Hello!
I realize that this thread started quite some time ago, but I saw a fairly recent response too.
I've never gone the HT route, but I'll confess that in my 20s it was a thought. The advertising can be very convincing, and most folks didn't have the internet back then.
There was no opposing voice, no tragic photos, just the professionally made commercials on tv. Even so, it was very noticable that LIGHTING was a huge factor in the Before/After photos. Something obvioulsy dishonest was going on!
"Before" photos usually had a sad looking dude with a blotchy pale balding scalp, facing forward and down.
"After" almost always had a differently-lit photo, smiling tanned guy with his head tilted back, waaaayyy back, hair combed and gelled...
But when judgement is clouded by insecurity, and contracts are worded to trap young guys.... The results can be read on this link, which many of you may have already seen.
I'm SO glad I didn't go that route, but I did consider it. I wish there was a way that everyone considering HTs could have access to these stories, to weigh them against the shady dishonest advertisers who have the resources to present their claims as truth. Read on...
http://home1.gte.net/dschrode/newtransplant-tales.htm