Best Topical Finasteride Brands: From Someone Who Has Tried Way Too Many

Like most men in their thirties, I never thought I’d ever be searching online for “best hair loss treatments.” But it seems my ever-receding hairline had other ideas.

I made pretty much every mistake in the book at first. One of these was taking oral hair loss medications, which often aren’t as effective as applying topical solutions straight to your scalp. 

This is how I came to appreciate the benefits of topical finasteride solutions for safer and more targeted treatment of hair loss.

Understanding topical finasteride

Finasteride is one of many medications designed to stimulate hair regrowth, though it has a good reputation for being effective.

It works by inhibiting the enzyme 5-alpha reductase, which converts testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT). This is the main hormone that causes hair loss.

Finasteride can also be taken orally; however, a 2021 double-blind study showed that topical finasteride can be just as effective at much lower concentrations (around 1%) of the strength. Studies show that topical finasteride generally causes far fewer systemic side effects than taking it orally, e.g., erectile dysfunction. 

The short answer

Time and hair loss wait for no one, so I’ll cut to the chase. After getting a sore scalp from a standard hair loss treatment, I signed up for Happy Head’s Rx Solution, which contains a combination of finasteride (0.3%) and minoxidil (8%), with a dash of retinoic acid and other ingredients.

After the platform’s dermatologist tweaked the formula slightly to be more gentle, I experienced dramatic hair regrowth with no harmful side effects. This is why I feel that Happy Head offers the best topical finasteride solutions on the market. 

However, the right hair loss treatment should always depend on your treatment plan, your sensitivities, and your personal preferences. 

Read on for a more in-depth examination of all the options available. 

Best Topical Finasteride Brands

1. Happy Head 

Price: $59 for the first six months, $79 per month thereafter.

Bottle size: 2oz / 60ml

Active Ingredients: Varies. Default is: 0.3% finasteride, 8% minoxidil, 0.01% retinoic acid, 1% hydrocortisone, plus aloe vera (to soothe the scalp), propylene glycol, and ethyl alcohol.

How to apply: Apply 1.0ml via the dropper, twice a day (2.0ml)

• Highest concentration of active ingredients available.
• Formulas are customized to customers’ needs.
• Solutions are prepared by qualified dermatologists.

• Higher price point than off-the-shelf solutions.
• Must be applied twice a day.

I’ve already nailed my colors to Happy Head’s mast, so I should explain that what first drew me to the platform is the consultation process.

Potential customers are asked to fill in a detailed questionnaire. You then have a consultation with a board-certified dermatologist. This is in contrast to many telehealth platforms, which tend to use general medical practitioners who may lack expertise in specific skin conditions.

The ingredients listed above are those included by default, though your dermatologist can change any of these to best suit your hair loss pattern. For example, they can change the concentrations of specific components, or (as in my case) add other ingredients to better soothe the scalp.

Admittedly, this kind of expertise and customized formula makes Happy Head more expensive than other offerings out there, but if you’ve had no joy with standard treatments, it’s a logical choice.

In the ‘cons’ above, I mentioned that the treatment must be applied twice a day. This was and is true for the Happy Head Rx Solution I used. 

However, the platform also offers Liposomal Finasteride. Like the Rx Solution, this also contains 0.3% finasteride and 8% minoxidil. But it also deploys Happy Head’s liposomal delivery system. You only have to apply this once a day, plus there are no drips: you just pump a little onto your fingers (it has the same consistency as hair gel), then apply to your scalp. This is much less messy than using a dropper.

2. Hims

Price: $35 per month

Bottle size: 3 oz / 90 ml

Active ingredients: 0.3% finasteride, 6% minoxidil. Inactive ingredients: alcohol (ethanol), propylene glycol, citric acid

How to apply: 1ml, twice per day (around four sprays)

• Affordable pricing
• Convenient to apply (spray on)
• Combines proven, FDA-approved hair loss ingredients

• Lower concentration of active ingredients
• Spray may not reach scalp as effectively as dropper/gel
• Limited customization

Hims was one of the first telehealth platforms I tried to address my hair loss, and I can safely say it does all it can to make life easy for new subscribers.

