ForHims Review: Telehealth for a healthy, handsome you

About For Hims

For Hims is an online men’s wellness brand created so that men can find support and solutions for sensitive topics including hair loss and erectile dysfunction. With a goal of combating the stigma surrounding men’s health, For Hims aims to make their solutions easily accessible and affordable.

This For Hims review provides an in-depth look at the full range of For Hims products, customer reviews, promotions, and more, to help you decide if the brand is right for you.

Overview of For Hims

For Hims launched in November 2017 under CEO Andrew Dudum with headquarters in San Francisco. The mission from the start has been to help men address health and wellness problems that men often feel uncomfortable bringing up. With a fully online format and products delivered to your door, For Hims wants to make these conversations easy to have and the problems easy to solve.

Prior to launching, For Hims teamed up with experts and spent a year researching the products to roll out at the start and those they planned to introduce at a later date. Aiming for the best customer experience, they conducted further research into telemedicine.

For Hims gained brand recognition with some… let’s say creative uses of a cactus in an ad campaign that featured prominently in the New York subway. They have since formed a promotional partnership with Alex Rodriguez, and Jennifer Lopez promotes their sister brand, For Hers, launched for women in 2018.

For Hims continues to expand their range of products, even selling at-home COVID-19 testing kits during the pandemic. Today, For Hims offers products across seven categories including Primary Care, Hair, Sex, Skin, Supplements, Mental Health, and COVID-19.

Is For Hims FDA Approved?

Scientific legitimacy is a major selling point for the brand. Part of their pre-launch research was working with medical experts to identify FDA-approved solutions to the problems they want to address. With that said, For Hims also sells supplements, which the FDA only reviews for safety, not effectiveness.

For Hims is very upfront about the science behind all their products. Each one contains detailed information in the product pages, and often links to the For Hims blog for further reading. It seems like all the drugs are noted to be FDA-approved or, in some cases, are FDA-approved but sold for “off-label use,” meaning it has not been FDA-approved for this purpose. Doctors do usually have the license to prescribe drugs this way.

For Hims employs licensed doctors to diagnose problems and write prescriptions. If you have any questions after reading the product page, they can help. It is also worth noting that For Hims medications use the same active ingredients you would get from a pharmacy.

Pros

• Customers who left a For Hims review are positive about the effectiveness of the drugs
• Fully online model makes it less time consuming and aids privacy in sensitive topics
• Delivers discreetly to your door for free
• Offers lots of information on each product, including side effects, so you know about the treatment you’re receiving
• Despite the bevy of information, For Hims reviews say the site and the whole process are easy to navigate
• Reviewed by medical professionals
• Offers subscriptions with automatically shipped refills

Cons

The fully online model could be felt to remove the personal touch in dealing with sensitive topics
It’s common to find a For Hims review that considers some of the non-medication products surplus
There have been some issues with deliveries
Only available in the United States
Not made for women and many products should not be used by women, but For Hims does have the sister brand, For Hers, to address this

For Hims Plans

For Hims products can be bought as a one-time purchase or as a subscription that delivers the products monthly. The price for the subscription is the same each month as a one-time purchase. However, the $5 processing fee that comes with each product (a purchase of two products has a $10 processing fee) is only applied to the first shipment.

This For Hims review will not look at everything (that would take an awfully long time) but will instead focus on a selection of their bestsellers. These are:

1. For Hims Hair Loss

2. For Hims Skincare

3. For Hims Erectile Dysfunction

4. For Hims Propranolol for stage fright

5. For Hims Primary Care

6. For Hims Mental Health

For Hims Hair Loss

The basic message behind For Hims is that stigma and embarrassment associated with health issues are simple to resolve. Hair loss was the first such issue that For Hims focused on. For Hims wants to once again let you believe in the hairline that year-by-year recedes before you. They offer five products and four sets to make this a reality:

• Finasteride: $28.50
• Shampoo: $19
• Conditioner: $22
• 5% Minoxidil: $15
• Biotin Gummies: $16
• Hair Power Pack: 30 Finasteride pills and your choice of another product: $23
• Non-Prescription Hair Kit: Shampoo+, Conditioner, Biotin Gummies: $30
• Edible Kit: 30 Finasteride pills and 30 Biotin Gummies ($28, it’s $5 cheaper to just get the Power Pack with Gummies)
• Shampoo and Conditioner: $33

Finasteride and the 5% Minoxidil solution are the only true drugs in the mix and are therefore the only two the FDA approves for effectiveness. 5% Minoxidil is available over the counter whereas a doctor must prescribe Finasteride. Reviews indicate that, while the other products can be useful, it is these two, and especially the Finasteride, that do the heavy lifting.

Finasteride is a once-a-day pill that specifically works at the top of the head and treats male pattern baldness. Taken once or twice-a-day, 5% Minoxidil is applied in drops and also works at the crown but takes a “lose the battle, win the war” approach. It promotes the shedding of old hair and the growth of new, thicker hair by relaxing blood vessels around the scalp to increase blood flow.

That’s about as deep into the science as this For Hims Hair review will go. The bottom line is, for thicker hair and slower hair loss, For Hims has you covered.

For Hims Skincare

For Hims offers both acne and anti-aging solutions. So if your skin is looking too young or too old, they can help. They offer seven products:

• Anti-Aging Cream: $34
• Acne Cream: $34
• Morning Glow Vitamin C Serum: $33
• Goodnight Wrinkle Cream: $24
• Everyday Moisturizer: $18
• Small Batch Scent: $64
• Complete Anti-Aging Set: $49

The Anti-Aging Cream uses tretinoin to help your skin produce more collagen, while the Acne Cream uses a combination of clindamycin, niacinamide, and tretinoin. The Anti-Aging Cream and the Acne Cream require a prescription. You use both as per your doctor’s instructions.

