What’s the difference between Rogaine® and Hims hair loss treatment? Well, in some ways not much at all, but in others quite a bit! Do they work, and who are they for? Read on to learn more about these two different, but similar, takes on treating hair loss.
Hims vs Rogaine: The TLDR
Rogaine’s hair loss drug is 2% or 5% topical Minoxidil (FDA-approved), either as a liquid or foam. Like Rogaine, Hims offers a 5% topical Minoxidil liquid, except at a lower cost. Hims now has two options that go beyond Rogaine, combining another hair loss drug, Finasteride, either as a 1mg daily pill or in a topical treatment. Studies show that using these 2 drugs together increases the chance you keep your hair, so Hims is a fantastic option. Read on to find out how to get started.
Is Hims better than Rogaine?
Below I’ll present the science on how Hims compares to Rogaine.. And while I don’t think it should really matter when considering a medicine, people keep asking about my preferences and results, so I’ll share personal experiences with both medicines.
The basic answer is that both worked for me, but the results that I’m seeing with the two medicines Hims doctors’ recommended for me are great. So, if you are serious about preventing hair loss, I’d go with Hims.
Hair loss is normal – and you can fight it
Almost two-thirds of American men will experience mild hair loss by the time they turn 35. Hair loss, also called “alopecia,” causes a lot of anxiety – no one really wants to go bald! Male pattern baldness is typically not caused by an underlying health problem, and most men who experience it are normal, healthy people.
Leonora Doclis, a senior hairless specialist at the Belgravia Centre (as quoted in Men’s Health), says “as soon as you notice an increase in the amount of hair shedding, or some thinning, you should act.” The sooner you try to combat this problem the more likely you are to preserve your hairline and keep a thick, health mop on your head. That’s because treatments like Hims and Rogaine are great at maintaining your hairline, but not as effective at regrowing hair once it’s been lost.
Given the urgency to act now, let’s cut to the chase and compare Hims vs Rogaine — two leading providers of over-the-counter hair loss treatments for men.
Rogaine vs Hims: Treatment Comparison
Rogaine is the brand name for one of the few drugs proven to help stop hair loss: Minoxidil. Hims also offers Minoxidil, which you can purchase online by itself, or in conjunction with a second drug that has also been proven to help stop hair loss for many men, Finasteride (this is requires a prescription and is the same underlying drug as Propecia®). With Amazon’s subscribe and save offering, you can now get the branded Rogaine directly from one of the biggest retailers on the planet as a subscription. How you get those medicines, and what you pay, are different for Hims vs. Rogaine.
Here is a quick price comparison and more details on how each of these treatments work to slow or stop hair loss:
Minoxidil Provider Comparison: Hims vs Rogaine | ||
|---|---|---|
| How to purchase | Forhims.com | In Pharmacy, Rogaine.com, or Amazon.com |
| Price | $15 per month | $42.74 for 3 months |
| Shipping Cost | Free | Free with Prime |
| Subscription Available | ✅ | ✅ |
| Prescription Required | ❌ | ❌ |
| Topical Minoxidil Drops | ✅ | ✅ |
| Topical Minoxidil Foam | ❌ | ✅ |
| Most Common Side Effect | Skin Irritation | Scalp Irritation |
| Ingredients (Minoxidil Drops) | Minoxidil 5% Alcohol Propylene Glycol Purified water | Minoxidil 5% Alcohol Propylene Glycol Purified water |
| Other Hair Loss Products (non-minoxidil) | Finasteride (Propecia®) - Hims can get you a prescription Biotin Vitamins DHT Blocker Shampoo Topical Finasteride | - |
Huge Innovation over Rogaine – Topical Fin + Minoxidil Spray by Hims
Hims recently came out with a pretty massive innovation in topical hair loss – a spray Minoxidil and Finasteride combo. This combines the active ingredient in Rogaine with a different formulation of Finasteride, the other major hair loss medicine.
