Keeps Review: Do Keeps’ Hair Loss Treatments Work?

8.6/10

The effectiveness of your Keeps experience will have a lot to do with your specific treatment regimen and hair loss goals. A man who’s been completely bald for years will not see a big improvement by just using a thickening shampoo. But even men significantly far along in their hair loss have options from Keeps that can be quite effective.

Plenty of studies point to the efficacy of both finasteride and minoxidil, the two primary offerings you’ll find on the Keeps website. They’ve both stopped hair loss and grown new hair in these clinical trials, albeit slowly and with consistent use. You could see significant improvements with time if you couple either or both of those treatments with a medicated shampoo and a nourishing conditioner.

8.5/10

With finasteride and minoxidil as their primary treatment options, Keeps delivers the two best-known answers for men fighting hair loss. And they offer the latter in both solution and foam form, so you can determine which application method suits you best. They take the doctor-patient relationship seriously, as well, and regard hair loss from the proper medical perspective. That’s why they give you a whole year of messaging with your doctor for free.

When it comes to ancillary treatments, the Keeps Ketoconazole 2% shampoo is an excellent addition. It’s not technically designed to fight hair loss, but its anti-dandruff capabilities can cleanse and care for the scalp, which helps inhibit hair loss and promote new growth. Supporting this with the company’s thickening shampoo and conditioner helps complete your regimen.

Where Keeps could bolster their product lineup would be in the supplement space. For example, they put saw palmetto and biotin in their thickening shampoo, but most studies show that these ingredients work more effectively when ingested than they do when applied topically.

9.4/10

Keeps has some of the most competitive prices in the business. Their products come in three-month supplies that renew and ship automatically, so you don’t have to worry about running out of anything you use. The price you see on the page is lower than those of competitive products, but it’s also worth noting that the prices of their products by volume are also lower. One ounce of their shampoo, for example, is cheaper than one ounce from another company. Innerbody Research readers also get 50% off their first order with our promo code.

Visit Keeps

Keeps provides you with a free initial consultation to determine which products may be best for your hair loss goals. The doctor also follows up a few weeks later to ensure you’re having an alright time using the product and not experiencing any side effects. For the next year, you get unlimited messaging with your doctor for free, and if you want to have another consultation for any reason, it costs just $5. And shipping on each order costs just $3.

9.2/10

From a convenience standpoint, you want your experience to be fast and effortless. Keeps website is the first aspect of the company you’ll encounter, and it’s simple and easy to navigate. You can quickly see what products they have to offer, read a little bit about each one, and learn in-depth information about hair loss all in a few minutes.

Once you decide to get started, you can set up a quick doctor consultation and receive a prescription for your specific hair loss issues. Your order bills and ships automatically every three months. Getting back in touch with your doctor is as easy as writing a message or scheduling an inexpensive follow-up, many of which are available as soon as the next day.

9.2/10

Keeps’ customer care is an exceptional part of the experience. It starts just a few moments after you visit the page when their live chat feature pops up. Actual people, instead of bots, helm this feature, and they can answer a whole litany of questions regarding various products and services on the site and will readily walk you through the process from start to finish.

After you get started with Keeps, the company reaches out to you time and again to let you know that your doctor has established a suggested treatment plan, to give you shipping updates, and to check in on your progress with their products. You also have access to their care team 24/7, so if you notice something you think might be a side effect at three in the morning, you can ask someone about it.

For most men with male pattern hair loss (androgenic alopecia), Keeps works to stop hair loss and regrow hair. Keeps offers several hair loss treatment options with multiple successful clinical studies:

Topical minoxidil (foam or solution) Oral finasteride (generic Propecia®) Ketoconazole 2% shampoo

According to a 10-year-long, 532-patient Japanese study on finasteride, 91% of men saw either a reversal of their hair loss or cessation of disease progression with increases in hair density within the first year. A similar German study on minoxidil with over 930 participants showed that a 5% minoxidil solution effectively reduced the size of bald spots in 62% of patients and stopped the progression of hair loss in another 35%.

Evidence suggests that combining the two medications works more effectively for men than either treatment by itself.

The entire process of consulting and establishing a treatment plan with Keeps happens online. Once you select a treatment plan, your medicines and products will ship straight to your home.

