Testosterone, you sweet double-edged sword, you. While we praise it for its muscle and beard-growing properties, one of its byproducts is linked with hair loss. No amount of pumping iron can make your hair grow, but there are other options available, have no fear.
Androgenic alopecia, the most frequent type of hair loss, is a very common condition. According to a review article published in the European Journal of Human Genetics, it affects 20% of men in their twenties with a growing incidence of 10% per decade. Although hair loss is a normal phenomenon associated with aging, it has a substantial impact on men’s psychological and emotional health.
In a survey conducted in Europe among males between 18 and 45 years old, M. Alfonso and colleagues reported that almost half of respondents were affected by hair loss. While 62% of participants with hair loss agreed that it could harm self-esteem, 43% reported that it damaged their attractiveness.
Plus, 21% linked hair loss with feelings of depression, and 21% admitted it had a negative impact in their social lives. Fortunately, there are proven effective treatments for most cases of alopecia.
Keeps and Hims are two fantastic brands on the market with their own medically-backed takes on helping with hair loss.
Table of Contents
About Keeps
You know you’re down bad as a dude when you’re looking at your neighbors’ Bernese mountain dog and beginning to feel jealous about its luxurious locks of hair. I’m not implying that you want to have your belly rubbed and to be called a “good boy.” What I am saying is that hair loss can damage a man’s self-worth in strange ways.
Keeps was founded in 2018 by two friends with pristinely maintained heads of hair, Steve Gutentag and Demetri Karagas. That’s ironic because both men previously suffered from hair loss.
They want to keep hair care uncomplicated, reliable, and modern. That’s why the brand delivers proven hair-rejuvenating medications to men through doctor referrals.
Just as important to Keeps is keeping costs low on the customer’s end. The brand strives to maintain an affordable product line, which is why they only distribute three different products.
About Hims
Hims wants to reinvigorate men’s confidence by helping them look and feel their best. They do this by linking men with real doctors so that men across the United States can learn what they need to remedy their woes.
Many of their products focus on health issues that are often difficult for men to speak about, even with other men. These include erectile dysfunction, skincare, sexual health worries, and, of course, hair loss.
So, maybe you don’t look to bald superstars like David Goggins or Anthony Fantano for hair inspiration. You could hate the way their head shines in the light.
Whatever your stance on the baby-bottom smooth versus wild and untamed mane debate, you might be looking for a remedy.
Continue reading this Keeps vs Hims review as I’ll compare the two leading hair treatment companies by analyzing their products, their prices, their scientific backing, and more.
What to Consider
It’s worth noting for the purposes of this Keeps vs Hims review that I’ll only be looking at each company’s hair care products. That means that while Hims has a women’s like dubbed Hers, I won’t be considering them among the target audience.
With that being said, Hims’ line of hair loss remedies is far deeper than Keeps’. Keeps only has three products (and two are just different forms of minoxidil), whereas Hims offers shampoos, conditioners, and gummies.
I’m not sure what candy has to do with hair loss, but I’m not complaining.
Our Keeps vs Hims review writers also aren’t complaining about the fact that both brands boast rock-solid scientific support. Each company uses FDA-approved medications and doesn’t stuff them with filler ingredients.
Keeps’ subscriptions are a bit more rigid than Hims’. Keeps only delivering prescriptions on a tri-monthly basis. Hims offers more flexible plans for delivery and schedules.
Both brands are only available through their websites since their main goals are to connect clients to care.
Keeps vs Hims: How Do They Work?
While Hims offers a wide scope of men’s (and women’s) health-related products, this Keeps vs Hims review will only touch on their hair treatment options.
Hims works by connecting men with doctors and medication that’s tailored towards their needs. Some guys think they’re going bald when really their hair is just thinning. Others hold tight to what few strands of hair remain in their receding hairline yet don’t know which option works best for them.
Hims looks to circumvent these issues by having their clients answer a questionnaire then speak with a licensed medical professional. From there, customers can sign up for a monthly subscription plan or even one-time purchases.
