Happy Head vs Hers

Hair loss can be a very sensitive as well as a very stressful experience. Luckily, the rise of telehealth platforms in recent years has made it easier than ever to find effective treatments for hair loss that you can use from home.

Both Happy Head and Hers are major players in this space. Both platforms adopt science-backed approaches towards stimulating hair regrowth. However, their implementation, products, and onboarding process are different.

That’s why it’s important to carefully consider the features offered by both Happy Head and Hers, so you can decide which is right for you. 

At a Glance

Happy Head

This platform is best known for specializing in prescription-only, dermatologist-customized hair loss treatments for both men and women.

Its approach is highly personalized, as clients fill in a comprehensive intake form on sign-up. They then have a consultation with a board-certified dermatologist who can tailor a hair loss solution to suit their particular needs. 

This means you can provide information like your hair loss history and any sensitivities like allergies to help the dermatologist decide on the correct ingredients and concentrations for your hair loss formula.

Happy Head offers a range of advanced topical solutions and oral medications, including options like minoxidil, finasteride, dutasteride, spironolactone, and latanoprost. It also sells hair loss supplements and thickening shampoos.

The platform offers free follow-up appointments so the dermatologist can change your formula if necessary. Treatments are covered under a six-month guarantee, so you can receive a refund if you find they aren’t working for you.

This makes Happy Heads an excellent choice for people who’ve tried standard hair loss treatments without success, or who have complex needs. 

Unlike Hers, Happy Head doesn’t claim to be a one-stop shop for all women’s health issues. This means that you’ll need to go elsewhere to tackle other problems like sexual health, but Happy Head’s personalized approach to hair loss means it does one thing very well. 

Hers

If you’re looking for a female-oriented health platform with a wide range of women’s hair-loss products, then Hers is one of the best places to go.

The product range includes over-the-counter solutions like oral minoxidil as well as custom blends with supplementary ingredients like biotin and vitamin C. The platform even offers prescription medications like minoxidil and finasteride, both as oral and topical solutions.

This is one area where Hers stands out, as although products are mostly standardized, they’re available in a range of formats, including pills, foams, sprays, serums, and chews. This allows you to choose from solutions that suit your lifestyle.

As the platform is designed to address women’s health issues in general, you can also combine these products with others designed to address other areas of your life, like anxiety or sexual wellness. 

This makes Hers a good choice for women who want a straightforward, standard approach to treating hair loss that isn’t too hard on your purse. Depending on your budget, you can also adopt a holistic approach by combining hair loss treatments with other solutions. 

Product Offerings

Happy Head

As we’ve learned, Happy Head’s best known for offering customized topical solutions.

One of its most popular is a combination of finasteride (0.3%) and minoxidil (8%). This concentration of minoxidil is much higher than the usual 5% found in other hair loss treatments.

The dermatologist can also add and remove ingredients as you and they see fit, including dutasteride, spironolactone, latanoprost, retinoic acid, and hydrocortisone, in concentrations tailored to your needs.

Happy Head also offers solutions containing liposomal and aqueous bases, which can be kinder to sensitive skin.

The platform does sell standard hair loss treatments like oral minoxidil, though at a slightly higher price than competing platforms. It also has a ‘SuperCapsule’ that contains finasteride, minoxidil, and vitamin D3.

Supplements include a thickening shampoo or conditioner (sold together and separately) containing ingredients like argan oil, biotin, collagen, keratin, and saw palmetto.

With the exception of certain supplements like these, all Happy Head products require a detailed consultation and a prescription. 

Hers

The team at Hers offers a very wide range of both prescription and over-the-counter hair loss solutions.

In case you were wondering, yes – Hers was founded by the same company as ‘Hims’, which specializes in male health issues like ED and hair loss.

As the name suggests, Hers focuses on health issues affecting women. This means that there’s a greater emphasis on women’s issues. For example, when you visit the Hers product page, you’re asked some simple questions about your hair type e.g., wavy as well as how you typically style it – for instance, with heated tools like hair straighteners. 

This information can then be used to recommend specific products. While the platform claims to offer a ‘personalized’ treatment, the level of customization isn’t as great as Happy Head.

For example, the website states that the treatments are ‘formulated with dermatologists’ though, unlike with Happy Head, a dermatologist won’t tailor products to customers’ needs each time they sign up.

In terms of OTC solutions, Hers offers basic minoxidil pills, as well as a daily supplement containing minoxidil, biotin, zinc, and vitamins C, B5, and B6. The platform also sells chewables containing biotin and minoxidil.

Prescription treatments include a ‘post-menopausal’ hair spray, containing 0.3% finasteride and 6% minoxidil. 

Hers also offers a number of supplements, including a ‘full volume’ shampoo and conditioner containing ingredients like argan oil, rice bran oil, and biotin.

Naturally, if you require any prescription products, you’ll need an online consultation with one of the Hers medical professionals, though this won’t necessarily be a dermatologist. 

Customization

Happy Head

This is one area where this platform stands (Happy) Head and shoulders above its competitors.

Prospective patients are given an intake form where they’re asked detailed questions about their medical history and the nature of their hair loss.

