Take the hair loss checkHair check

How to choose a hair loss clinic

In shortA good hair loss clinic names the cause before it sells a treatment. A doctor or trained clinician examines your scalp, asks about your health, tells you what the evidence is, gives you the price in writing and lets you go home to think. If any of that is missing, try another clinic.

The hair loss check

Four taps, for adults. You'll see the likely type of hair loss, the treatments that fit and what they cost. Nothing is sent unless you choose to.

Step 1 of 6

Which are you?

What a first consultation should cover

  • Your history: when it started, family, health, medicines
  • A close look at the scalp, often with a magnifying camera
  • A diagnosis in plain words, or a referral to a GP or dermatologist if it isn't clear
  • The options, including doing nothing, with what each can and can't do
  • Costs in writing, and time to decide
A senior doctor explaining something to a patient at a desk

Eight questions to ask

  1. What type of hair loss do I have, and how sure are you?
  2. Is there a doctor here, and are they on the Medical Council register?
  3. Who will carry out the treatment?
  4. What does the evidence say for this treatment in my type of hair loss?
  5. What result should I expect, and by when?
  6. What are the side effects and risks?
  7. What is the total cost, including follow-ups and top-ups?
  8. What happens if it doesn't work?

Warning signs

  • No examination before a treatment plan
  • A promise of regrowth
  • Pressure to pay today, or a price that only holds today
  • One treatment recommended for every kind of hair loss
  • Before-and-after photos with different lighting, angle or hair length
  • No name for the doctor

Hair loss is never an emergency sale. If a clinic pushes you to pay a deposit on the day, walk away and take your time.

The kinds of clinic you'll meet

  • Doctor-led hair clinics: a doctor examines you and can prescribe. The widest range of options.
  • Transplant clinics: surgery first and foremost. Fine if a transplant is what you need; ask who holds the instruments.
  • Aesthetic clinics: PRP and similar injections alongside skin treatments. Ask how much of their work is hair.
  • Trichology clinics: assessment and scalp care, no prescribing.
  • Hair replacement studios: wigs, toppers and hair systems, and often the State grant paperwork.

Most are in the cities, with Dublin having by far the most. Our county pages show the nearest city from where you live.

How we fit in

The hair loss check shows the likely pattern and the options that fit. If you ask us to, we pass your answers to one Irish hair clinic, who contacts you. How this site works.

Questions people ask

Do I need a GP referral for a hair clinic?

No, but a GP visit first is wise if the cause isn't clear, and it costs less than most clinic consultations.

Are free consultations really free?

Often, at transplant clinics. Check who you'll see: a consultation with a salesperson is not the same as one with the doctor.

How do I check a doctor?

Search the Medical Council's public register by name. Hair restoration has no specialty of its own on that register, so ask what training the doctor has and how many of these procedures they do in a year.

How many clinics will contact me if I use the check?

One. We pass your answers to one Irish hair clinic, only if you ask and tick the consent box.

More guides

Our price guideYour GP and blood testsWho treats hair loss?Reading reviewsTurkey or Ireland?Treatment for menTreatment for womenWhich treatment works?FinasterideMinoxidilPRP for hair lossHair transplantLaser therapyScalp micropigmentationNatural treatmentsWigs and the grantMale pattern baldnessFemale pattern hair lossAlopecia areataSudden sheddingAfter pregnancyMenopauseCauses of hair lossReceding hairlineScalp problems

Find out what kind of hair loss it is

Four taps. You see the likely type, the treatments that fit and what they cost in Ireland. One clinic contacts you only if you ask, and nothing is booked until you say yes.

Take the hair loss check