Fact Checked
There are a lot of different hair-loss treatment options, but not all of them will be available everywhere, and some are only available on prescription. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that the best hair loss treatment is prescription-only. Different treatments will work best for different people, and you might find that the best one for you is one that you can simply get over the counter.
You can get hair-loss treatments:
Seeing a clinician in-person might be useful. They can physically look at your hair, and might be able to tailor specific advice to you to help your condition. They might also be able to find out if your hair-loss is as a result of another condition.
Some nutrient deficiencies in your diet can lead to hair loss, such as: iron, zinc, vitamin B3, fatty acids, selenium, vitamin D, biotin, and amino acids and proteins. If one of these nutrient deficiencies is the cause of your hair loss, your clinician will need to work with you to make sure that you’re making the right changes to your diet, or that you’re taking the right supplements for your hair loss. If, however, the cause for your hair loss is male pattern baldness (which is the most common cause) you’ll be prescribed hair loss treatment.
Some hair loss treatments aren’t available on the NHS, such as Finasteride and Minoxidil, so you might want to look at other options after you’ve received your prescription. For instance, you can get Finasteride online, on subscription, once you’ve talked to our experts about your health.
If you don’t see the need in getting a prescription treatment for your hair loss, there are over-the-counter options you can try. But while some may work for some people, many of them might not, and there aren’t many clinical studies to prove how well most of these over-the-counter products work.
You can also find over-the-counter hair loss treatments online through major retailers like Amazon, as well as from your local pharmacy or most high street pharmacies.
Before you buy anything, you should make sure that the products that you get for your hair loss are regulated and safe to use. If you’re not sure, ask a clinician for advice. They should be able to let you know if the product you want can be effective.
If you’ve got a prescription for a hair-loss treatment, you can take it to a high street pharmacy and most of them will be able to dispense it for you. Aside from that, they might also have some over-the-counter options for you to try, but make sure to speak to a clinician or pharmacist before taking anything, so they can make sure that the treatment is right for you.
Boots, for instance, offers hair loss treatment for both men and women but they mostly only sell over-the-counter options, like: vitamins, shampoos, conditioners, and concealers. You can also get Regaine at Boots – a foam that’s applied directly to your scalp. And some studies have shown that it can be effective for the treatment of male pattern baldness.
At Superdrug, you can get hair loss treatments by filling their questionnaire and choosing a delivery and payment method. They offer Finasteride and Propecia, as well as Regaine. They also offer a telephone consultation with one of their specialists, but you’ll need to pay for it separately.
Lloyds offers both Finasteride and Propecia, which you can collect or get delivered. They’ll ask you to fill in a form with a few questions, and a payment and delivery method. But they don’t seem to offer a consultation service, so make sure to speak to a clinician or pharmacist to make sure that Finasteride or Propecia is right for you.
Getting hair-loss treatments from supermarkets could be more convenient for you, as you can do it whilst you’re doing your regular shopping, rather than having to travel somewhere solely to get hair loss treatment.
Most supermarkets, and even smaller shops like Co-op, will usually have a medicinal section. But larger supermarkets often even have an in-store pharmacy where you can fill your prescription. For example, the Asda hair loss treatment online section allows you to get your prescription filled and reviewed by a doctor, and then all you have to do is collect the medication at your local Asda in-store pharmacy.
The downsides of getting hair loss treatment from supermarkets is that not every store will have a pharmacy, and options may be limited – so there’s a chance that you won’t find the best treatment for you there.
Getting hair loss treatment online is the simplest of choices. Most places won’t ask much of you, you’ll usually just have to fill out a form with some of your personal information (including details about your health), pay for the treatment you want, and then either collect your treatment in-person from somewhere, or enter your delivery details to have the medication brought to you.
Some online pharmacies allow you to speak to a clinician, who can prescribe the treatment that you need for you, or dispense your existing prescription. If you know your way around the internet, getting hair loss treatment online is easier than any other option. It can give you more discretion, and you’ll have a wider choice in the treatments you can choose from.
Safely buying hair loss treatment online
Make sure, when you’re getting hair-loss treatments online, that they’ve been prescribed and approved by registered clinicians. This will make sure that the treatment is safe and suitable for you to use.
To check the validity of the source you’re getting the medication from, watch out for these things:
- Doctors must be registered with the General Medical Council, usually referred to as GMC, to be able to prescribe any medication.
- Pharmacists must be registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council, referred to as GPhC, to be able to dispense prescriptions.
- Online pharmacies should also be registered with the GPhC and will show a badge with a unique number somewhere on their website.
- Regulation by the Care Quality Commission, or CQC, isn’t necessary to be able to prescribe medication and dispense it, but it adds some extra validity to the website.
Minoxidil and its use in hair disorders: a review. Drug Design, Development and Therapy, Volume 13, pp.2777–2786.
Over-the-Counter Hair Loss Treatments: Help or Hype? Journal of drugs in dermatology: JDD, 17(12), pp.1317–1321. [Accessed 25 Oct. 2021].
Diet and hair loss: effects of nutrient deficiency and supplement use. Dermatology practical & conceptual, 7(1), pp.1–10.
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Make sure, when you’re getting hair-loss treatments online, that they’ve been prescribed and approved by registered clinicians. This will make sure that the treatment is safe and suitable for you to use.
