What an Online Hair-Loss Consult Asks You

An online hair-loss consultation asks where and how fast your hair is thinning, your medical history, every medicine you take, and usually for photos of your scalp; some services also ask for ID. A licensed clinician reads the answers and decides whether a prescription is appropriate, often without a call.

This guide goes through the questions in the order you meet them, says why each one matters, and marks the point where a form cannot do the job and you need a doctor in the room. It draws on what Hims, Keeps, Ro, Happy Head and Strut Health say about their own consultations, read on 22 September 2026.

The shape of the consultation

Every service we compare uses the same shape: a questionnaire, a review by a licensed clinician, then a prescription or a no. Hims calls it a free consultation reviewed by a licensed provider. Ro describes an online visit reviewed by a doctor or nurse practitioner. Strut Health says its questions take about five minutes and are reviewed by a US-licensed physician. Keeps has you pick a plan first and a provider confirms it. Happy Head routes you to a board-certified dermatologist, it says.

What differs is how much is asked and whether you talk to anyone. Strut Health's FAQ says some states do not require a phone consultation, so the review may be written only; every service offers messaging afterwards.

Question 1: where and how is your hair thinning?

The first questions are about the pattern: a receding hairline, thinning at the crown, or thinning all over, and how long it has been happening. Keeps' own quiz sorts people by exactly those three patterns.

The pattern matters because male pattern hair loss has a recognisable shape, and the medicines these services prescribe are for that condition. Hair lost in round patches, all at once, or with a sore scalp is a different story, and a good questionnaire will ask about it so the clinician can send you elsewhere.

Question 2: your medical history

Next comes your health: past and current conditions, surgery, allergies, and for some services your age and sex. Ro says its visit covers your symptoms, medical history and other basics; Happy Head says eligibility depends on medical history, degree of hair loss, allergies, sex and age.

Be complete here even if a question seems irrelevant. Finasteride's label notes that it lowers PSA, the blood test used in prostate cancer screening, and minoxidil tablets are a blood-pressure medicine; a clinician can only judge whether either suits you if they know your history.

Question 3: every medicine and supplement you take

Strut Health says its questionnaire asks about your health history, goals and medications, and every service asks something similar. List prescriptions, over-the-counter medicines and supplements, and anything you have tried for your hair already.

Two reasons matter for hair loss in particular. Some medicines can cause shedding, and a clinician who sees one on your list may suspect it before prescribing anything. And if you already use minoxidil or a supplement, the clinician needs to know so they do not double up on the same ingredient.

Question 4: photos of your scalp

Most services ask for photos. Ro's FAQ says you will take and upload a few so the clinician can choose a treatment, and Happy Head asks for photos of your head, hairline or beard before the first prescription ships.

Photos are the closest a questionnaire gets to an examination, so take them in good light, from above and from the front, with dry hair. If your hairline and crown look different, photograph both, and add a close view of any area that worries you; the clinician can only judge what the pictures show. They are also sensitive health information: read the service's privacy policy before uploading, and know that you can ask what it keeps.

Question 5: identity and pregnancy

Happy Head asks for a government-issued photo ID before the first prescription order; other services verify identity in their own ways. The consultation will also ask about pregnancy, because finasteride's label says women who are or may become pregnant must not use it or handle crushed or broken tablets.

If anyone in your home is or may become pregnant, say so even though the question is about you. With a topical product, the FDA has said there may be a greater risk of exposing others through transfer, and the prescriber needs that fact.

Answer as if a doctor were in the room

It is tempting to shade answers to get the prescription you came for: to leave off a medicine, play down a symptom, or tick "no" to a question about mood. Do not. The clinician is making a decision about a medicine whose label lists sexual side effects and depression among effects reported in use, and your answers are all they have.

If a question worries you, say so in the free-text box or message the clinician before submitting. A no that sends you to the right doctor is a better result than a yes to the wrong treatment.

What happens after you submit

A clinician reviews your answers, may message you with follow-up questions, and either prescribes, suggests something else, or says the service is not right for you. Ro says you are charged only once a clinician approves a plan and refunded automatically if you are judged unsuitable; Strut Health says you pay only if a physician decides treatment is appropriate.

If you are prescribed something, ask before it ships: what it is, whether it is FDA-approved or compounded, what side effects to watch for, and how quickly the clinician replies to messages. Our comparison of online hair-loss services scores each service partly on how well its public pages answer those questions.

Where a form stops being enough

A questionnaire cannot look at your scalp under a light, feel for scarring, or order a blood test. See a doctor in person, ideally a dermatologist, instead of starting online if any of these apply.

• Hair loss in round patches, or coming out in clumps.
• Shedding that started suddenly, or within months of an illness, surgery, childbirth or a new medicine.
• A scalp that is itchy, painful, red, scaly or scarred.
• Other symptoms such as tiredness, weight change or feeling cold, which can point to thyroid problems or low iron.
• You are under 18, or a woman considering finasteride, whose label is for men only.

None of that means online services are careless; a good one will turn you away in those cases. It means the form is a starting point for ordinary pattern thinning, not a diagnosis for everything that looks like it. For every way to get a prescription, including your own doctor, see how to get a finasteride prescription.