Keeps’ services and products include:

• Medical consultation and one year of free messaging with your doctor
• Finasteride tablets (1mg) taken once a day for receding hairlines
• Minoxidil 5%, foam or solution, for hair thinning at the crown of the head
• Finasteride + minoxidil as a combination treatment
• Ketoconazole 2% shampoo for scalp health to relieve dandruff and itchiness
• Thickening shampoo you can use alternatively with the prescription shampoo
• Thickening conditioner you can use after with shampoo treatment to add moisture and strength to your hair

There are states in which Keeps’ telehealth prescription services are not legally permitted. You can still make use of their subscription offerings and great prices on over-the-counter products like minoxidil. Still, for prescription products like finasteride, you’ll need to visit a doctor locally. Armed with a prescription from them, you can use Keeps to save on the cost of medications.

Here’s a list of states and territories where Keeps can’t provide a telemedicine consultation:

• Delaware
• Idaho
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• Puerto Rico
• Washington D.C.
• West Virginia

Most insurers consider hair loss treatments to be cosmetic, so insurance companies or eligible for HSA/FSAs rarely cover them.

Keeps is ideal for any man suffering from androgenetic alopecia. Since they offer both prescription and non-prescription products, Keeps can provide solutions for those who will do anything to try to save their hair, as well as those who might be wary of intense medical treatments. Of course, there is no magic bullet against hair loss; the best way to tackle it is a combined approach, often mixing prescription and non-prescription regimens.

While Keeps definitely targets men, they have some products that could work equally well for women, particularly minoxidil. Something like finasteride would not be an option for safety reasons. Still, a free consultation with a doctor can help any females interested in their other products to map out a treatment plan.

Keeps’ treatments are best-suited for men suffering from androgenetic alopecia (male pattern hair loss). As such, they aren’t ideal for anyone dealing with other types of hair loss like telogen effluvium or chemotherapy-induced hair loss. Still, finasteride has a pretty unpleasant side effect profile, with noticeable negative effects on the male libido in a small percentage of men. If you want to avoid that risk altogether, things like minoxidil, hair restoration, or hair replacement might be better options.

Fighting male pattern hair loss is a matter of maintenance, in that you will continue to stop hair loss as long as you continue with treatment but will resume losing hair if you stop or pause your treatment. It’s also important to keep in mind that both of Keeps’ most effective treatments for hair loss (finasteride and minoxidil), whether taken together or separately, require months to produce visible results. They start working to prevent further hair loss immediately, but because of how they fight hair loss or promote hair regrowth, you shouldn’t expect to see positive results until you’ve been taking the medications for four to six months.

Getting started with Keeps is a pretty straightforward process. In a few easy steps, you can have a package full of hair loss tools on its way to your door.

Insider Tip: Setting up a profile on your phone is the best way to go. It’s a lot easier to take pictures of your head with a cell phone than it is with a laptop or desktop computer.

The first time you visit the Keeps website, you can click on the ‘Keeps website’ button and choose a treatment option based on the nature and progression of your hair loss:

• Finasteride alone for receding hairlines
• Minoxidil alone for hair loss at the top of your head
• Finasteride and minoxidil as a combined treatment for generalized thinning, hair loss in both locations, or severe hair loss

If you aren’t sure which one you want or how to classify your hair loss, you will also find a “Let the Doctor Decide” option.

Whichever option you choose, the site will direct you to their screening questionnaire. This questionnaire includes both the standard profile information (shipping address, contact details, and password) and a medical survey. Your answers go to one of their doctors for review, and they will prescribe medication if finasteride is needed and suitable for you to take.

The questionnaire includes:

• Information on your family history
• The onset of your hair loss symptoms
• Your lifestyle habits

It also asks about any potential allergies or pre-existing conditions. Finally, it asks you to send pictures of your hairline and the top of your head. Our testers found these questions were polite but direct, getting to the heart of the matter without making you feel judged.

If you live in a state where telemedicine is not legal, you will not be able to complete this medical questionnaire. Instead, Keeps will give you the option to send them a prescription from an external doctor. As long as the prescription is for finasteride or 2% ketoconazole shampoo, you’ll be able to join their subscription plans and get those medications shipped to you.