It seems Keeps employs a similar strategy. They hook customers up with doctors to isolate which medication is best suited for the customers’ unique hair care problems.
From there, Keeps delivers the prescribed medication every three months. Their support doesn’t end at that step. They provide ongoing support through unlimited access to doctors. That way, men can stay committed to their optimal hair care plan.
Both Keeps and Hims employ similar tactics. The biggest difference between the two is the direct and ongoing contact Keeps maintains between their clients and medical professionals.
Keeps vs Hims: Subscriptions
This Keeps vs Hims review is based around two subscription men’s hair treatment companies. Let’s look at what both brands deliver with their subscriptions.
Keeps subscriptions come in three varieties:
- Keeps Best For Overall Thinning Hair
- Keeps Best For Receding Hairline
- Keeps Best For Thinning at the Crown
You can select a plan and check out without speaking with a doctor if you’re confident which treatment is right for you. That’s not the case with most dudes, though, which is why Keeps provides the opportunity for customers to chat with a doctor to help them select the best plan.
Each plan offers trimonthly shipments and brandishes their costs as being “half the cost of the local pharmacy.” That’s a seductive flex.
Keeps’ subscription also comes with sustained contact with your doctor to help you stick to the best course of action or to make necessary adjustments.
Hims’ subscription begins with an online questionnaire. The company asks potential clients about their current hairline, what their hair-related goals are, whether they’d consider treatment from FDA-approved medications, and other pertinent questions.
After that, they collect logistical information to match you with a healthcare professional. You’ll speak with the doctor and they’ll prescribe you the necessary products and dosage.
Hims offers a variety of subscription options, with some including prescription medications while others only provide over-the-counter treatments. You’ll receive your required treatment once a month.
You can edit your plan at any time, meaning you can pause it or opt out of it entirely. However, our Keeps vs Hims review writers found that the brand recommends making any decisions of this sort at least 48 hours before your next scheduled shipment. That way, they’ll have time to adjust your order.
Both companies’ products are backed by FDA approval, meaning that regardless of which doctor you trust you’ll be under a reliable microscope. The difference in delivery schedules (Keeps only offers deliveries every three months while Hims has options for one-time deliveries, monthly refills, or re-ups every three months) will be the key factor in swaying your opinion.
Keeps Minoxidil Foam vs Hims Minoxidil Foam:
The Hims Minoxidil Foam is a simple-to-implement product to combat receding hairlines or male pattern baldness. This product is FDA-approved and has passed rigorous clinical testing.
It pairs a powerful thickening shampoo that strengthens hair with a deep minoxidil impact onto the scalp. The minoxidil is a potent vasodilator that stimulates blood flow to the hair follicles. This forces them to grow like how doing bicep curls forces your arms to explode in size.
The advantage of using the Hims Minoxidil Foam is that it’s easy to lather it directly onto your scalp. Furthermore, foam is easier to keep clean and tidy. That means you won’t be wasting any of the product by rinsing it out of your hair.
Our Keeps vs Hims review writers found that Keeps Minoxidil Foam operates similarly to its competitor’s product. Both brands use an equivalent pharmaceutical formula containing minoxidil 5%.
The application is as easy as frothing the foam into your hands, lathering up your scalp, and hearing your hair follicles thank you. Keeps recommend continuing to use the product for as long as necessary in order to see results. That takes about 2 to 4 months on average.
Finding the difference between these two products is like splitting hairs. You’d need minoxidil to have hairs in the first place, but there’s nothing that explicitly distinguishes these products from one another.
Keeps Minoxidil Solution vs Hims Minoxidil:
Our Keeps vs Hims review just covered the advantages of minoxidil foams, but let’s not ignore what the chemical can do as a solution. It can be just as effective when applied in liquid form.
Let’s see how Keeps and Hims implement minoxidil’s liquid form to help customers maintain their hairlines.
