You may know of Ro as “Roman,” the initial name of the digital and goal-oriented healthcare brand. What started as a one-stop shop for at-home erectile dysfunction (ED) meds like generic Viagra delivered in discreet packaging has turned into one of the easiest places to acquire hair loss solutions for androgenetic alopecia (AKA male pattern baldness) and other kinds of alopecia, as well as weight loss aids, fertility tests and prenatal vitamins, testosterone support, and much more.
Ro, like Hims, makes it easy to enroll in mail-order prescription treatment plans (and some “over the counter” / off-Rx), following an online consultation with a licensed healthcare provider. Here’s how it works: You do an online visit with a doctor to assess whatever you’re calling in—hair loss, sexual health, mental health—then they decide if prescription medications are right for your condition. Ro docs believe that supervision is important, so you have unlimited follow-ups free of charge, 24/7. You can also message the doc whenever you need, should you have any concerns or wish to adjust the medicines.
I love how straightforward the telehealth company’s skin care and hair care offerings are, while also allowing customizable treatment options—such as minoxidil and finasteride for hair—that would often otherwise require a trip to the dermatologist’s office. Having reported on this industry for over a decade, I find that all of the active ingredients are worth your time and money for hair regrowth and general men’s health optimization. If you want my full take, keep scrolling.
Minoxidil and Finasteride (Topical, Oral, and Compound Spray)
If you aren’t yet sure about the personalized treatment plan you may need for hair loss or a receding hairline, Ro’s healthcare professionals will, of course, make recommendations. However, I would urge you to read up on the two key FDA-approved hair loss treatments, finasteride and minoxidil.
Minoxidil
The generic for Rogaine, this vasodilator improves nutrient delivery to hair follicles when applied topically. When taken orally, it impacts your entire system, so a common side effect is that you can experience hair growth everywhere. Minoxidil also regulates and improves your hair growth cycles by lengthening the anagen, or growth, phase of hair and reducing the telogen phase, or the amount of time follicles spend resting before they shed. This causes hairs to stay anchored in your scalp longer and allows swifter hair regrowth after a hair sheds. While you may not see results overnight (or even within the first month), usually, you’ll see hair regrow around five or six months of use. Minoxidil is best for general crown thinning, and it is available over the counter as a topical treatment, but it needs to be prescribed as an oral option and taken only once your medical history has been considered, as it’s often also used as a blood pressure medicine called Loniten.
Finasteride
The generic for Propecia, finasteride inhibits the conversion of testosterone into dihydrotestosterone or DHT, a hormone that accumulates around hair follicles, shriveling them so new hair can’t grow. Finasteride is a more controversial option of the two key hair loss medicines, as a small percentage of oral finasteride users experience decreased libido or difficulty getting erections. For this reason, targeted topical finasteride solutions have grown increasingly popular because they drastically reduce these negative side effects. Understandably, finasteride users often need more medical advice, so this prescription is closely monitored by doctors and available only as a prescription. Even still, it’s a terrific solution for guys who experience hair recession, and between 2% and 9% of users in clinical trials experience ED.
Ro’s Offering
Ro does offer the standard-fare topical minoxidil solution and oral finasteride pills, but it also gives customers who are worried about sexual side effects options with oral minoxidil and topical finasteride, as well. The brand was among the first telemedicine sites to get oral minoxidil out to users; my own partner has been on its minoxidil pills for two years (and is maintaining his hair transplant results beautifully). I, on the other hand, often have the brand’s topical finasteride-minoxidil-tretinoin spray in rotation. Tretinoin is a retinoid or skin-care ingredient that speeds up cell turnover and has been shown to greatly improve minoxidil’s effectiveness. Usually, I spray it on before bed so it doesn’t interfere with my hair styling regimen.
Men’s Hair Loss Supplement and Daily Multivitamin
Hair Supplement
Ro offers two different daily multivitamins, one of which could go toe-to-toe with Nutrafol in terms of hair retention benefits (and that’s a high compliment). That supplement has the top hero ingredient for a hair vitamin—saw palmetto—which is a terrific booster for anyone with male pattern hair loss, since the ingredient is proven to reduce the presence of DHT (similar to the impact of finasteride). Don’t falsely assume that this supplement (or any) is an equal 1:1 replacement option for finasteride, but if you are someone who doesn’t want to use finasteride, then I would go as far as to say that a saw palmetto-packed supplement is essential for your daily intake. This one also has the trappings of a standard multivitamin, including vitamins B6, B12, C, D, E, as well as amino acids, biotin, zinc, selenium, and more.
Men’s Multivitamin
Ro’s regular multivitamin is worth calling out for its ingredients, too: Vitamin A, B6, B12, C, D, calcium, magnesium, and zinc are all included. I wouldn’t classify it as a “hair vitamin” per se, but I do think that anyone who is serious about hair health should be making sure to get their daily values of these key vitamins and minerals in a day, so a men’s supplement could be valuable in their rotation. Of these two, I guess I say go for the hair-dedicated one if hair loss is on your mind (or rather, if hair growth is a priority).
Shampoo and Conditioner
Still emblazoned with the Roman branding (for now), Ro’s shampoo and conditioner are best bought on Amazon, where you won’t have to “subscribe” to a quarterly replenishment (they’re also cheaper—hot tip).
Remember, there is no such thing as hair loss shampoo, since these products aren’t on your scalp long enough to do anything besides help provide an optimal environment for hair growth or give you a circulation boost. So, don’t mistake a saw palmetto-packed shampoo (like Ro’s) as a viable hair-retention solution. It’s a great shampoo, yes. And the conditioner packs on the strand-smoothing and plumping benefits with ingredients like coconut oil and shea butter. If I were to suggest a shampoo-conditioner duo that is a great addition to the routine of anyone with thin or thinning hair, I’d say you could do a helluva lot worse than Ro. However, the shampoo and conditioner should be considered an add-on to your existing treatment plan, rather than a treatment plan alone.
Prescription Tretinoin Cream
The key skin care offering from Ro is its customized tretinoin cream. Tretinoin is a prescription-grade retinoid that regulates cellular turnover, effectively providing smoother, brighter, clearer skin. It can even reverse existing signs of aging, making it practically unmatched in terms of topical options.
This customizable treatment is a nice way to integrate retinoids into your skin care regimen, because Ro allows you to adjust the intensity and potency of tretinoin. For those unacquainted, tretinoin can cause some skin sensitivity and peeling when first used, so it’s nice that you can adjust based on how your skin reacts to the ingredient. Try using it two or three days a week at first and if you see redness or skin peeling, chat to your Ro provider to get their take on what you should do next.
Also, if you have acne and want the best retinoid for acne, you can go for the over-the-counter Differin adapalene gel, which is $15 for a monthly supply—though dermatologists less often recommend adapalene for anti-aging skin care purposes.
Other Life-Changing Solutions from Ro
Those are the core skin and hair solutions offered by Ro, but it’s worth calling attention to the site’s full range of solutions: Their weight loss solutions include the increasingly common semaglutide/tirzepatide options like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Zepbound; for sexual wellness they offer solutions for ED, fertility, premature ejaculation, and more; they have fertility tests, sperm kits, prenatal support, testosterone support, as well as prescriptions for lash growth, cold sores, and genital herpes.
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