Pricing on the main site is transparent and extremely reasonable. Before you can order anything, you’re asked probing questions about your hair loss, such as whether your hair loss is noticeable just to you or others as well. When I signed up, I was also asked about my hair loss treatment goals, e.g., for thicker and fuller hair. 

Him’s topical hair loss finasteride and minoxidil spray contains two proven ingredients to tackle hair loss. Admittedly, the 6% concentration of minoxidil isn’t as great as competitors like Happy Head, but may be sufficient for some hair loss patterns.

Of course, if you’re unhappy with the listed formula in any way, then there’s not much to be done, as there are no customization options. Although you do have a medical consultation before being prescribed any treatments, this will likely be with a general medical practitioner – not a board-certified dermatologist, as is the case of competitors like Happy Head and XYON Health.

I’ve said before that the right hair loss treatment is the one that best meets your needs and preferences. This is particularly true for this particular solution, which is available as a spray. 

If you have to apply a hair loss solution twice a day, you might appreciate the speed and convenience of just having to pump the spray button a few times. 

However, you may not feel that this offers the same kind of targeted hair regrowth as, say, a solution carefully applied directly to the scalp with a dropper. From the research I’ve done online, there doesn’t seem to be any hard data on this, so as I said, only you can decide if the convenience of a spray-on finasteride solution is worth the risk of potential lower scalp absorption. 

3. XYON Health

Price: $99 per month (30% off your first order)

Bottle size: 1 oz / 30 ml

Active ingredients: Finasteride (2.5%), SiloxSystem Gel (97.5%)

How to apply: Dispenses 1 ml of gel per day to apply to your scalp

• Very high finasteride concentration
• Uses a patented gel for controlled release of finasteride
• Backed by board-certified dermatologists

• Gel solution is relatively expensive
• No pay-as-you-go model
• Limited independent reviews

This platform first came to my attention, as unlike many telehealth websites, it lists the names, photos, and experience of its main medical practitioners.

This is where I learned, for example, that XYON’s Medical Director, Dr. Han, is a board-certified dermatologist. Her colleague Dr. Hasson, is also a specialist in hair loss treatments and is responsible for developing XYON’s proprietary SiloxSystem Gel, which is designed to deliver ingredients like finasteride directly to hair follicles in a controlled manner.

The gel solution also contains a very high concentration of finasteride relative to competing products, and is relatively easy to apply as the pump is designed to dispense exactly 1 ml at a time.

From searching online, I found that XYON used to offer a pay-as-you-go model for products, but it’s now subscription only. This could be a concern, as the listed price ($99) per month is the most expensive finasteride solution I’ve seen.

That said, XYON does also offer a topical finasteride (0.25%) and minoxidil (6%) solution. This is more reasonably priced at $68 per month, which, like the ge, l is also billed quarterly. Whatever product you choose, you can also get 30% off your first order with a special discount code. 

When I was first considering signing up with XYON, I was concerned, as there were limited independent online reviews. That said, you can see before and after photos from real customers on the site itself who’ve used the topical finasteride gel and the combination finasteride/minoxidil solution, which set my mind at rest. 

3. Keeps

Price: $60 per month (33% off your first order)

Bottle size: 3.65oz / 108 ml

Active ingredients: Finasteride (0.25%) and minoxidil (5%)

How to apply: Apply one pump per day to the hand and massage into the scalp.

• Very affordable pricing
• Gel is easier to work into the scalp than sprays
• Excellent customer ratings

• Relatively low ingredient concentrations
• $5 shipping fee for most orders
• No customization options

Keeps is a very well-known name in the hair-loss treatment space. Having struggled to find independent online reviews with other platforms like XYON Health, I was spoiled for choice when it came to Keeps. For example, it has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

Its topical finasteride solution is available both as a gel and as a foam. Both can be applied once a day to your scalp, saving you the twice-daily trouble of applying a solution via a dropper.

