I have used Belgravia Centre for the past 2/3 years, and I have stopped this year due to price. By using alternatives to Belgravia Centre, I saved £800 a year.
Using numbering below to enable Belgravia Centre to easily respond to this review.
1) Belgravia Centre are NOT doctors, they are simply a pharmacy. I was never seen by a single doctor at Belgravia Centre, only a pharmacist during the first visit (and never again in person thereafter). Everyone else I saw in white lab coats (to take photos of my hairline) are not medically qualified.
2) TOP TIP 1: If you’re worried about hair loss, first go see your GP as they can prescribe finasteride. I did this and got a private prescription (which is what you get at Belgravia Centre). The GP stated that for minoxidil, I could get Regaine over the counter/online without a prescription.
3) TOP TIP 2: If you don’t/can’t see your GP, go to your local or reputable online pharmacist. They do the same checks and provide the same pharmacy service as Belgravia Centre, but saving you £800 a year!
4) At Belgravia Centre, I spent £1,180 a year for finasteride and 2 minoxidil solutions (5% solution which is the same as Regaine and a 12% cream). My yearly cost through online pharmacies is now £385 a year, saving me £800 a year as follows:
i) I got finasteride (1mg) from Pharmacy2U priced at £80 for a 6 month supply, but you can use any reputable online pharmacy or your local pharmacy.
ii) I got Regaine 5% solution from Boots, which is currently priced at £225 for 12 months. Be sure to shop around though as there are always offers available!
iii) Belgravia Centre will ‘sell’ you on stronger minoxidil solutions (12% cream) or the laser head band (which I also bought for circa £400!), but there was no scientific, medical research-based reason for using these other products, which are more expensive. If a stronger minoxidil solution did have a better impact based on medical research, do you not think the global company behind Regaine would’ve identified this and produced a product? If Belgravia Centre has medical research-backed evidence for these extra products, please share them in response to this review.
5) There are some earlier 1-star reviews that highlight the total lack of pricing transparency by Belgravia Centre, and this is true. I think this is so that Belgravia Centre can use our vulnerabilities to charge whatever they can get away with, which was the case with me.
This year, I asked Belgravia Centre by email repeatedly for a breakdown of my total cost of £1,180 for my three products (finasteride (1mg), and minoxidil x2 (5% solution and 12% cream)). Despite repeated requests to Belgravia Centre, the breakdown of my total cost was NEVER provided (which may be contrary to the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977), I was only provided with my total cost (£1,180) and the individual product price, which I quote from Belgravia Centre’s email directly here:
“Minoxidil 5% (once a day application): £473/year
Finasteride 1mg tablet: £607/year
Minoxidil 12.5%: £696/year”.
I cannot believe that there may be users of Belgravia Centre who could be paying up to £1,776 a year for equivalent products that you can get for £385 as highlighted above.
6) Some users of Belgravia Centre may find value in their check up services. These are where you can go into their premises and be seen by one of their staff in a white lab coat (not doctors or medically qualified) to have photos taken of your hairline. I found the photographs of my hairline to be useful, but not worth the £800 difference in cost highlighted above (and I could ask someone to do this for considerably less than £800!). Also, the onus was on me to arrange this check up, so it’s not a formal, proactive service that Belgravia Centre offered me.
I have used Belgravia Centre for the past 2/3 years, and I have stopped this year due to price. By using alternatives to Belgravia Centre, I saved £800 a year.
Using numbering below to enable Belgravia Centre to easily respond to this review.
1) Belgravia Centre are NOT doctors, they are simply a pharmacy. I was never seen by a single doctor at Belgravia Centre, only a pharmacist during the first visit (and never again in person thereafter). Everyone else I saw in white lab coats (to take photos of my hairline) are not medically qualified.
2) TOP TIP 1: If you’re worried about hair loss, first go see your GP as they can prescribe finasteride. I did this and got a private prescription (which is what you get at Belgravia Centre). The GP stated that for minoxidil, I could get Regaine over the counter/online without a prescription.
3) TOP TIP 2: If you don’t/can’t see your GP, go to your local or reputable online pharmacist. They do the same checks and provide the same pharmacy service as Belgravia Centre, but saving you £800 a year!
4) At Belgravia Centre, I spent £1,180 a year for finasteride and 2 minoxidil solutions (5% solution which is the same as Regaine and a 12% cream). My yearly cost through online pharmacies is now £385 a year, saving me £800 a year as follows:
i) I got finasteride (1mg) from Pharmacy2U priced at £80 for a 6 month supply, but you can use any reputable online pharmacy or your local pharmacy.
ii) I got Regaine 5% solution from Boots, which is currently priced at £225 for 12 months. Be sure to shop around though as there are always offers available!
iii) Belgravia Centre will ‘sell’ you on stronger minoxidil solutions (12% cream) or the laser head band (which I also bought for circa £400!), but there was no scientific, medical research-based reason for using these other products, which are more expensive. If a stronger minoxidil solution did have a better impact based on medical research, do you not think the global company behind Regaine would’ve identified this and produced a product? If Belgravia Centre has medical research-backed evidence for these extra products, please share them in response to this review.
5) There are some earlier 1-star reviews that highlight the total lack of pricing transparency by Belgravia Centre, and this is true. I think this is so that Belgravia Centre can use our vulnerabilities to charge whatever they can get away with, which was the case with me.
This year, I asked Belgravia Centre by email repeatedly for a breakdown of my total cost of £1,180 for my three products (finasteride (1mg), and minoxidil x2 (5% solution and 12% cream)). Despite repeated requests to Belgravia Centre, the breakdown of my total cost was NEVER provided (which may be contrary to the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977), I was only provided with my total cost (£1,180) and the individual product price, which I quote from Belgravia Centre’s email directly here:
“Minoxidil 5% (once a day application): £473/year
Finasteride 1mg tablet: £607/year
Minoxidil 12.5%: £696/year”.
I cannot believe that there may be users of Belgravia Centre who could be paying up to £1,776 a year for equivalent products that you can get for £385 as highlighted above.
6) Some users of Belgravia Centre may find value in their check up services. These are where you can go into their premises and be seen by one of their staff in a white lab coat (not doctors or medically qualified) to have photos taken of your hairline. I found the photographs of my hairline to be useful, but not worth the £800 difference in cost highlighted above (and I could ask someone to do this for considerably less than £800!). Also, the onus was on me to arrange this check up, so it’s not a formal, proactive service that Belgravia Centre offered me.
