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Hair loss: the bane of people experiencing it (and their shower drains) the world over.

Fortunately, hair loss in both women and men can be very treatable if you catch it quick enough. You just gotta get to the root (heh) of the issue.

Here are the best hair loss treatments of 2021 to help you lock down those locks.

Best hair loss treatments for 2021

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We spoke to Dr. Michele Green, a cosmetic dermatologist who offers hair loss treatment services in her New York City practice, about the causes of hair loss and what to look for in hair loss treatments.

Just call her the loss prevention department. And no surprise, she has beautiful hair.

Types of hair loss

Here’s what Green has to say about the different types of hair loss:

  • Male or female pattern hair loss. According to Green, this is the most common type of hair loss. She says it’s “most likely due to a combination of genetics and hormonal involvement.”
  • Telogen effluvium. This is a sciencey word for temporary hair loss or thinning. “It typically happens after stress, illness, surgery, and infections such as COVID-19,” explains Green.
  • Scarring alopecia. This type, according to Green, “destroys the hair follicle itself, causing irreversible hair loss.” She says it may be caused by some autoimmune conditions, like lupus.
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Green says male and female pattern hair loss and telogen effluvium can both respond well to hair loss treatments. Her practice uses a therapy called platelet rich plasma treatment, but all of the following types of treatments may help as well (with the added bonus of not having to leave your house):

  • Medications. Green recommends minoxidil and finasteride (available over the counter or prescription) for male pattern balding. For female pattern hair loss, she recommends talking with your healthcare provider about birth control or spironolactone to help manage hormones that can be responsible for hair loss. Women can also use minoxidil.
  • Natural hair growth serums. Pregnant people can’t use minoxidil, so she recommends the use of natural hair growth serums in this instance. These serums stimulate the hair follicle, which may help promote hair regrowth. If you want to avoid the medication route (even if your oven is bun-free), then this is also a good route to take.
  • Laser treatment. Finally, Green says that many people see great results from using helmets that emit light to stimulate hair growth. Pretty wild, right?
  • Supplements. Certain nutrients and supplements may also be helpful. While the jury is still out on biotin (even though it’s in almost every hair loss product), a 2020 review noted that vitamin E, zinc, and a seaweed complex called AminoMar had the strongest evidence to support their use.

Based on these sage strand suggestions, we assembled this list of the best hair loss treatments. Per Green’s recommendations, we’ve included a few trustworthy prescription services that specialize in male pattern baldness, some natural product lines that may help promote healthy hair growth, and even a hair regrowth helmet — JIC you wanna regrow that hair while lookin’ like a TRON extra.

Pricing guide

A note about pricing: many of the recs on this list are either complete hair care systems (several products you can mix and match) or monthly subscription services. Be sure to do more research on pricing for the specific services or products you decide to look into further.

  • $ = under $50
  • $$ = $50–$100
  • $$$ = over $100
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Best overall

Hers & Hims Hair Kits

  • Price: $
  • Who it’s for: men and women
  • Pros: inexpensive, prescription options, complete hair loss system
  • Cons: telehealth may not be available in all states

Hims & Hers are sibling telehealth services that cater to men’s wellness and women’s wellness, respectively. Each of them offer hair loss solutions, although Hims also provides prescription options for male pattern baldness. A great nonprescription starting point for men or women is The Complete Hair Kit, which contains minoxidil (a follicle stimulating solution), shampoo, conditioner, and biotin gummies.

Dermatologist recommended

Pureauty Naturals Biotin Hair Serum

  • Price: $
  • Who it’s for: men or women who want a fuller looking hairline
  • Pros: dermatologist recommended, contains vitamin E, easy to use
  • Cons: not as powerful as medications like minoxidil

This biotin hair serum was specifically recommended by Green as a more natural alternative to minoxidil for pregnant women, but anyone can use it. It’s got science-backed vitamin E along with biotin and several other ingredients, and it’s designed to help keep your current hair healthy, nourish your scalp, and promote healthy hair growth.

