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A video hit 40 million views this week showing a FedEx driver growing a full head of hair in 120 days after wearing a red light therapy cap. Day 30, day 60, day 120. Bald crown to thick coverage. The kind of transformation that makes you reach for your card before your brain catches up.
One problem. None of it is real. The whole thing is AI.
In a recent post, Jamie broke down why that reel is a masterclass in how to torch your own brand in under 30 seconds. Every single comment underneath the video calls it out. "IA", "ai", "Confia AI pessoal". Millions of people have now been told, in public, that this brand cannot be believed.
what the brand actually did
The setup is simple. A red light therapy laser cap company wanted social proof. Instead of finding a real customer and filming them over four months, they fed photos into an AI image tool and generated a timeline. A bald guy on day one, light fuzz on day 30, proper coverage by day 120.
The hook works because laser caps are a real product category. Low level laser therapy has some clinical backing for androgenetic alopecia, though results are usually modest and take the better part of a year. That makes the category ripe for exaggeration. A cap costs a few hundred pounds. The margin on selling hope to balding men is enormous.
So the brand leaned into AI. And for a few hours, it looked like genius marketing. 40 million views. Shares everywhere. Then the comments started.
how to spot ai generated hair growth photos
Once you know what to look for, these fakes fall apart fast. Here are the red flags that keep showing up.
The hairline changes shape between photos. Real hair regrowth follows the same pattern you started with. Your hairline does not migrate forward by two centimetres in a month. If day 30 has a different shape to day 60, something is off.
The face subtly morphs. AI struggles to lock a face across multiple generations. Look at the ears, the nose width, the jawline. If the person in day 120 has a slightly different face to day one, you are looking at AI.
The hair texture looks painted. Real hair has stray bits. Flyaways. Uneven density. AI hair tends to look airbrushed, with clean edges and a slightly plastic sheen. It photographs like it has been combed by an algorithm, because it has.
The timeline is unrealistic. Proven hair loss treatments work slowly. Minoxidil takes 4 to 6 months to show any visible change, and that change is usually thicker existing hair rather than a new hairline. Finasteride is similar. A full bald crown filling in by day 120 is not a timeline any real drug produces.
Overlaid day counters. Legit before and afters from clinics usually come with a date stamp, the same lighting, the same angle, and a consistent haircut. A floating "Day 30" graphic in a trendy font is a marketing choice, not a medical record.
Clean backgrounds. AI tends to keep backgrounds minimal, blurred or weirdly abstract because generating consistent environments across multiple images is hard. Real customer photos tend to look a bit rubbish. Bad bathroom lighting. A towel on the floor. That mess is actually a good sign.
why it backfired
The brand probably thought the worst case was a mixed reception. What they got instead was a public roasting watched by tens of millions of people.
Once a comment section turns on a product, it does not turn back. The top comments shape how every new viewer reads the video. So instead of seeing "wow, that works", people scroll down, see "this is AI" three times in the first five comments, and their brain files the whole brand under "scam". Doesn't matter if the cap itself has any merit. The association is made.
The damage goes further than one video. Anyone who searches that brand now lands on Reddit threads and reaction reels picking the content apart. You cannot buy your way out of that. You cannot delete your way out either, because screenshots live forever.
The lesson is boring and obvious. If your product works, film a real person. If it does not work well enough to film, the product is the problem, not the marketing.
what real hair loss solutions actually look like
Here is where it gets uncomfortable for a lot of brands. Real hair loss solutions are slow, modest, and often a bit disappointing. That is why faking results is so tempting.
Minoxidil. Topical, twice a day, and you need to stay on it forever. Most people see some thickening of existing hairs after 4 to 6 months. It will not regrow a fully slick bald crown. Anyone showing a shiny scalp filling in with thick hair from minoxidil alone is selling you something.
Finasteride. Oral, prescription only, works by blocking DHT. Slows loss and can partially reverse recent thinning. Takes 6 to 12 months. Side effects are real for a minority of users and worth discussing with a doctor.
Low level laser therapy. The category the viral brand is in. Some clinical evidence for mild improvement over many months. Not a magic cap. Not day 120 miracles.
PP405 and newer research. There is genuinely exciting science in the pipeline. PP405 is an experimental topical being developed that has shown promise in early trials for reactivating dormant follicles. It is years away from the high street. Anyone claiming to sell it today is lying.
Hair transplant surgery. The only treatment that reliably moves hair from one part of your head to another. Thousands of pounds, months of healing, permanent result. Real before and afters from reputable surgeons look good because they are actually good. You can usually tell because the photos are boring, consistent, and the timeline makes sense.
Hair fibres. This is where we sit. Fibres do not regrow anything. They are a cosmetic cover up. You sprinkle them on, they cling to your existing hair, your scalp looks fuller in seconds. Wash them out at the end of the day. That is the whole product. The honesty about what they are is the point.
what to look for in a trustworthy hair loss brand
If you are shopping for anything hair loss related right now, use this as a checklist before you buy.
Real customer photos with imperfections. Bad lighting, normal bathrooms, hair that is not perfectly styled. If every photo looks like a catalogue shoot, that is a flag.
Published reviews on independent platforms. Trustpilot, Google, Amazon. Not just a carousel on their own site. You want to see the three star reviews too, because a brand with only five stars is almost certainly moderating.
Transparency about what the product does and does not do. A brand that tells you "this covers thinning instantly, it does not regrow hair" is being straight with you. A brand that promises to reverse baldness with a hat, a serum or a gummy is not.
Reasonable timelines. If the before and after gap is less than 4 months and the result is dramatic, be suspicious. Real biology is slow.
No face morphing in the photo set. Check the ears and the nose across the timeline. Same person, or not.
For what it is worth, we make cotton based hair thickening fibres here at Hair Guru London. 14 shades, over 30,000 customers, and the product does one thing. It covers thinning and bald patches in seconds so you can walk out the door feeling normal. It is not a cure. We have never claimed it is. The fibres wash out in the shower. That is the deal, and we would rather tell you that than fake a 120 day transformation and lose every ounce of trust we have built.
frequently asked questions
Can AI generated before and after photos be illegal?
In the UK, the ASA has ruled against misleading beauty and health ads many times. Using AI to fake product results can breach advertising codes and, depending on claims, consumer protection law. Enforcement is slow, but it happens.
Do red light therapy caps work at all?
There is modest evidence for low level laser therapy in androgenetic alopecia. Results are usually small and gradual. Nothing like the viral reel suggests.
How fast can real hair grow back?
Hair grows about 1 to 1.5 cm per month on average. From a fully bald crown to full coverage in 120 days is biologically not possible, regardless of the treatment.
What is the fastest honest fix for thinning hair?
Cosmetic fibres are the only thing that works in seconds. They cover, they do not cure. Everything else takes months at minimum.
How do I know if a brand is using AI in their marketing?
Check the comments under their videos. Check Reddit. Look for face morphing, impossible timelines, and weirdly clean backgrounds. The crowd usually spots it faster than any tool.
Jamie Shepherd is the founder of Hair Guru London. He writes about hair loss, confidence and the messy truth of running a brand in a market full of shortcuts.