Strut Health vs Hims for Hair Loss: Custom Formula vs Off-the-Shelf in 2026

My brother-in-law has three bottles on his bathroom shelf: an oral finasteride, a minoxidil foam, and a biotin something-or-other he can’t remember why he bought. He asked me last Thanksgiving whether he could just get all of that in one bottle instead. That’s the exact itch the custom-compounding pharmacies are scratching, and it’s the cleanest way to frame Strut Health vs Hims for hair loss: one blends your whole routine into a single formula, the other sells the proven pieces cheap and off the shelf. Neither is wrong. They’re built for different people.

The active ingredients are mostly the same on both sides — finasteride and minoxidil are the two treatments the FDA has actually approved for male pattern hair loss, and everyone in this space is working from that same short list. What differs is how the ingredients are packaged, priced, and personalized.

What Strut Health does: the custom formula

Strut is a licensed 503A compounding pharmacy, which means it can mix things a standard pharmacy legally can’t. Its topical finasteride gel lets you dial the concentration from 0.05% up to 0.25% and add adjuvants like minoxidil, tretinoin, or biotin into one product — $59 a month for the customizable version, or $49 for a simpler topical finasteride. It can even compound combinations like dutasteride plus topical minoxidil that off-the-shelf brands don’t offer. Every plan includes a free online visit with a licensed U.S. physician who decides what, if anything, is appropriate for you. The pitch is my brother-in-law’s dream: three bottles collapsed into one.

What Hims does: the proven basics, cheap

Hims leans the other way. Its core offerings are the FDA-approved generics: oral finasteride 1mg for roughly $22 to $25 a month and topical minoxidil 5% from about $15 to $20. There’s a combined finasteride-and-minoxidil spray from $35 a month on a longer plan, and a Hair Kit bundle around $44 to $49 that throws in biotin gummies and a DHT-blocking shampoo. The entry price is the story here — you can start a legitimate, evidence-backed regimen for the cost of a couple of lattes, from a brand with enormous scale and a slick app.

Strut Health vs Hims, side by side

Factor	Strut Health	Hims
Approach	Custom compounded formula	Off-the-shelf + compounded combos
Entry price	$49–$59/mo	$15–$25/mo for singles
Customization	High (concentration + adjuvants)	Limited to set products
FDA-approved singles	Compounded, not FDA-approved	Yes (oral fin, topical min)
Provider visit	Free, licensed U.S. physician	Included in plan
Best for	One-bottle custom routine	Lowest-cost proven start

The overlap people miss: Hims sells compounded products too. Its finasteride-plus-minoxidil spray is custom-mixed by a pharmacy, not an FDA-approved finished product, same category as Strut’s formulas. So the real divide isn’t “compounded versus not.” It’s how much personalization you want and what you’re willing to pay for it.

The compounded caveat, stated plainly

Custom-compounded formulas — Strut’s whole lineup, and Hims’ combo sprays — are not FDA-approved as finished products. The individual ingredients like finasteride and minoxidil are well-studied and FDA-approved on their own, but a personalized blend doesn’t go through the FDA’s review for the finished mixture. That’s not a reason to panic; compounding is a legitimate, licensed practice. It’s a reason to let the prescriber lead. Finasteride requires a prescription because it carries real considerations — a small subset of men report sexual side effects, and it’s not to be handled by anyone who is or may become pregnant. Whether any of this fits you is a call for the licensed provider, not a marketing page and not this article.

The honest gripe

Here’s where I’d push back on the custom pitch. For a lot of men just starting out, the standard trio — oral finasteride, topical minoxidil, maybe a decent shampoo — is exactly what a dermatologist would reach for first, and Hims sells that for a third of Strut’s price. Paying $59 for a bespoke blend before you’ve even learned how your scalp responds to the basics can be spending for sophistication you don’t need yet. Strut’s customization genuinely shines once you’ve hit a wall with the standard stuff and need a formula tuned to your response. As a first move, it can be overkill. Start simple, escalate if you plateau.

So which should you pick?

Go with Hims if you’re new to treatment, price-sensitive, and want the proven, FDA-approved basics with the least fuss. Go with Strut Health if you want everything in one compounded bottle, you need a concentration or combination the big brands don’t stock, or the standard products haven’t done enough for you. My brother-in-law, three bottles deep and frustrated, is squarely the Strut customer. Someone noticing their first thinning at the temples is probably better off starting with the cheap, boring, well-studied basics — and letting a provider decide when it’s time to get fancy.

Frequently asked questions

Is Strut Health worth the higher price over Hims?

It depends on your stage. If you want one custom bottle combining several ingredients at a specific concentration, Strut’s $49 to $59 formulas justify the cost. If you’re starting out and want the proven basics, Hims delivers oral finasteride and topical minoxidil for $15 to $25, which is usually the smarter first step.

Are Strut’s compounded formulas FDA-approved?

The finished custom blends are not, though the individual active ingredients such as finasteride and minoxidil are FDA-approved on their own. Compounding is a licensed, legal practice, but because the mixture isn’t FDA-reviewed, treatment should be guided by the prescribing physician rather than a product page.

Can I get a finasteride-and-minoxidil combo from both?

Yes. Strut compounds custom topical combinations with adjustable concentrations, and Hims offers a finasteride-plus-minoxidil spray from about $35 a month. The difference is flexibility: Strut can tailor the concentrations and add ingredients, while Hims sells a set formulation at a lower price.

How soon should I expect to see results?

With either service, hair-loss treatment takes patience — typically several months of consistent daily use before visible change, and progress stops if you stop. Neither Strut nor Hims changes that biology. Consistency matters far more than which brand’s bottle it comes in.