The Hims Minoxidil is capable of penetrating thick curls to reach the scalp. It’s also a speedier application than minoxidil’s foam form. Just drop a single milliliter application to the area you want to see results in. Let it chill for a bit, and you should see results within 3-6 months.
You won’t need to use as much Hims Minoxidil since this product is a more concentrated form of minoxidil versus its foam counterpart. But just like its foamy brethren, it’s been approved by the FDA and has passed all clinical tests with flying colors.
The Keeps Minoxidil Solution, meanwhile, is directly advised to not be consumed orally. Maybe that means this is a tasty treat not just for the scalp but for the tongue too.
I jest, but this minoxidil solution is as clear as day. It’s just a hyper-concentrated dose of minoxidil that’s strong enough to nourish your scalp for four hours. That’s how long you’ll have to keep your hair dry after using it.
Much like the Hims Minoxidil, Keeps’ offering can stimulate hair growth within 2 to 4 months. However, it’s recommended you continue using both products after you begin either one so that your hair doesn’t begin falling out all over again.
Minoxidil works as long as you consistently use it. In a study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 31 men using minoxidil for hair loss were followed-up for 5 years. The authors describe a hair regrowth pick after one year of treatment. The hair growth curve slowly decreased over time. However, minoxidil maintained the recovered hair over the whole period that the study lasted.
Keeps Finasteride vs Hims Finasteride:
Finasteride is an oral pill that can boost hair growth. The advantage of taking a pill over using an external hair care treatment is that it can work in ways that external care cannot.
What ways am I talking about? This head-to-head Keeps vs Hims review will tell you.
The Hims Finasteride works by blocking the enzyme that converts testosterone in DHT (dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Now before you turn to Google Scholar to find out what the heck DHT is, I can answer that for you
DHT is the hormone that has been linked with hair loss in some men with androgenic alopecia. Thus, this pill blocks the production of that hormone by inhibiting the enzyme 5-alpha-reductaseto potentially stop hair loss.
The efficacy of the treatment lasts as long as the pill is taken. The best thing about Hims Finasteride is how effortless it is to maintain a proper dosage schedule.
The KeepsHims Finasteride is also an oral pill that contains the same ingredients as Hims’ product. It can be taken alone or at mealtimes, that’s up to you. However, you should try to take it around the same time every day. That way, your body will grow accustomed to regular finasteride levels.
You only need to take finasteride once per day. Your dosage amounts may vary depending on your doctor’s recommendation. Thankfully, if you miss a day, you don’t need to fear waking up bald and brash the next morning. Just get back on your recommended daily dosage and you’ll be fine.
As both products are prescription medications from doctors, there’s little to separate Hims Finasteride from Keeps Finasteride. Both seem like bonafide ways to battle a receding hairline.
Keeps vs Hims: Scientific Backing
The world’s leading scientists can talk about defeating global warming or sending humans to Mars all they want. It’s clear that the future of mankind is not in those practices, but in discovering how to cure male pattern baldness once and for all.
This section of our Keeps vs Hims review will examine just how each company uses scientific findings to craft their products.
Both companies use finasteride and minoxidil as an answer to men’s qualms about hair. These chemicals work on different levels, but Keeps and Hims implement them in similar ways.
Finasteride is taken orally and reduces can block DHT levels, a hormone linked with the halting of hair production. Keeps and Hims both state that it takes around 3 months of consistent usage to see results.
A meta-analysis published in the Journal of Dermatological Treatment evaluated the available evidence regarding the efficacy of finasteride for hair loss (androgenic alopecia). The authors concluded that finasteride (1mg/day) significantly improved hair growth after 24 and 48 weeks of treatment when compared to placebo. Higher doses of finasteride did not offer better results. Finasteride may cause
They both warn that the side effects including sexually related difficulties (erectile dysfunction, decreased libido, testicular pain), depression, and some allergic reactions.
