"When Heidi Imhof started losing her hair at  she also started losing sleep. Ms. Imhof a lawyer was afraid that blowdrying her straight dark hair would hasten the shedding so she got up two hours early to shower and apply mousse and volumizers. When her hair finally airdried shed pull it back hoping to hide the bald patches on her scalp. I was desperate she said. The hair thickening shampoo Nioxin didnt help. Neither did Rogaine. Then she heard about Harklinikken http a Danish company offering a customized hair extract thats given only to those who pass a fairly rigorous selection process. Ms. Imhof who lives in Land OLakes Fla. was skeptical. The companys before and after photos seemed too good to be true. But she went for a consultation and made the cut. Harklinikkens products are not available to anyone with autoimmune illnesses like alopecia or baldness from scarring or anyone who is unlikely to see at least a  percent increase in growth. Skin Deep https Tips and trends for hair makeup and more.    Laura Harriers Awards Season Beauty SecretsJan.   https   How SkinCare Companies Are Tackling Issues Faced by Women of ColorDec.   https   This Winter Dont Just Sit by a Crackling Fire. Smell Like It Too.Dec.   https   Felicity Jones on Becoming Ruth Bader GinsburgDec.   https After three months of applying the amonth serum Ms. Imhof was so excited by the results that she overcame her embarrassment about the subject and posted her own beforeandafter photos on Facebook.  You cant see holes in my hair anymore she said. Harklinikken hair clinic in Danish inspires great loyalty. Four out of five users come as referrals from satisfied customers said Lars Skjoth the companys founder and chief scientist. The results are certainly compelling. After four months of daily application  that is working the teacolored tonic into the hair section by section then letting it sit on the scalp for six hours  most users regain at least  percent of lost density and some as much as  percent according to company figures. Harklinikken does not advertise but the yearold multinational company is beginning an aggressive expansion into the . billion hairloss market in the United States meaning youre likely to hear a lot more about it. A New York clinic opened in June inside the Core Club http in Midtown you dont need to be a member to get an appointment and in August Harklinikken consultations became available at some  Womens Care Florida obstetrics and gynecology clinics. Roughly  percent of the companys  active users are female. Mr. Skjoth said the plan is to have a presence in every state in the next two years. The company recently opened outposts in Tampa Fla. and Beverly Hills Calif. Panos Vasiloudes a Tampa dermatologist and Harklinikkens medical director said the company has doubleblind placebocontrolled studies it hopes to publish next year in peerreviewed journals. Such studies are the one thing some dermatologists say they need to recommend the product to patients. For now Maryanne Senna a dermatologist and the director of the Hair Academic Innovative Research Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston said the best she can tell patients who ask  and a lot of them do  is that Harklinikken wont do any harm. Dont get me wrong  I really want it to work said Dr. Senna who also teaches at Harvard Medical School. There arent a lot of options and Id love to be able to say to my patients This is something you can try that is worth the money. But I cant do that yet. Harklinikkens formula refined over  years is derived from plants and cows milk. Thats the most Mr. Skjoth will say about it. In the s clients mixed it with Rogaine Mr. Skjoth said and then we took the Rogaine part away and started focusing on the actual liquid. Small studies have shown the efficacy of various plantderived ingredients mostly in mice. But two potential explanations for Harklinikkens success have little to do with its formula. One is how much emphasis the company places on compliance the major stumbling block in the efficacy of any treatment said Dr. Senna an author of studies on the subject. Prospective users are questioned about their ability to stick to a regimen because the extract must be applied every day and they are told that the more conscientious they are the better. Users are also reminded and encouraged with regular checkins. Clients must also use the companys shampoo conditioner and styling products forsaking all others  a psychological as well as a financial buyin Dr. Senna said. Mr. Skjoth who has a masters degree in nutrition and chemistry but is not a doctor said this is because other products may clog the scalp causing hair loss. Hair changes about as fast as grass grows which is to say its extraordinarily slow and not visible to anyone checking impatiently in the mirror every day. But during regular followup appointments Harklinikken uses hightech equipment to photograph and magnify the scalp and count new hairs and active follicles which motivates users to adhere to the regimen. Too many people give up on treatments like Rogaine and lowlevellight devices before theyve had a chance to work Dr. Senna said.  Its also possible that some of Harklinikkens users are women whose hair would have grown back even if theyd done nothing. Many women who arrive in a dermatologists office with prior diagnoses of female pattern hair loss actually have whats called telogen effluvium. Thats a period of acute shedding of hair  meaning up to  percent of hair  three months after a triggering event like pregnancy significant weight loss or starting or stopping hormone medications. Once that hair has stopped shedding it does regrow at a rate of about a centimeter a month said Dr. Senna who suffered from the condition after each of her pregnancies. She shares photos of herself with patients to show she can sympathize. In one her entire frontal hairline clearly is growing back in. If Id used a treatment I would have thought it was a miracle drug she said. Users of the extract say that one of the strengths of Harklinikken is that it doesnt claim to be a miracle. It wasnt Youre going to get a full head of hair said Jon Centella  of Apollo Beach Fla. who started seeing peach fuzz after four months. It was Well give you  percent and thats what made me comfortable enough to give it a shot."