This is a big deal.
If you have been hesitant to try more aggressive hair loss treatment because you didn’t want to take a pill, you should check out this new offering by Hims. You need a prescription, which their doctors can get you online.
Quick video showing Rogaine Minoxidil vs other brands
Minoxidil: The key drug in Hims and Rogaine
Minoxidil is the active ingredient in both Rogaine and in Hims’ topical hair loss medicine. It is a widely used and well-tested medicine, with minimal side effects. Importantly, it’s available without a prescription! You can simply purchase this without visiting a doctor – although, if you think your hair loss is due to an underlying medical condition, a doctor’s visit is a good idea.
How do I apply Minoxidil?
There are two commonly available topical formulations of minoxidil, one that you apply via a dropper and one that is a foam. Both are pretty simple to use, but you will have to use it twice a day, everyday, to see results. Amazon has both the foaming and the liquid (that you drop) versions, while Hims only has liquid dropper kind. Here is how you apply these two different solutions, and where you can get them:
Drops (liquid)
- Available:
- How often to apply: twice a day
- How to apply:
- Start with dry hair
- Part your hair a bit to expose the scalp
- Use the dropper to take out 1 milliliter (1 ML) – there is a line on the dropper to help you measure this, don’t worry!
- Squeeze the dropper bulb so that it drips onto the balding area
- Massage it into where the thinning is occurring, then let it dry before styling your hair
- How long it takes to work:
- Three to six months
Foam
- Available:
- Rogaine.com – sold out at the moment
- Amazon.com
- How often to apply: twice a day
- How to apply:
- Start with dry hair
- Part your hair a bit to expose the scalp
- Hold the foam can upside down and put half a cap into you hand (on your fingers so it will be easy to spread)
- Rub it into your scalp where the thinning is occurring
- Style your hair as usual
- How long it takes to work:
- Three to six months
Does Minoxidil by Rogaine or Hims have any side effects?
The most common side effect of minoxidil is minor skin irritation where you apply it on your scalp. This irritation can make your scalp itchy. One way to combat this is to use a moisturizing or anti dandruff shampoo.
There is a long list of other potential side effects (acne, facial swelling / hair growth, dizziness, headache, etc.), but they are exceedingly rare. Minoxidil is considered of the safest hair loss treatments on the market today.
It’s important to note that the products that we are reviewing here are meant for men. Women, especially women who are or who might become pregnant, shouldn’t use these. And if your significant other may become pregnant, it probably makes sense to take precautions to keep Minoxidil off her skin, pillows, etc.
Where to buy minoxidil: Comparing Amazon, Rogaine.com and Hims
These days, there are a lot of different options to getting it – your local pharmacy, traditional online stores like Amazon, or through subscriptions offered by online telemedicine companies like Hims, or on Rogaine’s own website. But which one is better for you, should you buy the drug directly from Rogaine, from Amazon or get it through Hims? Here are the pros and cons of getting your hair loss treatment from these different sources.
Rogaine has a couple of advantages over Hims.
- First of all, when you buy it directly from the company, you are getting the branded medicine. It’s unlikely that this will impact the efficacy of the drug, but it’s nice to get it right from the original name brand.
- Rogaine offers both the foaming and liquid/dropper solution. Hims only offers the dropper delivered drug, so Rogaine is the clear leader if you prefer the foam. Except that the rogaine.com site currently is out of foam, but we expect that to change eventually!
- When you go direct, you can also get the women’s version. Hims only has a male offering of minoxidil, so if you are a woman, Hims can’t help you. Note that Hims does have a website that services women, aptly named “Hers,” and we believe that they will eventually offer a women’s version. We’ll update this review when it is ready to purchase.
- The price of getting Rogaine direct is competitive vs. Hims. We’ll break down the pricing even more in a moment.
Hims also has several important advantages over Rogaine, including the following:
- Hims offers its own brand of minoxidil, obviously branded “Hims.” So, they are also standing behind their product with their own brand as well.