Best for men

Keeps

  • Price: $
  • Who it’s for: men with male pattern baldness
  • Pros: access to prescription hair loss medications, relatively inexpensive
  • Cons: only for male pattern baldness, U.S. only, telemedicine service not available in all states

Keeps is a telehealth service on a mission — stopping male pattern baldness in its tracks is its bread and butter, baby. In addition to prescription hair loss medications, they also offer a thickening shampoo and conditioner. Their website is also a treasure trove of evidence-based hair loss info for men with male pattern baldness.

Best for overprocessed hair

Hair La Vie Clinical Strength Collection + Renewing Growth Treatment

  • Price: $$$
  • Who it’s for: women (men can use it too, though)
  • Pros: natural ingredients, complete hair loss system
  • Cons: a little pricier than some others, esp if you’re getting multiple products

Hair La Vie is a complete line of products for women that’s designed to promote healthy hair growth and treat hair that’s damaged or thinning from overprocessing (that’s right, put the bleach and dye DOWN… for a little while, at least).

Dr. Andrea Echeverry, the company’s chief medical advisor, recommends the Clinical Strength Collection (shampoo, conditioner, hair mask, and vitamins) for healthy hair maintenance and the Renewing Growth Treatment to stimulate those hair follicles.

Best prescription

Roman

  • Price: $
  • Who it’s for: men with male pattern baldness
  • Pros: access to prescription hair loss medications, relatively inexpensive
  • Cons: only for male pattern baldness, U.S. only, not available in all states

Roman is another telehealth service that connects you with a doctor who can write prescriptions for hair loss medications. You can also choose to have these prescriptions shipped right to your door. Roman’s hair loss treatment is only for men with male pattern baldness, but they also offer a number of other telehealth services with a focus on treating everything from erectile dysfunction to eczema to heart health. One-stop shop!

Best complete hair loss system

Advanced Trichology FoliGROWTH Vitamin + NutraM Scalp Serum

  • Price: $$$
  • Who it’s for: men or women
  • Pros: addresses root cause of hair loss, complete hair loss system
  • Cons: can be pricey if buying several products

Advanced Trichology, founded by William Gaunitz, is a complete line of products designed to address three potential causes of hair loss: high DHT (dihydrotestosterone, which is linked to male and female pattern hair loss), nutritional deficiencies, and inflammation. There’s a brief quiz on the company’s website that can direct you to the best products for your needs.

To start, Gaunitz recommends the FoliGROWTH vitamin and the NutraM Scalp Serum to promote scalp health and equip your body with the nutrients it needs to make healthy hair.

Best for postpartum people

Viviscal Hair Therapy Post-Baby

  • Price: $
  • Who it’s for: postpartum people
  • Pros: inexpensive, nonprescription
  • Cons: won’t prevent postpartum hair loss

Even though it’s a bummer, postpartum hair loss is pretty common. Often people don’t shed as much hair during pregnancy because estrogen levels shoot up while you’re baking a baby. Once the babe is born, estrogen levels drop and your hair will shed and shed and shed — but rest assured, the hair loss should stop after your hormone levels stabilize.

So while you can’t really stop this kind of hair loss, you can support your hair in the meantime — and this supplement contains AminoMar, some beauty-boosting nutrients, and collagen to help support healthy hair.

If your hair is still shedding a year after giving birth, you should schedule an appt with a doc to see if something else could be the cause — like postpartum thyroiditis.

Best value

Men’s Rogaine and Women’s Rogaine

  • Price: $
  • Who it’s for: men with male pattern baldness, women who aren’t pregnant, breastfeeding, or trying to become pregnant
  • Pros: FDA-approved, effective
  • Cons: not as strong as prescription options

Rogaine is 5 percent minoxidil, which is a treatment that stimulates the hair follicle to promote hair regrowth. Minoxidil really works, which is why Rogaine is a trusted option (it’s been around for a while too). Rogaine is available over the counter, but for a stronger concentration of minoxidil, you’ll need a prescription.