Start with Keeps

After completing the questionnaire, your information goes to one of the doctors on staff. You may need to wait up to 24 hours, but the overwhelming majority of patients receive and answer in less than four hours. Our testers heard back after only a couple of hours.

If you choose a specific subscription plan during step 1, the doctor will ensure that the medication is indeed what you need and nothing but what you need. Then, they will send you a prescription to match these criteria.

If you choose to “Let the Doctor Decide”, they will send you a prescription based on their medical opinion.

Insider Tip: Keeps will send you an email after your doctor approves your prescription with a link to officially submit your order. Make sure you follow the link and click ‘submit order’ or your prescription will not ship.

After approval, it will take up to five or seven days for the medication to arrive on your doorstep. Most parcels ship via USPS, but you can request a specific shipping service, and Keeps will accommodate this when possible. You can use the provided tracking number to ensure that your package has shipped and is on its way.

Keeps’ medical consultations combine an interactive online questionnaire with pictures of your scalp or problem areas and, in some states, a telephone conversation with a doctor.

Your first consultation is free of charge and gets you unlimited access to your doctor for one year. Your follow-up consultation a year later will be $5.

Right now, these medical consultations serve four purposes:

1. First-time review. A licensed physician reviews each person’s information when they first sign up to ensure that their type of hair loss is a fit for the program and that they’re not at high risk for any adverse effects from finasteride or minoxidil.

2. “Let the doctor decide”. This type of initial visit helps patients who don’t know if they should be taking finasteride, minoxidil, both, or neither.

3. Follow-up consultation. This service is for people who have already started their program between six and eight weeks prior. During this consultation, a licensed physician will discuss your treatment experience and check whether everything is proceeding as it should. Our testers had their doctors reach out via email in a friendly but professional manner, and a simple reply was all that they needed. Afterward, you will need at least one $5 consultation each year so that Keeps can continue to refill your prescription.

4. Patient-prompted consultation. If you have any additional concerns or notice any adverse reactions, you can request a further consultation at any time. These also cost $5, and you can often speak with a doctor within 24 hours.

Does Keeps work for hair loss?

Keeps offers products that work for men in study after study — specifically finasteride and minoxidil. In clinical trials, these two products stopped hair loss in the vast majority of participants, and even reversed it in around half, causing new hair to grow. Their supplemental offerings help protect your scalp while strengthening and nurturing your hair.

Is Keeps safe? Are there side effects?

Keeps’ products are safe to use under the supervision of a doctor, whether that’s your own physician or a Keeps doctor. Finasteride is the one medication they offer that has some worrying potential side effects. Some men will experience sexual side effects from the drug, including low libido and even erectile dysfunction.

Minoxidil and ketoconazole may produce some sensitivity in the scalp, and minoxidil may encourage hair growth on other parts of the body with regular contact. These are rare instances, however, and Keeps’ doctors are readily available to address any of your concerns.

Does Keeps protect my privacy?

Keeps takes their clients’ privacy seriously. Keeps is a part of Thirty Madison, a large medical company that offers a wide array of services. This has allowed Keeps to access better security protocols for their website, as well as a pool of HIPAA-trained staff.

Any information you send them during the consultation or questionnaire stage is encrypted. This includes any pictures of your hairline or scalp that you send to their doctors.

How fast and expensive is shipping?

Keeps sends its shipments through the USPS at a cost to you of just $3 per shipment. The company can ship anywhere in the United States (though their medical consultations are not available in every state for regulatory reasons). After you place your order, Keeps will email a shipping update with a tracking number you can use to follow the shipment to your door.

Most shipments take within 5-7 business days. Shipping materials are as discreet as possible – a plain brown box. To meet legal requirements, Keeps labels individual bottles with the patient’s name, medication type, and concentration.

Does Keeps accept insurance?

Unfortunately, it’s rare to find an insurance plan that will cover hair loss treatments, as most consider them cosmetic. Keeps’ main goal is to help people who cannot get insurance coverage for hair loss medication but wish to purchase it conveniently and at the lowest cost possible.

