Don't Fall For The Marketing Hype

A U.S. FIRM HAS EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS TO DERMAL RETENTION® NEW EUROPEAN BALDNESS TREATMENT The Appearance of Growing Hair Has Been Perfected!
by Michael Anthony

Finally a New Incredible Procedure has been developed to infuse hair. A release factor stronger than ever thought possible has been achieved. There are no surgical risks with this procedure and feelability factors are that of a natural head of hair. Hair filaments have successfully been interfused to provide the appearance of growing hair. Hairlines can now be created and thinning hair can be thickened. The results are eight to ten times thicker hair than a hair transplant and without surgical discomfort. No daily on and off conventional type solid base hairpiece applications. Developed with European Technology, the Medical Grade Interfusion Solution and Hair Replacement Service is now being marketed by the name Dermal Retention® in the United States and Canada. U.S. and Canadian sales will be in the millions of dollars for this exclusive procedure. This is the first real alternative to surgical hair transplants. Results can be achieved in one or two treatment visits. Fees range from $2000 to $8500 for this procedure

Source- United Micro Systems Sales Literature

This is the Truth Behind The Marketing Hype

A Camden County company has agreed to pay almost $300,000 to settle charges that it defrauded customers with a bogus hair-replacement system.

United Micro Systems Inc. of Voorhees was accused by New Jersey regulators of charging consumers as much as $8,500 for what was promoted as a "permanent" hair replacement process that involved nothing more than gluing toupees to the clients' scalps.

A Camden County Superior Court judge had previously ordered frozen the assets of a Voorhees company, accused by New Jersey of allegedly selling a bogus "hair replacement system". The order by Camden County Superior Court Judge Theodore Z. Davis followed a lawsuit filed by New Jersey against United Micro Systems, Inc ("UMS"), Promenade North, Suite 3018, Main St., Voorhees.

The State's complaint alleged that UMS repeatedly made false and misleading claims in Internet advertisements and in national magazines about the "Dermal Retention" system in an effort to con balding men and women into spending thousands of dollars on its services. The complaint also alleged UMS charged victims across the country and in Canada anywhere from $2,000 to $8,000 to undergo an alleged "permanent" hair replacement process that involved gluing toupees to clients' scalps.

The suit also named UMS' former owner, Karen Levine, Cherry Hill; UMS' current owner and president, William Fillmyer, Delran; and Fillmyer's assistant, Robert Calderone, Delran. Donna Anthony, an employee of UMS responsible for carrying out the Dermal Retention procedure; Ann Scaricamazza, UMS' customer service manager; and Robert Pease, office manager and sales consultant were also named in the suit as defendants.

The State's complaint alleged that UMS' advertisements touted Dermal Retention as "the secret of the Rich and Famous" and that it was virtually permanent and maintenance-free and had a 98.1 percent success rate. The company and its representatives also allegedly misled potential clients into believing that individual clusters of hair would be attached to their scalps by a "medical grade interfusion solution" that was "formulated for the scalp and approved by the FDA as a Class Six Medical Skin Adherent."

In fact, customers complained that defendants Anthony and Scaricamazza, both licensees of the New Jersey Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling, merely attached toupees to their scalps with glue. Anthony and Scaricamazza's names are being referred to the Board for possible disciplinary action against their licenses.

The complaint also alleged that customers complained that the hairpieces looked far from natural and came loose within a matter of days.

Many out-of-town clients were also forced to pay hundreds of dollars extra in traveling and lodging expenses on top of the thousands of dollars they spent to have the procedure done.

Several of the individuals named in the State's suit, were also former employees of International Cosmetics Laboratories, Inc., ("ICL"), another company that marketed a fraudulent baldness cure called the "cosmetic suture process." Consumer Affairs prosecuted ICL in 1994 for peddling a bogus baldness cure. ICL eventually went bankrupt.

The State's complaint against UMS also alleged that the company:

• Fraudulently misrepresented that Dermal Retention is permanent and that it would create an individual hair effect;
  
• Promised consumers that the hair replacement process would create a natural effect including an undetectable hairline;
  
• Used false and misleading before-and-after photographs in its promotional and informational materials to prove to consumers the success of Dermal Retention.
  
• Promised consumers that Dermal Retention was backed up by a warranty and satisfaction guarantee.

Former clients had complained that the company barely responded to their complaints and never offered to refund their money, the state alleged.

The State's suit sought to revoke UMS' corporate charter in New Jersey and to have it and the other defendants pay restitution to affected consumers as well as civil penalties. To settle the case the company agreed to pay almost $300,000.

Unfortunately it seems that the company is still in business and is operating under a new name. Consumers should be aware that there are no non-surgical methods for attaching hair on the scalp without it being some form of a hair system. Hair systems generally cost anywhere from several hundred dollars to around $3000 for a custom made piece. Any salesman who claims they can add hair to your existing hair without surgery is selling you a hair system, regardless of whether they called it Dermal Retention or any other fancy name. Do not get ripped off by these unscrupulous salesmen.