Hims vs Regrowthy: Two Very Different Approaches to Hair Loss

How Hims Works

Hims connects users with licensed healthcare providers via telehealth who can prescribe finasteride and minoxidil. The process is fast, and most users complete an online consultation in minutes. Hims also offers over-the-counter options including minoxidil topical, hair vitamins, and shampoos, but their primary value proposition is the accessibility of prescription hair loss medication.

Finasteride works by inhibiting 5-alpha reductase, the enzyme that converts testosterone to DHT. By reducing systemic DHT levels, it slows or stops the follicular miniaturization that drives androgenetic alopecia. Multiple large-scale clinical trials support its efficacy. The Merck clinical trials found that 83% of men who took finasteride for two years showed no further progression, and 66% experienced some hair regrowth.

The trade-off is well documented. In the original Merck trials, 1.4% of finasteride users experienced sexual dysfunction compared to 0.9% of the placebo group. Real-world observational studies have reported higher rates. Post-Finasteride Syndrome, a condition in which sexual, neurological, and psychological symptoms persist after discontinuing the drug, has been reported in a subset of users. The FDA added a persistent sexual dysfunction warning to the finasteride label in 2012.

How Regrowthy Works

Regrowthy does not offer prescription medications. The approach is built around three non-pharmaceutical mechanisms: photobiomodulation via the laser therapy cap, topical botanical treatment via Density Drops, and internal botanical and nutritional support via the Daily Density supplement line.

The laser cap uses 660nm wavelength light to stimulate cytochrome c oxidase in hair follicle mitochondria, increasing ATP production and triggering dormant follicles to re-enter the anagen growth phase. A 2019 meta-analysis of eleven randomized controlled trials found a standardized mean difference of 1.316 favoring LLLT over a sham device for hair density, a statistically significant and clinically meaningful result.

Density Drops is built around rosemary leaf extract, which in a 2015 randomized controlled trial published in Skinmed was found to produce results comparable to 2% minoxidil at six months with significantly fewer reports of scalp irritation. Daily Density Pro contains saw palmetto, a botanical 5-alpha reductase inhibitor that selectively inhibits the Type II isoform, the same enzyme finasteride targets, without the systemic hormonal effects. You can read more about the evidence on our science page.

Who Should Choose Hims

If you are a man who has decided that the efficacy of pharmaceutical intervention is worth the trade-off risk, and you want the most direct and proven path to slowing androgenetic alopecia, Hims is a legitimate option. Finasteride is more aggressively studied than any botanical alternative and has a decades-long track record. The telehealth model makes access easy.

Who Should Choose Regrowthy

If you have researched finasteride and decided you do not want to take a hormone-affecting drug indefinitely, Regrowthy is built for you. If you have tried finasteride and experienced side effects, Regrowthy offers a non-pharmaceutical path backed by real science. If you want a complete system rather than a single drug, Regrowthy provides laser therapy, topical botanicals, and internal supplementation working simultaneously. And if you are a woman, Hims is primarily built for men, while Regrowthy explicitly addresses female pattern hair loss and postpartum shedding.

The Bottom Line

Hims and Regrowthy are solving the same problem through fundamentally different mechanisms. Neither is universally superior. The right choice depends on your comfort with pharmaceutical intervention, your side effect tolerance, and how comprehensive a routine you want to commit to. What Regrowthy offers that Hims does not is a complete system without a prescription, without hormonal intervention, and with a free $49 Scalp Activation Kit included with every laser cap purchase.