Category Archives: iRestore Laser

iRestore Laser Device Winner Selection

Congratulations to “Shark” the winner of the contest. There were two people left after disqualifications of three, and in another random number generation selection, “Shark” beat out “Blaine1.” Hopefully the laser helmet will be mailed out asap.  I tried to the get the company to send out a second helmet to “Blaine1”, but they did not bite:-(

This is a far lengthier post than I expected to initially write. However, this post will serve as a template for how I run future prize drawings and hopefully my below strategy is not full of logical fallacies (excluding ones that save me time).


I decided to close the prize drawing in the last post after 5 days since there were far more entries than I was expecting considering that the contest was only limited to US (and Canadian later) entrants.

Due to the huge number of first time commentator entrants, I have had to change my strategy on how to select the winner (I will randomly select 5, then remove the suspicious ones or those who do not respond from the 5, and then randomly reselect the 1 final winner).  It is possible that a few first time entrants signed up more than once with different IPs and email addresses (even two regular long-time commentators signed on for the prize draw twice with two separate comments).  Some of the entrants probably live outside the US or Canada and have no US address so will be removed if in the list of 5.  So what I have done is use a random number generator website’s integer generation option to select 5 potential winners and I put in the range 1-182 in there since there were 182 comments in the last post when I closed the contest (I know that at least 20 of those comments were unrelated to the subject matter, but this is the best way I can run such contests without spending too much of my time weeding out unrelated comments).  Results of the random generation pasted below:

Random Integer Set Generator

You requested 1 set with 5 unique random integers, taken from the [1,182] range. The integers were sorted in ascending order.

Here is your set:

  • Set 1: 12, 21, 45, 61, 178

Timestamp: 2016-09-06 06:51:21 UTC

So now I go to comments number 12, 21, 45, 61 and 178 in the last post:

12 = Farsi “I am in” = Update: Disqualified since IP addresses of past comments all in France and he did not post a comment here or e-mail me with a US address for the two days that I waited.

21 = Frank Plumbo “I to am in!” = Update: Disqualified since no comment here or e-mail to me for two days.

45 = Blaine1 = “count me in”

61 = Shark = “I am in”

178 = mjones = Disqualified for too many (six) unrelated comments in that last prize drawing thread.  Plus he did not even sign on for the prize drawing!  Will ban him in future so as to get a proper list of 5.


Please note that the order you see the comments in the last thread could be slightly different from the way I see them since I am logged in as “admin”, but hopefully not.  If I made a mistake in the counting of comments 12, 21, 45, 61 and 178 above, I apologize, but I will stick with the above potential winners’ names.  For all future prize drawings, I will not redo any procedure in case I make a counting error.

So the winner will be one of these four:

  • Farsi
  • Frank Plumbo
  • Blaine1
  • Shark

All four of you guys please post at least one comment in this thread using the same email you used last time and the same IP address/ computer/location that you used last time to post your comment. Also email me your full name and physical address from the same email address that you used for commenting.  I will wait for two days for responses.

Then I will browse through this blog’s comment history and search for your IP address.  If I find anything suspicious or undesirable (repeat entries, too many past usernames under same IP, too many entries from similar IPs in some small town or some small country, too many insults etc…), I will remove you from the list.  If more than one person is still left after I remove the suspicious entries, I will do another random generation and select the final winner and post his/her name at the top of this thread.

Free iRestore Laser System Prize Drawing

All entries are closed as of September 6th. Please read the next post for winner notification.

iRestore New Hair for the New Year Giveaway

Several days ago, someone from a public relations company contacted me and asked me if I was willing to give away a free iRestore laser hair growth system to one of my readers via a random drawing. This is part of a promotion called “New Hair for the New Year” with the logic being that the iRestore laser will take 12 weeks to show results, just in time for the coming new year. I accepted the offer, since these laser devices are quite expensive and not guaranteed to work on everyone.

Do note that there is some evidence (e.g., see here and here) that low level laser and light therapy (LLLT) does benefit hair growth. Lasers are unlikely to ever stimulate hair growth in areas that are totally bald, but there is a chance that lasers will make your existing hair stronger. In fact I have noticed that that my own hair feels stronger and denser when I have been outdoors in the sun for half the day, although there is perhaps no strong connection between sunlight versus focused proximal laser light.

The iRestore laser device is FDA cleared for sale in the US. You can find some iRestore discussions and before and after photos on Reddit if you conduct a search.  Below is a photo of the device:

iRestore Laser

iRestore Prize Drawing Rules and Notes

  • This sweepstakes/prize drawing is for US residents only (although if you are a nonresident who has a reliable physical US address, you can still participate).
  • All you have to do is post a comment to this post and state that “I want to enter the prize drawing” or something similar such as “I am in”.  Note that if you have never made a comment on this blog before, I will need to approve your first comment and it will be on hold for a bit or might go to the spam folder. Also note that if you are posting a comment, you do not need to fill out the URL box (just leave it blank please) when prompted. When you fill out the name and e-mail boxes when writing a comment, you can enter a fake name, but please enter a valid e-mail address.  If you do win the prize, I will announce it on this blog and e-mail you, and then you will need to e-mail me your real name and real physical address.  I will not share your information with anyone other than the company that sends out the free iRestore laser device.
  • Do not enter more than once!
  • The drawing is supposed to be random, so what I will do is that once I have all the entries (most likely I will wait for anywhere from 5-10 days before closing), is pick one name at random. However, if the name I pick is someone who has made too many foolish comments on this blog in the past (i.e., one of just 5 or so people that I recall in three years of writing this blog), I will redraw to find a more suitable winner.
  • If commenting for the first time, I also highly recommending sticking to the same username once you pick one.  And try not to pick something like “Mike” “Matt” “Joe” etc… that has already been taken before and causes too much confusion.  At least add a number to the end of a name if its a very common name like the ones that I just listed.
  • Finally, I am trusting that this company that has contacted me will make sure that the device gets to the winner on time.  They have assured me that it will get there within several days of my notifying them of the winner, so hopefully the lucky man or woman will get it in two weeks from today at the very latest.

FYI — in case you win, you will have to verify that you are the same person by posting another comment next week via the same computer/IP address (I can see those each time you comment) and same name.  Any suspicious entries/repeat entries from new first time commentators will be ignored.  For first-time commentators, please put in your exact correct e-mail address instead of a fake one when prompted before making a comment.  I will be emailing you if you win.