physicians, I decided that it would just be too much for me to go through one more time. I asked for my money back. Needless to say, I still have not received a penny from them. |
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Conflicting Advice / Confused Patient After receiving separate consults from both a Counselor and a doctor I was very confused as they told me very different things and contradicted each other. Since I spent more time with the Counselor I ended up following his advice and had a procedure which turned out to be a huge mistake. Afterwards I learned I don't have enough donor hair to make an improvement which is common for people with a large balding pattern. |
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Dr. Yates, who worked for Bosley for over 5 years, recently prevailed in a breach of contract suit that Bosley Medical Group brought against him after he left to go to work for their competitor, Ziering Medical. more |
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Doctor Blames Patient for Scarring
Dr. David Alpeter, who works at Bosley's office in New York, was sued by a patient who complained of widened scarring, excessive pulling of the scalp, and hair and skin loss after his 2nd Bosley surgery. After cutting out a chunk of the patient's scalp over 12 inches long, and then another section during the same day, Dr. Alpeter speculated that the widened scar may have been caused by the patient's "poor healing response" or "genetic disposition to scarring". |
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Keep in mind that even if you're assured by a Bosley "Counselor" that you're a good candidate for surgery this may merely be a sales tactic to sell you a procedure, as most Counselors have no formal medical credentials whatsoever and are not qualified to give medical advice. From a WebMD article: "According to experts a very small percentage of women are candidates for hair transplant surgery. About 2% to 5% of women with hair loss will benefit from this type of procedure." - Source: American Hair Loss Association |
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What's Their Motivation? / Sales Incentives People who assume objective advice from medical providers can be at a disadvantage if they don't know that Bosley gives incentives and rewards based on the number of surgical procedures that are sold, from upper management down to its sales force (a.k.a. Counselors). Even its doctors can be biased toward pushing surgery when their compensation is tied to their branch's sales. A business journal article revealed that an employment contract for a Bosley doctor guaranteed him a compensation of $10,000 a month plus a percentage of “adjusted charges” received by the practice, from 5.5 percent during his first year to 8.5 percent in the sixth year of the agreement. He was also entitled to a “super bonus” of 6 percent of the annual adjusted charges over $1.9 million. |
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Emergency Response Some warn that Bosley assembly line methods can cause the doctors to become unaware of what's going on around them. If you worry about their ability to respond in an emergency this will not comfort you: A male patient ended up with permanent disability after he had a stroke during a Bosley procedure and the staff failed to take action, according to a civil jury*. The Plaintiffs said that during the procedure the patient began convulsing yet the procedure wasn't stopped and the patient was sent home as usual though he could not walk or talk. When the patient's wife phoned the Bosley office for help they told her that his failure to come out of anesthesia was a result of pain medications and "not to worry." *Los Angeles Superior Court BC445812 2010-2013 (thanks to juryverdictalert.com) |
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Ex-Bosley
Doctor Claims Racial Discrimination
Some
disturbing claims from a former Bosley physician about their business
practices: According to a Law360.com article William D. Yates, who is
African-American, claims Bosley discriminated against blacks by
charging them more for hair procedures than white customers, and
that the company discriminated against him personally by directing more
patients to an equally skilled white physician.
and are far worse off than before,
both from a cosmetic standpoint
and from the physical
damage the procedures caused. They say Bosley's staff failed to warn
them about the side effects including damage to their natural hair.
No-Refund
Policy 
Before handing your credit card to a Bosley salesperson or Counselor
for a deposit on a procedure know about their policies. After
canceling surgery ten days in advance a customer was surprised when Bosley wouldn't return their deposit. When trying to dispute the charge with
the credit card company they got the response "We regret to inform
you that we are not able to assist you as the merchant has a
no-cancellation and no-refund policy". This
policy can discourage patients from backing out of surgery and penalizes
those who want to change their minds or need more time to make a better
informed decision.
FTC Settles Charges Against Bosley The Federal Trade Commission has imposed restrictions on Bosley after alleging it shared pricing information with competitors, an illegal practice that can result in higher prices. article
On a related note Bosley's parent company Aderans, a Japanese wigmaker, has acquired Hair Club, known for its infomercial "hair systems". Consumers should be alert that Hair Club now trys to steer clients over to Bosley offices for surgery.
Next: Patient Stories
. 
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