If you want to know more about how these work, visit the For Hims site. Seriously. There is a lot of information that you can find beyond this For Hims review.

For Hims Erectile Dysfunction

Yes, we’re going to talk about it. For this common problem below the belt, For Hims offers five solutions that turn your pecker from a limp noodle to a good ole woodie.

• Sildenafil (the active ingredient in Viagra) ($30)
• Tadalafil (Generic Cialis®) ($240)
• Viagra® ($425)
• Cialis® ($520)
• Stendra® (avanafil) ($175)

All of these FDA-approved medications work by inhibiting PDE-5, which For Hims tells us is the enzyme that decreases blood flow and undercooks the baguette. The difference between them is the Sildenafil products are taken just on the day whereas the Tadalafil products are taken every day and take 4-5 days before you can fly the flag at full mast. Stendra is newer and doesn’t have the same name recognition or history but it can be taken with moderate alcohol consumption and has less side effects. It is also taken the day of.

The first thing you probably noticed is the price difference between the generic and the branded products, especially with the For Hims Viagra and For Hims Sildenafil. Part of that is For Hims just being a stand-up company and offering the generic versions at a reduced price. However, the website never mentions how many pills come in a bottle, and some For Hims review Reddit users say this is done to make the deals seem better than they actually are.

The delivery process makes it more discreet but you still need a For Hims doctor to prescribe these products. Please remember that you can use any of the euphemisms in this For Hims review, they get it all the time.

For Hims Propranolol for Stage Fright

A particularly good product to sell without the need of leaving the house, Propranolol is an FDA-approved drug that combats performance anxiety. Propranolol is a beta-blocker that lowers the physical symptoms of anxiety such as sweating, accelerated heartbeat, or shaking.

Propranolol is taken 30-60 minutes before a stress-inducing situation. Your For Hims doctor decides on the correct dosage after your consultation and For Hims then ships that dosage. Due to this variation, there is no price listed on the For Hims site for Propranolol so this For Hims review cannot say if it comes at a particularly good price.

For Hims Primary Care

One of their new services, For Hims Primary Care, allows you to speak to a health-care provider remotely for $39 (very helpful in pandemic times). After filling out a short questionnaire, you are connected to a provider who can take you through possible treatments and, if needed, write a prescription and send it to a local pharmacy (For Hims can only send For Hims products).

There are limits as to the number of different conditions For Hims providers can treat within each category, so make sure you check the full list of conditions on the Primary Care section of the site before booking a consultation.

For Hims Mental Health

For Hims Mental Health, another new service, is run by a team of mental health professionals including psychiatrists, therapists, and nurses with mental health certifications. If you’re not too familiar with mental health treatment, that isn’t the given you’d think it would be.

For Hims offers psychological support in the form of psychiatric evaluation and medication, anonymous online support groups (in only a small handful of areas), and free videos on coping strategies. They intend to let customers book b in the future.

Mental health is a notoriously stigmatized field and it can be very hard to access support, so this For Hims review praises them for making the option available. Ultimately, mental health treatment is finicky and can take some time to find the right approach. The online format can be alienating to some but, still, props to For Hims.

For Hims Reviews: What Do Customers Think?

Does For Hims work? That’s the ultimate question. The Primary Care and Mental Health solutions are too new for a meaningful set of reviews so we will focus on the other products.

For Hims offers solutions that seem to fall into two categories: prescription drugs and everything else. The prescription drugs are well reviewed for their effectiveness (they’re FDA-approved, so they should be). The jury is out on the others, however, which are more specific to For Hims. Some say they work but need to be used in tandem with the medication, others say just get the medication.

Regardless, it is the medication you come for but it is also available elsewhere so the question of worth comes down to whether or not the ease and comfort, and/or the financial considerations make it worthwhile. For Hims has a number of positive reviews but there are a handful of detractors.

There are further complaints about delivery times, with people saying deliveries have missing items, did not come, or came too late. This is a worrying trend for a company delivering needed medication. Other complaints have centred on back orders with needed products sold out (also worrying).

Is For Hims Worth It?

Overall, there are still many positive reviews about the ease of the process and the effectiveness of the products. It’s going to depend on the comfort, accessibility, and prices of your other options, but if it goes off without a hitch (which it should but it is an if), it seems like a worthwhile route to go.

For Hims Promotions & Discounts

They do not currently have on their site a sale, For Hims promo code, or For Hims discount code but they do offer free consultations for Hair, Skin, and Sex solutions. Good pricing to begin with is advertised as a selling point.

Where to Buy For Hims

For Hims is only available online at ForHims .com.

FAQ

How Long Does It Take for For Hims to Work?

Sildenafil and Viagra: about 30 minutes

Tadalafil and Cialis: taken every day, takes 4-5 days before you can achieve erection

Stendra: about 15 minutes

For Hims Shipping Policy

For Hims offers free shipping and only delivers to the United States. Orders ship the morning after the prescription is written and arrive in a few business days.

For Hims Return Policy

For Hims does not accept returns. They say to reach out if you’re unhappy with your order and they will do all [they] can to make things right.

Subscriptions can be cancelled for free but you will be charged if your next refill has been processed by the pharmacy. There is a money back guarantee on hair products.