Unlike commercial hair products designed to cleanse and condition hair, An-Tech claims to have developed "scientifically formulated bio-stimulant treatments" that penetrate the scalp and cleanse the hair follicle of impacted micropollutants and sebum, a naturally produced oil. After analysis of their hair under a high-powered microscope that shows the enlarged hair shaft on a computer screen, most clients are advised to begin receiving scalp treatments three times a week.

"At salons, they are interested only in the cosmetic treatment of the hair," said [Alexander Leibman], a Russian-born physician who gave up practicing medicine when he emigrated to the United States in 1977. "But in the same way that a person with cancer can look healthy, hair that is unhealthy also doesn't always look it. What we do here is remove the buildup that leads to hair loss so that new hair is measurably stronger, thicker and healthier."

Can a product penetrate the scalp and cleanse the base of the hair follicle? [Gerald Steinberg] said it is possible that An-Tech's products may be of some benefit, if that is the goal. But to date, he said, "there has been no indication that the accumulation of dead cells around the hair root has any influence on hair growth or the rate of hair loss." Until the company produces a scientific study to back its claims-versus the unscientific stack of testimonials Leibman keeps in his desk drawer-Steinberg said he remains skeptical.