Minoxidil on the other hand does not target DHT, meaning that it’s not suited for receding hairlines. Instead, it works by thickening the hair follicles and triggering hair growth by directing blood flow to the scalp.
As described in a literature review by A.K. Gupta and colleagues, topical Minoxidil has proven to be efficient for the treatment of androgenic alopecia. Minoxidil is usually well-tolerated. Side effects include dermatitis, headache, and hair growth in unintended areas (more common in women).
According to the severity of hair loss, doctors may recommend combining topical minoxidil with finasteride. A meta-analysis published in Aesthetic Plastic Surgery concluded that the combination of topical minoxidil and finasteride offers better results than monotherapy with either of the drugs.
All in all, both companies utilize such similar ingredients and have similar implementations that I wouldn’t call either brand more scientifically proven than the other. They’re both use drugs supported by medical experts and proven to be efficient in clinical trials..
Keeps vs Hims: Price & Value
Notable bald superstar Howie Mandel is all about numbers on his show Deal or No Deal. This section of our Keeps vs Hims review will follow his lead by comparing the prices and value of each company’s mentioned products so you can see if you will be getting a deal or not.
A Hims subscription costs $44 per month. Aside from that, here are the prices on their individual hair care products:
- Hims Minoxidil Foam: $30 for one month’s supply
- Hims Minoxidil: $15 as a one time purchase
Note that Hims Finasteride is only available through a subscription.
Speaking of subscriptions, Keeps subscription plans start for as low as $10 a month. That price tag depends on which medications their medical team prescribes for you.
For example, their Finasteride & Minoxidil plan costs $70 for a 3-month subscription. Elsewhere, a daily finasteride tablet supply that’ll last you three months costs $50 and enough minoxidil solution for three months is $20.
It’s apparent that Keeps is the cheaper of the two options. The advantage that Hims has in this category is that you don’t need to sign up for a membership in order to purchase their over-the-counter drugs like Hims Minoxidil.
Keeps vs Hims: What Do Customers Think?
It’d be easy to parse through the customer review sections of either the Keeps website or the Hims website and only look at the pictures. Each company proudly displays the progress their customers have made using their products, with some going from being as bald as Vin Diesel to growing Jason Mamoa-length locks.
However, words are worth a thousand pictures according to this Keeps vs Hims review writing team. So, I’ll select the most informative words customers used to explain their sentiments towards both companies.
First up is Keeps. They have an overall customer score of 4.8/5 stars based on more than 4,100 pieces of feedback.
Many customers were flabbergasted by their results. Some admitted to not having faith in the company but soon learned the errors of their ways after feeling their hair regrow.
As one customer said, “Year one done. Other reviews indicate results after the first year. My wife and children tell me they see a difference. I have several uncles, one brother, and father that are experiencing hair loss and as of right now I am not. I am at peace with the current progress and am excited about future results.”
That customer intelligently mentions the most important aspect of Keeps success – patience. Results take time. It can be frustrating waiting to see your head radiate with He-Man’s curls. But, as this 5/5 star review points out, the wait is often worth it:
“It’s pretty simple, I got this product and within 4-6 months I noticed hair regrowing at my hairline and thicker and fuller hair across the top of my head. Felt great to spike my hair again without being self-conscious, would recommend.”
Other customers loved Keeps’ refill schedule as it ensured they’d have enough product to last them for months on end.
While all Keeps’ products earned praise, this happy customer specifically points to the Keeps Minoxidil Foam and the Keeps Finasteride as being the keys to their hair recovery.
“I am happy to say it’s been a full year since I began using the recommended Keeps products (the foam and the once-a-day pill). Since then my hair has grown thick and full. The spots where I was balding are barely noticeable. I am currently 35 years of age and am happy to report my hair is at a place where I feel confident again.”
All that is as dandy as a pocketful of daisies but there’s another company in this review: Hims.
Hims’ customer score solidifies that they are for the boys. Their website reports an average 5/5 stars score from more than 290 pieces of customer feedback.