- Hims has more than just minoxidil – they have a whole suite of branded hair loss solutions, including finasteride. Studies have shown that finasteride can also help prevent hair loss.
- You can get an entire bundle of hair loss products, including minoxidil drops, prescription finasteride, shampoos and vitamins. They claim that the shampoo has an ingredient that can reduce levels of DHT in the scalp (a hormone that can cause hair loss). The bundle helps you save money over getting all of these medicines at once. Hims also has a non-prescription bundle. And if you need a prescription, good news:
- You can get a real doctor’s visit through Hims – without leaving your couch (or computer). That’s right, Hims has discovered how to do a virtual doctor’s visit. If they determine you are a good candidate, Hims’ doctors can prescribe finasteride in addition to helping you get minoxidil.
- Hims is focused on discretely delivering this medicine to you in a inconspicuous, well-designed package. You don’t exactly want to scream to the world “I’m fighting baldness!”, right?
- The price of minoxidil via Hims vs Rogaine can be competitive, depending if you sign up for a recurring subscription or not.
Trusty Amazon is now actively entering the health space, now offering a subscription option for branded Rogaine at great prices. Here is more on the pros of getting it directly from Amazon:
- It’s Amazon, which you probably already know and trust.
- Amazon now has subscriptions, so you can use their “Subscribe and Save” option to save money. At the moment, Amazon it touting a 5% instant savings when you subscribe, and 15% on future auto-deliveries
- Amazon carries both the foam and regular solution.
- You probably already get a thousand packages from Amazon, so the package is going to be discrete – or at least blend in with your other purchases.
- Like for almost every other good, Amazon prices are competitive; we’ll go more into the cost in a bit.
Hims @ Target
Huge news, Hims is now available at Target! That’s a pretty huge step for one of the leading telemedicine providers.
Let’s review pricing of the Hims products that are available at Target:
- Hims Minoxidil – $14.99; same price as you can get it directly from Hims online (so why not get it shipped to your house for free?)
- Everyday Moisturizer – $9.99
- Thickening Shampoo – $12.99; so Target is offering a better price (like $19 online if you go direct) so pick it up at Target and save some money
- DHT shampoo – $12.99 – once again, it’s a better price at Target
- Thickening conditioner – $12.99; good price at Target, cheaper than online at Hims!
- “Total Hair Package” – $29.99 – same price as online, so why not get it delivered directly from Hims? Except, the REAL complete kit from Hims has Finasteride, which you can NOT get a Target – so this kit only has the Minoxidil, gummy vitamins and shampoo
- Vitamin C Serum – $19.99; not sure if it’s available online
So, our summary of the Hims products available at Target is that you can get a better deal at Target on the shampoos and conditioner – but if you are looking for prescription medicine (like Finasteride) or non-prescription medical options like Minoxidil, just go direct to Hims and get the product at the same cost with free shipping.
Comparing Rogaine and Him’s pricing
While it’s easy enough to purchase a single package of Rogaine on Amazon (here is a 3 pack for a good price), you can just as as easily purchase a subscription from Rogaine.com or Hims. Here’s what it will cost:
Rogaine Price Comparison: Hims vs Amazon | ||
|---|---|---|
| Solution | 5% Minoxidil Drops | 5% Minoxidil Drops |
| Price of a subscription | $15 per month | $42.74 for 3 months |
| Subscription price per day | $.50 / day | $.47 cents / day |
| Price of a single package | $15 per month | $44.99 for a 3 month package |
| Shipping | Free | Free with Prime |
| Website |
What do these solutions look like?
Getting medicine in the mail may be a new experience for many men – so we’ve created this video to show what the experience is like:
A few pictures of what the Hims packaging looks like
New Hims packaging as of March 2022
I just got a new Hims shipment – took a few photos to compare it with the typical Rogaine bottle so that you can see the difference/what you might get in the mail if you subscribed to the Fin + Minoxidil combo from Hims.