The price listed above is for Keeps’ finasteride/minoxidil gel. The foam costs $50 per month (also billed every three months). As with the gel you receive a discount off your first order, though in this case, of 10% not 33%, meaning treatments work out at $45 per month.

Regardless of which you choose, both treatments contain equal amounts of active ingredients. They only differ in how they’re applied. Admittedly, neither the concentrations of finasteride or minoxidil are very high compared to competitors, but this may be all you need to treat mild to moderate hair loss. 

Beyond the choice of foam or gel, there are no customization options. However, orders over $300 are free. This means you can save on the topical finasteride/minoxidil gel by ordering six months’ supply at a time. Unlike many telehealth platforms I’ve seen, Keeps also ships internationally.

I say ‘telehealth’ rather than a ‘hair loss’ platform, as Keeps also offers treatments for other issues related to sexual health and weight management. This means that the medical professional you speak to during your online consultation may not necessarily be a dermatologist or have extensive experience with hair loss issues. Still, this may not be an issue if you’re just starting treatments, as the standard topical solution may be all you need.

4. Strut Health

Price: $59 per month (30-day supply)

Bottle size: 1 oz / 30 ml

Active ingredients: Finasteride 0.25%, Minoxidil 0.0%-7.5%, Tretinoin 0.0%-0.0125%, Fluocinolone 0.01%, Biotin

How to apply: Once daily to the scalp (both gel and solution via dropper)

• Customizable hair loss formulations
• No propylene glycol in gel, which can reduce irritation.
• Competitive pricing.

• Limited brand recognition.
• Platform doesn’t specifically focus on hair care.
• Some customers on TrustPilot reported issues with canceling subscriptions. 

This platform specializes in a range of medical issues affecting men and women, like sexual health, hair loss, skin care, and weight management.

Admittedly, this means that they’re not solely focused on hair loss treatments, so you won’t necessarily receive a consultation with a board-certified dermatologist to obtain a prescription.

However, Strut Health’s finasteride hair loss formulation does offer a high degree of customization. The ingredients listed above contain a fixed concentration of finasteride (0.25%) but others are available in varying concentrations, as decided by you and your physician. 

This places Strut Health on a similar footing to the likes of Happy Head, though I noted that, unlike its competitor, Strut Health doesn’t seem to be able to add new ingredients to treatment formulas to stimulate regrowth. 

Having said this, the lack of propylene glycol and other types of alcohol is a wise move for customers with scalp sensitivities, as I’ve found out the hard way that those can irritate the skin. 

The more limited customization is also reflected in Strut Health’s pricing, which is actually on a par with standardized hair loss treatments from competitors like Keeps. 

Strut Health has some excellent reviews on sites like TrustPilot, though I noted a small number of customers said they’d encountered issues with canceling subscriptions before being billed. Naturally, this is always going to be an issue whenever someone signs up for a recurring service. 

How to choose the right topical finasteride

As I said above, there are good reasons to use topical finasteride solutions over the oral versions, given that it can be applied more directly to the scalp with a lower risk of side effects.

The specific solution you choose will depend on the medical advice you receive during the consultation, your hair loss pattern, and your personal preferences.

The reason I favor Happy Head was due to my sensitive skin. If you have similar medical issues, then you’ll likely also benefit from consulting with a board-certified dermatologist who can prescribe a custom formula to reverse your hair loss.

If you have no known sensitivities and are on a budget, a standardized option from a platform like Hims can also make sense. This offers relatively low concentrations of finasteride but might be all your scalp requires if you’re only fighting moderate hair loss. 

Platforms like Keeps offer more of a middle-of-the-road approach, with slightly higher concentrations of ingredients but still at a reasonable price point.

XYON Health’s 2.5% concentration of finasteride inside its patented gel offers the highest concentration of all the solutions I’ve covered here. While this might be potent, you also need to consider the potential for side effects, as well as the gel’s relatively high cost. I’d only recommend this if other finasteride solutions at lower concentrations haven’t worked for you. 

If you’ve tried any of the products listed above or have discovered a finasteride solution that works for you, please leave a comment below!