2023: Hims Hair Loss Treatment Review
We include products we think are useful for our readers. If you buy through links on this page, we may earn a small commission Here’s our process.
How we vet brands and products
Austra Health only shows you brands and products that we stand behind.
- Evaluate ingredients and composition: Do they have the potential to cause harm?
- Fact-check all health claims: Do they align with the current body of scientific evidence?
- Assess the brand: Does it operate with integrity and adhere to industry best practices?
Was this helpful?
Hims offers several products to help prevent and treat hair loss. These may include shampoos, supplements, and medications. Some treatments are only available with a prescription.
More than 95% of men experience some degree of hair loss during their lives, according to the American Hair Loss Association. An estimated two-thirds notice a receding hairline or thinning hair by age 35.
While a number of factors can contribute to this universal complaint, it’s primarily the result of male pattern baldness, a hereditary condition clinically known as androgenetic alopecia.
The inherited trait means a byproduct of testosterone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT) causes your hair follicles to shrink through the years, eventually reaching a point in which the follicles no longer grow new hair.
For people looking for products designed to prevent, slow, or even reverse hair loss, Hims is a telehealth company that offers something of a one-stop shopping experience. Focused on personal wellness, Hims provides products to improve hair and skin health, as well as nutrition, sexual function, and even mental and physical health.
You can go online and select over-the-counter items, such as hair-thickening shampoos and vitamins, that support hair health. After consulting with a licensed healthcare professional, you can choose prescription hair treatments from Hims as well.
Keep reading to see if Hims is right for you.
Language matters
In this article, we use “male and female” to refer to someone’s sex as determined by their chromosomes, and “men and women” when referring to their gender (unless quoting from sources using nonspecific language).
Sex is determined by chromosomes, and gender is a social construct that can vary between time periods and cultures. Both of these aspects are acknowledged to exist on a spectrum both historically and by modern scientific consensus.
Was this helpful?
Before you can buy anything from Hims or get a consultation with a dermatologist, you need to set up a Hims account.
Using Hims’ encrypted data platform, you create a profile and then answer some basic questions about your hair loss status — receding hairline, thinning hair — as well as what other products you’ve tried.
Next you will answer more health questions regarding your medical history, mental health, erectile dysfunction (ED), and any medications or supplements you currently take.
These questions have less to do with hair loss treatment and more to do with directing you to other products and services from Hims, including ED medications and mental health counseling.
You may also need to submit photos of your hairline. After your information and any questions have been submitted, you will receive a response usually within 24 hours from a medical professional.
If the doctor determines that finasteride is appropriate, you will be given a prescription and the option to order the medication through Hims.
Other hair products are available without a prescription and can be obtained as one-time purchases or as part of a subscription. If you are approved for finasteride, you will receive the medication monthly through a subscription.
Like every online company, Hims presents customers with both pros and cons associated with the convenient yet somewhat impersonal nature of telehealth services.
Pros
- The company features fast and easy online consultation with a licensed medical professional.
- Hims has subscription services, so you don’t have to worry about running out of minoxidil or finasteride.
- The company offers free shipping.
Cons
- There’s no face-to-face appointment with a healthcare professional to do a physical examination of your scalp.
- There’s a limited variety of products for sale.
- There’s an occasional long wait for a response about products and subscriptions.
Was this helpful?
Hims offers several products to prevent and treat hair loss.
Thick Fix Thickening Shampoo
Ingredients include saw palmetto to help strengthen hair and create a fuller head of hair. This bottle features an eucalyptus grove scent and can be used each time you shower. However, this shampoo can’t regrow hair for those with male pattern baldness, so a medication like minoxidil or finasteride may be a better fit.
Thickening conditioner
- Price: $22 per bottle*
- Size: 6.4 fl oz.
- Key ingredient: niacinamide and panthenol
Made with niacinamide, this conditioner claims to hydrate and “bolster” your hair to make it look thicker and feel silkier. It also features their eucalyptus grove scent and was designed to be used along with the shampoo. Also similar to the shampoo, this conditioner may not be a good fit for those looking to treat male pattern baldness.