Therefore, Keeps chose to avoid insurance claims altogether. They also don’t currently accept Health Savings Accounts as a form of payment, but they hope to do so in the future.

How much does Keeps cost?

Keeps has some of the most competitive prices on the market, and Innerbody Research readers get 50% off their first order with our promo code. Check out this handy chart below to see how much you can save.

Finasteride is one of the most popular FDA-approved treatments for stopping male pattern baldness. At Keeps, the finasteride-only subscription includes 90 1 mg tablets, which you take once a day. Studies show that it can stop hair loss and regrow hair for many people with male pattern hair loss when taken accordingly. You should not expect to see any regrowth for four months, but consistently taking it should yield results.

Better known by the brand name Propecia®, finasteride is a type of drug called a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor. 5-alpha reductase is a substance that converts testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT). This conversion process plays a significant role in male pattern hair loss, as excess levels of DHT are a key player in androgenetic alopecia. Finasteride and other drugs of this kind treat hair loss by preventing the conversion of testosterone into DHT in the first place.

This treatment program is the best for men over the age of 20 who have a receding hairline. But finasteride is also effective for male pattern baldness in general. Two-thirds of men with male pattern hair loss at the hairline successfully stop the hair loss using finasteride. Four out of five men with crown/vertex hair loss succeed in eliminating their hair loss with finasteride.

Finasteride requires a prescription because it isn’t suitable or safe for all men. You can get your prescription easily through Keeps’ medical consultation as long as the Keeps doctor concludes that you have no underlying medical conditions that make finasteride unsafe for you. That said, finasteride has a side effect profile that includes potentially significant sexual side effects in 2-3% of patients. Those men may experience symptoms of erectile dysfunction, problems with ejaculation, or loss of libido.

Insider Tip: You may have to acknowledge a finasteride disclaimer your doctor sends you via the Keeps messaging system. If you fail to do this quickly, your doctor may claim they are unable to make a diagnosis. Don’t worry. Simply message them back as soon as you can, and you’ll have another chance to acknowledge the disclaimer.

It’s important to note that there is controversy around finasteride, with some studies showing more significant risk than others. Many of the studies purporting the highest risk levels look at 5 mg doses designed to fight benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), as opposed to the 1 mg dose used for hair loss. That alone makes the results hard to compare.

Studies also don’t seem to agree on the long-term safety of the drug. At the 5 mg dose, some studies purport symptoms of androgen deficiency over the course of many years. But few studies look at the long-term effects of 1 mg finasteride as they pertain to healthy androgen levels.

If you notice any such side effects, you can use the Keeps messaging system to reach out to your doctor or schedule a consultation to discuss your options.

This treatment is best for those with mild to moderate hair loss or thinning around the top of their heads.

Minoxidil 5% (often sold as Rogaine®) is a topical treatment that can stop hair loss and begin to regrow some hair. You apply it directly to your scalp twice a day. It can take up to three or four months before you notice any results.

Keeps offers minoxidil in two different forms: solution or foam. They’re both equally effective and require the same application frequency, so the differences are mainly practical and a matter of your preference.

1. Minoxidil solution. For $30 every three months, you will get three bottles containing two fluid ounces of Keeps minoxidil solution. The solution needs to be applied using a dropper, which can be more challenging than the foam.

2. Minoxidil foam. For $45 every three months, you will get three cans containing 2.11 ounces of minoxidil. Many people feel that the foam is easier to apply. It also contains fewer added ingredients. If you have sensitive skin or contact allergies, the Keeps foam may be a safer option.

Minoxidil works differently than 5-alpha reductase inhibitors like finasteride. When used topically for hair loss, only 2% of it absorbs deeper than your scalp. Minoxidil’s original purpose was blood pressure reduction, but early patients reported unwanted hair growth.

Precisely how minoxidil works for hair loss is still not completely clear, but it acts as a vasodilator in the scalp, widening the blood vessels there and promoting an increase in blood flow. The resulting increased delivery of oxygen and nutrients in the blood may be what helps men fight hair loss.

Additionally, the increased blood flow seems to encourage ailing hair follicles to jump into a new hair growth phase (called the anagen phase).

Two-thirds of men can stop their male pattern hair loss using minoxidil. About half report hair regrowth at the top of the head, and 20% of those using minoxidil at the hairline see noticeable regrowth there.