As outlined above, the dermatologist can then use this in consultations to customize the hair loss treatment for:

• Specific activities and strengths, e.g., using the base topical solution with 8% minoxidil and 0.3% finasteride, then adding one or more other ingredients like spironolactone, dutasteride, or latanoprost.
• Tailoring the formula to take into account sensitive scalps, e.g., by adding an aqueous solution or removing an ingredient from an existing treatment that’s causing irritation.
• Customizing the treatment to your gender and hair-loss pattern, e.g., menopausal or postpartum.
• Ongoing adjustments, given that follow-up consultations are free of charge if you find a particular formula isn’t working for you. This can then be adjusted by the dermatologist, e.g., to reduce side effects by lowering the concentration of a particular ingredient, or removing it altogether. 

Hers

Hers talks a good game about customized treatments, but it doesn’t offer anything near to the level of personalization available for Happy Head.

The ‘quick quiz’ you’re offered when visiting the site does ask some pertinent questions like when your hair loss started, but also seems to ask erroneous questions like whether you or other people have noticed it. 

While the platform claims that most products have been approved by dermatologists, they’re mostly standardized. In other words, while the hair loss treatments may have originally been designed by skincare specialists, they can’t be tailored to your scalp. 

That said, you can choose different strengths of minoxidil in certain products. Hers also offers many different ways to receive treatments, e.g., oral or topical. However, there’s no way to fine-tune the ingredients or change concentrations beyond the range of products already available on the website.

Naturally, this may not be an issue if you haven’t tried standard hair regrowth medications before and have no known sensitivities. For example, oral minoxidil may be all some people need to combat hair loss.

Medical Expertise

Happy Head

As you’ll no doubt have guessed from the name, Happy Head specializes specifically in hair growth products.

This means that the platform offers consultations only with board-certified dermatologists, meaning that they’ll have experience with hair and scalp conditions.

While this is helpful for all users, it’s especially important for women. Female hair loss can be caused by a much wider range of factors than men e.g. hormonal, autoimmune, postpartum etc., so may require more nuanced treatment plans.

Hers

Consultations for prescription treatments with Hers are with certified medical professionals (MD, NP, or PA) but not necessarily dermatologists. This reflects the fact that the platform’s focus is on general women’s health issues beyond hair loss, like weight loss and anxiety relief.

Once you’ve answered the initial quick quiz, the consultation process is very rapid and streamlined. However, it’s not customized to your scalp. It is possible to change your existing subscription, but only to and from existing products in the Hers range.

Pricing

Happy Head

Customers who sign up for Happy Head subscriptions can expect to pay anything from $59 to $159 per month for a topical solution, depending on the type and concentration of its ingredients.

Oral medications work out at $22 per month for a 3-month supply of Minoxidil. Happy Head’s SuperCapsules are available with a variety of ingredients, but costs tend to work out around $59 per month for the first six months, then $79 thereafter.

Shipping is free to the USA for all orders.

The platform offers a six-month guarantee, so if you aren’t happy with a particular treatment, you can request a refund for the last batch you received.

Hers

The prices for Hers standard products are more competitive than Happy Head’s. For instance, its minoxidil solution and foam work out at less than $13 per bottle for a six-month subscription.

Oral minoxidil tablets work out at $29 per month. This is slightly more than Happy Head’s offering, though you can order it month-to-month instead of three months’ supply in one go.

Bottles of Biotin gummies cost around $13.50 per bottle for a six-month subscription.

Shipping is free for all prescription orders, though there may be a charge for one-off/OTC products.

Support for Women

Happy Head

Although many platforms focus specifically on male hair loss, Happy Head’s detailed consultation process ensures that treatment formulas can be customized for women. For example, its dermatologists can include ingredients better suited for treating female hair loss, like spironolactone and latanoprost. Hair loss solutions can be personalized for hair loss patterns affecting women, like postpartum or postmenopause. 

Hers

This platform focuses specifically on women’s health issues, including hair regrowth. On the plus side, this means you can bundle your hair loss treatments with others like those focused on sexual wellness or reducing anxiety.

The downside is that none of Hers’ hair loss solutions are customizable. This means if you’re a woman with a rarer hair loss pattern or who has particular scalp sensitivities, you may find the existing treatments to be ineffective and/or cause side effects.

Who should choose Happy Head?

Happy Head is almost certainly the best solution if you:

• Have complex hair loss needs.
• Have found that existing solutions don’t work or have triggered side effects.
• Want a fully personalized prescription solution.
• Value ongoing support from a qualified dermatologist.
• Want the option to adjust your formula as your needs change.

Who should choose Hers?

Hers might be a better choice for women who:

• Haven’t tried standardized treatments already and would like to.
• Need an affordable hair-loss solution.
• Want to bundle hair care treatments with other female wellness products.
• Do not suffer from any known skin sensitivities or allergies. 

Final Thoughts

Both Happy Head and Hers are well-known and effective options for tackling hair loss, especially for women.

Happy Head is the clear winner when it comes to customization and flexibility. You also have the peace of mind of speaking to an actual dermatologist who will have specialist knowledge of your hair loss needs. This can include tweaking the formula if you have sensitivities to certain ingredients or their specific concentrations.

Hers is more of a budget option. The quiz you take when signing up isn’t as detailed as Happy Head’s, but that means you can get going more quickly. If you haven’t tried any standardized hair regrowth solutions before, this may be all you need to fight a thinning scalp. As we’ve learned, Hers also offers other female wellness products, which you can combine with these treatments.

Ultimately, the right choice will depend on your own hair loss pattern, sensitivities, budget, and preferences.

If you need a specialists’ touch plus ongoing support, Happy Head is tough to beat. If you just want a straightforward, affordable approach to growing your hair back, then Hers is an excellent entry point.