Biotin gummies
- Price: $16 per bottle*
- Size: 30 gummies per bottle
- Key ingredient: vitamin B7 (biotin)
These cherry-flavored supplements are meant to give your hair growth a nutritional boost. This is because the key ingredient, biotin (vitamin B7) is associated with healthier hair, skin, and eyes. While the vitamins included in these gummies can’t regrow lost hair, it may help to strengthen your existing hair.
Minoxidil
- Price: $15 per bottle*
- Size: 2 fl oz. (1 month supply)
- Key ingredient: minoxidil
This topical solution has been shown to help regrow hair in many situations and is sent to you in a bottle with a dropper for application.
The exact mechanism of minoxidil isn’t entirely understood, though it appears to both increase blood flow to hair follicles and boost the size of hair follicles.
Minoxidil is more commonly known by the brand name Rogaine.
If this solution and dropper doesn’t feel like a good fit for you, Hims also offers this treatment as a minoxidil foam too. Topical aerosol minoxidil is an FDA-approved drug for treating male pattern baldness.
Finasteride
- Price: $26 per monthly supply*
- Size: 1 month supply of pills
- Key ingredient: finasteride
Finasteride is a prescription oral medication and the generic version of brand name Propecia. Hims also offers online consultations where you could be prescribed this medication if you are considered to be a good candidate who may benefit from taking Finasteride.
One pill per day can help reduce the body’s DHT levels, which could promote greater hair follicle health and activity.
Oral finasteride is an FDA-approved treatment for male pattern hair loss.
Minoxidil and finasteride
- Price: $45 per monthly supply*
- Size: approximately 1 month of daily spray
- Key ingredient: finasteride, minoxidil
For some customers, Hims might recommend using both minoxidil and finasteride. Research shows that the combination of minoxidil and finasteride generally leads to better results than using only one of the products alone. Hims offers both treatments together in a quick-drying topical spray.
Your Hims prescriber will direct you about how many daily sprays to use, which is on average about four sprays per day. Each spray bottle contains approximately a full month worth of prescribed sprays.
*Prices as of March 2023
Hims, Inc. has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, though the BBB customer reviews amount to 1.08 stars out of 5 based on 88 reviews as of March 2023.
The recent customer reviews are mixed. The majority of complaints fall in the problems with product/service category, but the complaints predominantly center on subscriptions and services.
Several customers say that they were charged for subscriptions after cancelling.
One customer says that they received leaky bottles of medication for hair loss treatment — and the following two replacement products also arrived with a leak.
Hims also has a 4.0 out of 5 stars rating on Trustpilot based on over 1,300 reviews at the time of publish. The Trustpilot reviews skew positive, with an emphasis on the easy online process and quality customer service. Notably, most of the product-related reviews focus on ED medications.
One customer says that the topical finasteride works for their hair loss. Others complain about delayed shipping, products not arriving, and frustrating customer service experiences.
Overall, Hims, Inc. responds to customer complaints and provides explanations of how the prescription services work. Hims promises a full money-back guarantee within 90 days.
It can take up to 48 hours to cancel a subscription. If the company receives that notification the day of or the day prior to the next month’s debit on your credit card, you will be charged for one more month.
Our writer spoke to several customer service agents and found them to be warm and helpful.
Not sure whether Hims is right for you? There are several other health and wellness companies that offer similar hair loss products and services, such as:
Roman
Roman places an emphasis on personal wellness products and sexual health.
Roman sells ED treatments, skin care products, and other items that help with stress relief and weight management.
The telehealth site starts with the creation of a profile and an online consultation with a healthcare professional.
In terms of hair loss products, Roman sells minoxidil and finasteride separately and as a combination. The monthly cost of minoxidil is $16, and for finasteride it’s $20. The combination plan includes both products for $35 per month.
Roman ships its products in unmarked boxes directly to your door.