This Minoxidil + finasteride bundle targets men with both a receding hairline and hair loss at the crown. The shipment includes 90 tablets of finasteride 1 mg, plus either three bottles of minoxidil solution or three cans of minoxidil foam.

Evidence indicates that this combination treatment yields the highest success rate. These medications work well together, treating male hair loss in different ways.

This is a prescription-strength antifungal shampoo. It doesn’t stop or treat hair loss directly but instead aims to combat severe dandruff or scalp itchiness that doesn’t respond to over-the-counter alternatives.

The Keeps 2% ketoconazole shampoo subscription includes a 4-fl. bottle delivered every three months. If you use roughly one teaspoon of it to wash your hair, two or three times a week, it should last that long.

Most cases of dandruff result from a sensitivity to a common fungus called Malassezia globosa. This fungus is present on almost every human scalp, feeding on the natural oils there. But some people are significantly more sensitive to its presence, which can cause dryness, itchiness, and flaking.

That skin damage harms hair follicles that only gets worse when those follicles get gummed up with excess dead skin cells. By using an antifungal shampoo, you can reduce the presence of Malassezia globosa on the scalp, reducing stress on the follicles you need to protect if you want to fight hair loss.

Additionally, this study proposed that ketoconazole would help block DHT at the scalp when used in conjunction with finasteride. Another study showed that 2% ketoconazole yielded positive results to the same degree as 2% minoxidil in fighting hair loss.

In testing, we found the shampoo to have a subtle smell, with its medicinal elements not too overpowering compared to other anti-dandruff shampoos. It didn’t take a lot for our testers to get their scalps covered and massage the product into place. Every one of our testers reported a significant feeling of cleanliness afterward, with one tester noticing a slight improvement in his dandruff after a few uses.

If your hair loss hasn’t progressed to the point where you want prescription or intense chemical intervention – or if you want products to support your hair as you simultaneously use more aggressive treatments – you could opt for Keeps’ non-prescription shampoo and conditioner. Both products contain many natural ingredients, and they are vegan and gluten-free.

The shampoo contains a handful of ingredients that show promise as supplemental treatments for hair loss. It uses saw palmetto to reduce the presence of DHT on the scalp, albeit with far less efficacy than minoxidil. It also contains biotin to help improve the strength of your hair and caffeine and green tea to improve hair quality and stimulate hair follicles. The extent to which any of these ingredients work is minimal at best, but they aren’t totally ineffective.

Insider Tip: If you usually use inexpensive shampoo, you may be disappointed by the shampoo’s lather. Don’t be. Most shampoo lather results from harsh chemicals, and Keeps’ products only contain things that are good for your hair and head.

The conditioner contains many of the same treatment-oriented ingredients as the shampoo, but its formula aims to moisturize the hair above all else. Maintaining moist and healthy hair is an integral part of keeping hair loss at bay, as it can prevent breakage that can increase the appearance of thinness.

Our testers appreciated the softness of the shampoo’s aroma, which was slightly minty. It is a little on the thin side, so pour slowly at first until you get used to its consistency.

Generally speaking, you don’t want to wash your hair more than two or three times per week. If you use the ketoconazole shampoo already, you may not need the thickening shampoo. But if you need to wash your hair more regularly due to intense workouts or work-related grit and grime, using the thickening shampoo alternatively with the prescription cleanser is a smart move. And you can and should use the thickening conditioner after the application of either shampoo.

While Keeps and Hims are similar in some important ways — and we at Innerbody Research think highly of both telemedicine companies, based on our testing — there are notable differences as well. In most cases, our pick in this face-off is Keeps. Here’s a summary of some major factors.

Both Keeps and Hims offer finasteride and minoxidil as their medications for treating hair loss. Both also offer thickening shampoo and conditioner. Keeps has a prescription ketoconazole shampoo that Hims does not offer.

Hims has biotin gummies and a slew of products not related to hair loss that Keeps doesn’t offer. Ultimately, Keeps has hair loss as its sole focus, giving them an edge in targeted treatment and research. They also offer 24/7 messaging with a doctor and inexpensive $5 consultations as needed.

