As you can imagine, there is no hard and fast rule that will 100% highlight a scam, but I've compiled a general checklist that you can compare them against, and use as a guide to make your decision...
- Don't get drawn in... first and foremost, don't get drawn in by the words they use. Any advert hoping to gain money on at best vague promises will use tempting words that hope to draw you in. Take a step back and look at what they are actually promising, not what they are writing - is it faster hair growth or stimulation, healthier locks or damage repair. A lot (but not all) supplements will have some basis in truth and may well help in some cases, but they aren't miracle workers, so the promises have to at least be realistic, and you have to be sure it is what you want and need.
- Is it realistic...? Whilst hairloss still has some medical mysteries, there are some agreed facts and triggers, even if it isn't fully understood. There are also a set number of treatments which are medically approved and clinically recommended and only these will have some likelihood of helping significantly reduce or reverse hairloss. Anything else is likely at best to have minor benefits, if they can help at all. If in doubt, you can also ask a Doctor or Clinician about the claims, but it should be fairly obvious if they are overselling the product.
- Has it been in the News? A cure for hairloss would be worth billions on the market, whether as an over-the-counter product or a prescription only medicine, a pharmaceutical company would LOVE to bring it to market. If it hasn't been in the news (on a credible website) at some point, then it is likely that any big claims will be grossly overstated.
- Look for the obvious... Is it spelled correctly? Does it make sense? Don't get me wrong, spelling isn't everyone's forte and we won't all be perfect (I myself have spotted a few typos on this blog), but things should be spelled correctly most of the way through. Obvious errors can give an indication that the company is less than professional. You should also take the product name and Google it - it should pop up multiple times and have the same sort of promises, written in lots of different ways.
- Are there reviews? Reviews can be hugely beneficial to determine whether a product may work, but they are also opinion based. First, make sure the review is from someone you trust - a friend, a blog you follow and have tried something from before, someone else in the same position as you etc. It should be independent though and not on the first blog / article / resource that you come across, because they can of course be faked too! It's also worth noting that unless a photo is time-stamped from the camera, time between photos can be adjusted to suggest better or faster results than actually exist.
- Is it clinically tested? This is probably the single most important one... Is a product clinically and independently tested? Whilst a plant extract that *may* promote glossy hair won't need to be clinically tested, it equally won't have significant benefits either. If a product promises full regrowth or six times faster growth, then it will need clinical testing and it will have scientifically proven results and probably a write-up in a medical journal too. This is the case with the JAKs inhibitors which had much media attention at the end of last year, and which have yet to be fully researched let alone released on the market.
Victoria x
www.prettybald.co.uk Twitter: @PrettyBald
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