Note: minoxidil works for women, BUT you need to avoid minoxidil if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, or trying to become pregnant.

Most individualized

Harklinikken Extract

  • Price: $$$
  • Who it’s for: men and women
  • Pros: personalized formula based on your hair needs
  • Cons: expensive

The more you say it, the more fun it is to say! Harklinikken is a high end, personalized hair care service. The company’s Extract is tailored for every individual who orders it based on the results of a hair assessment they take — to reduce hair thinning and promote healthy hair growth. The Extract works best when used with other Harklinikken products, like the Balancing Shampoo and Daily Conditioner.

Best laser system

Revian Red

  • Price: $$$
  • Who it’s for: men and women
  • Pros: effective, easier than hair care systems with several steps
  • Cons: expensive up-front investment, doesn’t address root causes of hair loss

Looking for something completely different? Ready to channel your inner shark with a frickin’ laser beam attached to its frickin’ head? Try Revian Red, the helmet that promotes hair growth by stimulating hair follicles with LED light therapy. The craziest part is that studies show that it can actually work! And Green agrees.

Best all-natural solution

BondiBoost Hair Growth System

  • Price: $$$
  • Who it’s for: women and men
  • Pros: natural ingredients, vegan, cruelty free
  • Cons: expensive for long-term use

BondiBoost is all about hair care, and — like wet hair — its hair growth products shouldn’t be slept on. They’re made with all natural ingredients and they attack hair loss on all fronts: a supplement to cover nutritional gaps, a spray treatment to stimulate the follicles, and a shampoo, conditioner, and hair mask that support healthy hair growth.

Best for menopausal women

Nutrafol Women’s Balance

  • Price: $$
  • Who it’s for: menopausal and post-menopausal women
  • Pros: supports healthy hair growth for women, consult with a doctor available
  • Cons: on the expensive side

Hormones hate hair? Sometimes it kinda seems like it! Not only does hair loss come roaring up after you have a baby, it can creep back into your life during and after menopause when your hormones are going a bit haywire. This natural supplement from Nutrafol is specifically designed to address hair growth and thickness for menopausal and post-menopausal women. If you subscribe, you also get free consults with a doc.

When choosing the best hair loss treatment for your mop, you’re gonna want to make a few key considerations:

  • Prescription or no? If hair loss is a major concern for you, or if you at least want to be able to sound off to a doc about it, one of the prescription services like Roman, Keeps, or Hims might be perf for you.
  • What’s your budget? When it comes to hair loss, the sky’s the limit in terms of how much you can spend. Set a budget that you feel comfortable with, and do what you can within that budget. Thankfully, many of the hair loss systems allow you to choose just the one or two products that would be the most beneficial.
  • Why do you need a hair loss treatment? Postpartum hair loss? It’s totally normal and it should ease up after a few months. A supplement or nourishing hair treatments may be just what you need to bridge that gap. Male pattern balding or unexplained hair loss? You may want to go with one of the more comprehensive hair loss systems or chat with a healthcare pro you trust.
  • What type would you be most comfortable with? If vitamins and special shampoos, serums, and sprays all sound a little overwhelming for you, try one of the subscription services (or even the laser helmet??). If, on the other hand, you want to know that the root cause is being addressed, then dive headfirst into the more comprehensive hair loss systems.

Some final words of advice from our mane masters: be patient and consistent! Dr. Echeverry of Hair La Vie and Gaunitz of Advanced Trichology agree that from start to finish, you’re looking at least 1 to 3 months to stop hair loss and 1 to 2 years to see maximum hair regrowth. You got this!

There are several types of hair loss treatments available, from supplements and shampoos to prescriptions to laser beam helmets (yeah, really) to comprehensive hair regrowth systems. These treatments take time, but can help you reach your #HairGoals.