How we rank clinics
HairClinicRankings is independent. Every clinic earns a single published Trust Score, built from signals anyone can audit. The methodology on this page is generated from the same code that computes the score — so what we explain here and what we actually calculate can never drift apart.
The ranking is transparent, and it is not for sale.
Methodology version v1.0.0 · last updated
Paid features never touch the Trust Score or ranking
We run two completely separate systems. On one side sits the Trust Score — computed only from auditable evidence about a clinic. On the other side sit the things a clinic can pay for: claiming a profile, premium tools, and patient lead requests.
Nothing crosses the wall. Claiming a profile, buying premium tools, or paying for leads has exactly zero weight in the score and cannot change ranking position. A clinic that pays us nothing can — and does — outrank one that pays for every feature we offer. The score is a function of the clinic's evidence, not its invoice.
The five pillars
Every Trust Score is a weighted blend of five pillars. The weights below sum to 100% and are read straight from our scoring engine.
Credentials & Verification
30%Ministry of Health license verified, a named licensed surgeon performs the surgery (not technicians alone), ISHRS membership, JCI/ISO accreditation, and years operating.
Patient Outcomes
25%Average rating across verified patient reviews (proof of treatment required), the volume of those reviews, and how recent they are.
Transparency
20%Published pricing ranges, named surgeons with credentials, honesty about technician involvement, and realistic graft-count claims.
Safety & Operations
15%Hospital vs. clinic setting, an anesthesiologist present, a published aftercare protocol, and a clear complication policy.
Responsiveness
10%How reliably the clinic responds to patient reviews and to new inquiries.
Verification tiers
A tier reflects how much of a clinic's identity we have confirmed. It is separate from the numeric Trust Score — and only one of the four is something a clinic can do for free.
Listed
We have data on this clinic but have not yet verified it.
Claimed
The clinic has confirmed ownership of this profile (free).
Verified
License and named surgeon identity documents checked by our team.
Trusted
Fully verified credentials and clears our outcome and transparency thresholds.
Review integrity
Outcomes only matter if the reviews behind them are real. Here is how we keep them honest before a single one touches a clinic's score.
Proof of treatment required
Reviews count toward a clinic's Trust Score only when the reviewer can document that they were actually treated — an invoice, an appointment confirmation, or post-op records.
One review per treatment
A verified treatment earns exactly one verified review. We deduplicate by patient and procedure so a single happy — or unhappy — patient cannot be multiplied.
Reverse-image checks
Before/after photos are run through reverse-image search. Stock photos, stolen results, and images already used elsewhere are rejected and never reach the gallery.
Burst detection
Sudden clusters of reviews — the signature of a paid review campaign — are flagged for manual review and held back from the score until they clear.
No self-reviews
Clinics, their staff, and agencies acting on their behalf cannot review themselves. Detected attempts are removed and count against the clinic's responsiveness signal.
What we don't do
The clearest way to describe an independent ranking is to be explicit about the lines we will not cross.
No pay-to-rank
There is no package, tier, or fee that moves a clinic up the list. Ranking position is a pure function of the Trust Score, which is computed only from auditable signals.
No hidden affiliate bias
We do not reorder, promote, or bury clinics based on referral or commission arrangements. The sort you see is the sort the data produces.
Sponsored content is labelled and separate
If we ever introduce sponsored placements, they will be clearly marked as advertising and kept entirely outside the rankings and the Trust Score.
Methodology changelog
We treat the algorithm as a public contract. Every change to the pillars, weights, or rules is versioned and recorded here.
- Established the five pillars: Credentials & Verification (30%), Patient Outcomes (25%), Transparency (20%), Safety & Operations (15%), Responsiveness (10%).
- Defined the listed → claimed → verified → trusted verification tiers.
- Published the Trust Wall: paid features never affect score or ranking.
- Added evidence-coverage as a separate confidence axis that never feeds the score.
v1.0.0
Initial published methodology: five weighted pillars, four verification tiers, and the Trust Wall guarantee.
A note on the data shown today
The clinics, scores, reviews, and images currently displayed on this site are illustrative sample data for demonstration only. They show how the methodology described above works in practice and do not yet represent verified information about real clinics.