Here’s a recent question from a reader, regarding the hair transplant clinic known as Restore by Katoma. They have many celebrity endorsers, including Chicago-sport legends Brian Urlacher and Ryne Sandberg, and and are becoming a major player in the US hair-transplant market. Here’s his full inquiry:
Hey Robert, Thanks a lot for your work here. I have been on your site reading the last hour or so and feel a lot more comfortable after reading your content. I am 26 years old, and starting to experience a pretty bad receding hairline. It’s been coming on for 3 or 4 years now but its really started to get bad recently. It’s really starting to become stressful as there’s not much I can do with my hair but don’t fully feel comfortable buzzing it down to the point that I look fully bald.
I live in Chicago and there is a company called Restore by Katoma that is growing very popular and spending endless amounts on ad $\’s. They have billboards of athletes like Brian Urlacher all over the city. They do a great job with their marketing and seem very credible. From everything they’ve sent over, their results look outstanding. However, it seems like it will cost at least $10k.
While I have a pretty good job and likely could afford the procedure, I am still paying off college and just moved into a house with my girlfriend. I am hesitant to pull the trigger on a procedure of that price as I am kind of a cheap ass haha. However, I really think that it would relieve a lot of stress and I would hop that It would be a long term solution to my balding. After reading deep into all of your content, I truly trust your advice. Would you consider Restore to be a credible source for restoration? Do you think it’s worth the price tag? I’d love to get your feedback here and would be very grateful. Have a great night. Jordan
My Response
Hi Jordan,
From what I’ve gathered and read, Restore by Katoma is a legit operation. I don’t believe it’s a prototypical “hair farm” like some of the larger corporations are, though I imagine as it increases its market share, the quality could possibly diminish at the same time. I definitely haven’t reviewed all their work so I’d suggest checking out the hair loss forums, sites like realself, etc, if you’re looking in-depth user reviews on the company.
Whether or not a hair transplant is worth it for you is another question entirely. To begin your research, I’d suggest checking out my two articles, “Should You Get a Hair Transplant – 8 Factors to Consider” and the “Top 10 Dirty Secrets About Hair Transplants.” If money is a concern, you could consider getting a procedure done in Turkey…There are some great surgeons over there and the prices are much more affordable, there are also many horrible surgeons, so proceed with caution.
At 26 and considering you have significant hair loss already, based on what you said, you’ll probably need to be on some sort of preventative treatment for the procedure to be worth it. And minoxidil alone may not be enough if you want to maintain your results, which means you you’d have to at least consider using Propecia/finasteride. I have plenty of articles on that topic as well! Best of luck to you and thanks for your words of support!
Robert Price is a writer, consumer advocate, and hair loss researcher with thousands of hours of experience in the field. His goal is to keep you out of the hair loss rabbit hole, underworld, or whatever you want to call it. He founded Hair Loss Daily, the unbiased hair loss blog, in 2016. You can learn more about Robert in the my story section of this website.
Hi, it’s me again. Jordan might not agree with me, but I think he is a lucky guy to be going bald as such an early age. Oh, how I wish I had had his problem when I was his age! I envied my college classmates who were already going bald. I remember when my hairline receded to Norwood 2 ‘mature hairline’, I began to believe that I was starting to go bald and was thrilled, but when my hairline didn’t recede any further I was deeply disappointed. At the same time I was also relieved, because going bald was and still is so unacceptable that I was afraid of being rejected or even ridiculed and that no girl would want to date me. I really, really wanted to go bald, but I was conflicted. I wish male pattern baldness were not perceived so negatively in our culture. I wish there were a way I could get Jordan and everyone else like him not just accept MPB but actually like it, look forward to it and enjoy the experience of going bald. Once I realized I had nothing to fear and that my wife actually wanted me to go bald, it was so much fun to just relax and let my hair recede and disappear. And it was wonderful that it took me less than two years to go bald.
It sure beats anxiety and the pain and expense of hair transplants or the frustrations of marginally effective preventive treatments. But, male pattern baldness is obviously not for everyone, so I wish Jordan and everyone else like him the best of luck selecting the most pain free and effective ‘cure’ for hair loss. They will need all the help they can get, as MPB is deeply embedded In our DNA, is very common and is almost irresistible and irreversible. Good luck!