In just about every treatment category, Keeps has slightly lower prices than Hims. Over time, these savings can add up, which is why we think Keeps has the edge here, as well. Hims prices are still outstanding, but the base prices from Keeps are the lowest.

Keeps and Hims are quite different in terms of the care they provide. Hims offers health care in several areas such as sexual health, hair health, primary care, and mental health. Keeps is focused entirely on hair loss treatment. So if you are focused on hair loss, we believe you can sometimes benefit from a provider with the same goals.

Both companies honor your privacy, protect your online security, and use discreet packaging. At this time, Keeps’ medical consultations aren’t available in every state in the United States, whereas Hims can offer consultations in all 50 states.

For hair loss, as long as you live in a state where Keeps can offer consultations, we think your best choice in most cases is Keeps rather than Hims. But we have an entire page dedicated to analyzing and comparing these two providers, so you can drill deeper by visiting our Keeps vs Hims page.

Like Hims, ScalpMed offers similar non-prescription products to those seen on the Keeps website. Some key differences might make them worth your while, but as we’ll discuss, these differences come at a cost.

ScalpMed doesn’t offer finasteride, but their hair loss package does revolve around minoxidil. The key difference here is that ScalpMed claims to have a unique patented formula containing minoxidil that can outperform others. Their studies show that their additives prevent minoxidil from evaporating or absorbing too quickly into the scalp. Their studies don’t show whether this increased exposure time has any additional effect on hair loss.

They also offer hair care products similar to those from Hims and Keeps, with biotin and other ingredients designed to inhibit DHT and care for the scalp and hair. That line includes something only ScalpMed offers: a hair-thickening spray. Combining panthenol and vitamin B5, the spray has the potential to increase elasticity and moisture retention in individual strands of hair, making them appear thicker and keeping them well-nourished. A scalp detoxifier and a supplement containing biotin and Beta-Sitosterol round out their lineup.

For the most part, ScalpMed’s products are more expensive than those from either Keeps or Hims. Whether their patented formulas justify this cost is unclear. The fact that they have some original products might make them worth investigating and possibly worth the extra cost.

Like Keeps, ScalpMed focuses solely on the problem of hair loss. They offer targeted treatments toward women, however, which is something you don’t see from Keeps. Unfortunately, they don’t have any doctor’s network to speak of, as none of their treatments are prescription-strength. A short questionnaire leads you to a recommendation, and the whole process feels decidedly less medical than that of the competition. Learn more in our full ScalpMed review.

HairClub (formerly Hair Club for Men) provides a few different approaches to fighting hair loss. They sell various hair and scalp care products, but their hallmarks include dedicated systems for regrowth, replacement, or restoration. Each involves at least one trip to a HairClub center, each of which operates as a franchise. There are a little over 100 centers in the US.

The hallmark product line that HairClub offers is their EXT system. You can get the main haircare products online, but actually going into a clinic for these regrowth treatments is the way to do it. They include salon services, scalp massages, and laser therapy.

Their replacement services are complex, non-surgical procedures that match your hair up with real or synthetic hairs that are woven into your existing strands or added as a kind of high-tech semi-permanent hairpiece that looks incredibly real.

Finally, their restoration services are essentially hair transplants. They take donor follicles from one spot on your head and move them to where you’ve already lost hair. They can combine this technique with others to create an impressively full head of hair that’s all your own.

Compared to any of the other services we’ve mentioned, HairClub is the priciest. They provide in-house treatments on a subscription basis, the least expensive of which is nearly $200/month.

At Innerbody Research, we extensively test each health service we review. All told, our team has spent over 165 hours testing and researching the products and services of Keeps and its chief competitors in order to provide an accurate, unbiased analysis of how the products and services compare, free of marketing jargon and gimmicks.

Over the past two decades, Innerbody Research has helped tens of millions of readers make more informed decisions to live healthier lifestyles. We evaluate the service based on adherence to quality, the latest medical evidence and health standards, and a simple question: would we buy the product or service ourselves if it weren’t part of our job, and would we recommend it to family and friends?

Additionally, like all health-related content on this website, this review was thoroughly vetted by one or more members of our Medical Review Board for accuracy.

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