This optimistic review pointed to the necessity of brands like Hims. They helped people recover their confidence by providing them with what they once thought was lost forever:
“I’m loving the products it feels awesome to have hope for my hair for the very first time in my life, because getting my hair back means a lot for a person like myself, and I have a lot of faith for great things in the near future in reference to my hair. Looking forward to the future a lot more lately.”
To hear that your product can restore someone’s faith in humanity is among the highest praise. Other high marks of praise said that Hims helped some customers recover their lost hair after only ten months of regular usage.
This 5/5 stars review-writing customer said that their hair regrowing process was slow but nonetheless successful thanks to Hims: “Been using the hair loss program for a couple of years, and the results are amazing. My bald spot at the back is hardly there anymore!”
Both Keeps and Hims reported similar levels of customer satisfaction while also pointing to the same point. Neither company can provide overnight results. It’s required that you give the products time to work their magic.
Keeps vs Hims: Promotions & Discounts
This section of our Keeps vs Hims review will measure how each brand gives back to their supporters through promotions and discounts.
Hims has a special promo currently running but it’s outside the scope of this article. By that, I mean that it’s a free online visit with a registered health professional regarding erectile dysfunction.
While I’m focusing on hair loss, I’m specifically speaking about the hair on your head. No, not that head.
That’s about the only form of discount Hims offers. While they have a free hair consultation it’s not clear how deep that consultation goes.
And sure, Keeps admittedly aren’t spectacular when it comes to their discounts either. At least they’re currently running a promotion where you can start a new Keeps subscription plan for $8 a month.
That’s a slight discount as their regular membership costs $10 each month. That’s not a massive saving, but it’s a saving nonetheless.
Neither brand are the kings of coupon clippings apparently. While they each have one sale to their name, I wouldn’t call Keeps nor Hims industry leaders in terms of customer savings.
Keeps vs Hims: Shipping & Returns
The Stoics believe that a man is more than his personal belongings. He is not his goods not his possessions, nor is he (to quote Brad Pitt from Fight Club) “…his pair of effin’ khakis.”
The same can be said for his hair. However, a company is nothing without their products, and a big determinant of their quality is how they get their items into their customers’ hands. This section of our Keeps vs Hims review will examine how each brand ships their products.
First up is Keeps. They ensure their products reach customers’ hands within 5 to 7 business days of placing an order. Their refill process takes 90 days. If you do the math correctly, that means you’ll receive a refill once every three months.
I found that their shipping policy is affordable. Each shipment only costs $3. The downside is that Keeps only ships to United States addresses.
They cannot offer refunds on any of their products. I’m not surprised. Have you ever tried to return a medication to a pharmacy? You’d have better luck asking for a refund on your lunch from your stomach.
Hims ships their products for free, hooray! Each of the included bottles in their orders is individually wrapped, wahoo! Due to the nature of their service, it’s a labyrinthian hurdle to uncover their estimated shipping times or locations, whoops!
That veil of mystery is a knock against Hims. here’s what can be said about their shipping policy. They use the USPS for almost all of their deliveries and you can expect your shipment to arrive within a few business days. Given this information, I assume that the brand only ships to US-based customers.
Hims’ refund policy isn’t based on refunds. Instead, they provide you the option to stall, cancel, or postpone your membership at any time. They don’t promise that you’ll receive a refund on items that have already passed through the pharmacy’s shipping process.
Therefore, the only differentiating factor between the two is that Keeps charge for each shipment whereas Hims does not. Take that with a grain of salt because they only ship refills every 3 months, meaning that you’ll be paying roughly $1 per month. That’s barely worth even fitting into your budget.
Who Will You Shop With?
Here are the main takeaways from this Keeps vs Hims review:
- Keeps is more affordable but less flexible with their delivery schedule
- Hims offers a wider array of products, some over-the-counter and some not
- Both brands successfully aided men in repopulating their heads with hair
So, I hope you take those points into consideration when you decide between either company!
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