Lemonaid
Lemonaid offers treatments for over 30 conditions and products for male and female health. There are products for general health conditions too, like asthma and cold sores.
Lemonaid also offers mental health services and prescription medications.
For female health, Lemonaid offers products like birth control. For male health, Lemonaid offers treatments for ED and premature ejaculation.
For hair loss treatment, Lemonaid only offers finasteride. You will be asked several questions and then advised to photograph your hair loss from several angles and upload the pictures to the site.
You’ll also need to pay a $25 online visit fee.
Notably, Lemonaid ships products directly to you, unless you want to use insurance. In that case, the product ships to your local pharmacy — so you’ll need to pick up your order in person.
Keeps
If you want an online telehealth provider that focuses on hair loss prevention or reversal, Keeps is a great option.
Keeps uses a subscription service model and sends you products every 3 months unless you cancel.
That means the checkout price for the products below will be higher than what they’re listed, but Keeps does offer discounts on your first order.
Keeps offers finasteride for $25 a month, while minoxidil solution starts at $11 a month.
You can order both finasteride and minoxidil solution bundled together starting at $36 per month.
Keeps also offers other hair products, like ketoconazole 2% shampoo, hair thickening shampoo, conditioner, and styling products.
Head-to-head comparison
| Brand | Hair products | Shipping | Customer service |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hims | • finasteride • minoxidil (foam or solution) • finasteride and minoxidil spray • thickening shampoo • thickening conditioner • biotin gummies |
free, direct to consumer | • responsive • good reviews on Trustpilot • poor reviews on BBB per service quality |
| Roman | • finasteride • minoxidil • finasteride and minoxidil |
free, direct to consumer | responsive, but reviews skew negative |
| Lemonaid | finasteride only | • free • ships via mail order unless you use insurance • if using insurance, you pick up products at your local pharmacy |
• responsive • mixed reviews, but customer service is rated highest of these brands |
| Keeps | • finasteride • minoxidil (foam or solution) • ketoconazole 2% shampoo • hair thickening shampoo, conditioner • styling products |
Hims doesn’t take insurance, so you’re looking at carrying all costs out of pocket. Many consider the hair loss products from Hims to be reasonably priced.
Before you can purchase these products, you will have to participate in a free online consultation. Typically, this can be as easy as filling out an online survey about your type of hair loss, some medical history, and other medications you may be taking, which will then be evaluated by a licensed medical professional.
If your assigned medical professional has any follow-up questions, they will contact you. Additionally, unless required by your state, a video call isn’t even required to get started.
Product prices are clearly marked on the website, but it’s important to read the terms of service. Once you sign up for a subscription to their products, Hims will keep sending them and charging you until you formally notify the company that you’re terminating your subscription.
Are Hims hair treatments safe? Do Hims hair products have side effects?
Oral finasteride and topical minoxidil are FDA approved. But there are potential side effects. Talk with your doctor about possible risks, interactions, or side effects before you try Hims hair products.
How long does it take for Hims hair treatments to work?
According to the website, Hims hair products can take anywhere from 3 to 6 months before you can expect to see any results.
For products like oral finasteride, optimal results can take up to a year.
How do I get my prescriptions?
Ordering hair loss products can be a personal and sensitive topic. Hims allows you to find the best prescription for your needs entirely online.
Products will ship to your home so you can get what you need discreetly.
There are many pros and cons to consider before you try products for hair loss from Hims.
On the plus side, Hims can save you the hassle of an in-person doctor’s appointment and a trip to the pharmacy. The online process is straightforward and products ship directly to you.
Hims also offers FDA-approved hair loss products, but so do other retailers like Roman and Keeps.
Hair loss can be a frustrating experience by itself, but several Hims customers seem to pull their hair over the customer service experience.
If you try Hims hair care products, read the labels carefully to get the benefits safely and effectively.
Get started with Hims
Interested in trying Hims? We can help!
Easily compare a variety of product offerings and start your free consultation today.
Last medically reviewed on March 28, 2023