Which is more effective for hair loss, Hims or Rogaine?
Studies have shown Minoxidil to be effective. The study that led to Rogaine, the first brand of minoxidil to be approved, showed that 40% of men exhibited moderate to dense hair growth in the vertex of their scalp. A different study of close to one thousand men showed that 62% reported a reduction in hair loss. And Hims quotes a study that shows that use of minoxidil over a 48-week period results in a 12.7% to 18.6% increase in total hair count.
By itself, Rogaine’s or Hims’ minoxidil should be equally effective. However, Hims is one of the easiest ways to get another drug proven to help proven to help prevent hair loss, finasteride. Combined with minoxidil, this could be a more powerful solution. Finasteride is the only other medicine to be FDA approved to treat male pattern baldness. It works – studies have shown that when you combine the two drugs you push the likelihood of positive results (that means keeping your hair!) up to over 90%. You can see a long list of clinical studies on Fin here. The reason why some men are worried about using the second medicine is possible side effects.
However, Hims now has a topical combination of 6% Minoxidil plus Finasteride! This topical is applied just how you’d put on traditional Rogaine, but with the added benefit of the second drug. While Fin isn’t FDA approved to be used as a topical, several studies have shown it to work when applied directly to your scalp – and it is believed that there is a lower change of getting side effects if you put it on your head instead of taking a pill. So if you are interested in using the two medicines but are worried about the possible side effects, check out the new, combo drug offered by Hims now.
Personal Anecdote: When I was in my twenties, I noticed that my hair was starting to thin. I used the liquid Rogaine for a number of years, and I credit it with helping me keep my hair. I did experience some irritation on my scalp, but was able to keep this under control using dandruff shampoo. I stopped taking it when my wife and I were starting to get ready to have our first kid, and I began to notice my hair loss starting up again. So minoxidil did work for me, and I’m starting it up again. I’ve also just gone through the Hims doctor’s visit to get Finasteride, and will update this post after I give it a shot. One of my co-authors of this site has been using Finasteride since his early twenties, and he still has a great head of hair, so I’m very optimistic.
Which do we recommend, Hims or Rogaine?
Both Hims and Rogaine offer their own brand of minoxidil. Which is right for you?
First of all, we highly recommend that you purchase this online instead of going to the pharmacy. Since shipping is included with both Hims and Amazon (assuming you have Prime), why wait in line? And more and more pharmacies have their expensive items behind those annoying, shoplifting prevention plastic barriers – who wants to have to talk to someone in person about how you need to grab a bottle of the “I’m going bald” stuff?
If you want to do every single thing you can to prevent hair loss, then we recommend you try a company like Hims. Hims is one of the first companies to offer a complete hair loss package full of medicines proven to help you keep your hair. Minoxidil plus Finasteride is currently the state of the art in terms of hair loss prevention. With Hims, you get an online doctors visit (super fast, right through your browser – and in most states, you don’t even have to talk to the doctor, you just fill out a form/answer basic health questions), prescription, and a subscription to the medicines. I’ve just gone through the doctor’s visit, and it is very simple – I didn’t have to talk with anyone, and got a notification on my phone that I was approved to try Finasteride.
Plus, Hims has a special offer right now where you can get a free doctor’s visit to find out if you’re approved for prescription hair loss treatments.
Speaking of special offers, we have a newsletter that covers all the latest offerings. Subscribe below to stay in the loop:
If all you’re looking for is minoxidil, and you are committed to sticking with the treatment, then Amazon offers great subscription pricing. You save even more when you get a multi-bottle/multi-month pack. Check out the prices on Amazon now if you know all you want is minoxidil.
There are two other companies focused on hair loss that we are really liking right now: Keeps and Roman. They have the same FDA approved medicines, and have a special right now where the first month is free (and the doctor’s visit is also free). Check them both out and take advantage of their generous introductory first free month!
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