What actually works
Male pattern hair loss (androgenetic alopecia) has a small number of treatments with real evidence behind them, and a much larger number of products with very little. Here’s the honest landscape, in four categories.
- Oral finasteride (1mg tablet). Prescription-only. Licensed in the UK specifically for male pattern hair loss. Works on the hormonal cause. The strongest evidence base of any hair loss treatment, alongside a genuinely serious, MHRA-acknowledged side-effect profile that’s worth reading before you start, not after.
- Topical minoxidil (2% or 5%). Available without a prescription. Licensed in the UK for hair loss. Works locally on the scalp through a mechanism that isn’t fully understood, regardless of the underlying cause of hair loss.
- Off-label options: oral minoxidil, topical finasteride. Prescribed by some private UK clinics but not licensed in the UK for hair loss (oral minoxidil is licensed only for severe hypertension) or not licensed at all in the UK (topical finasteride is supplied as an unlicensed “special”). Growing use, thinner evidence than the licensed options above.
- Doing nothing. A legitimate choice. Hair loss is common, not harmful, and treatment is elective. No clinic should make you feel otherwise.
Costs at a glance
UK hair loss clinics typically charge a consultation fee (often free-to-low, since the ongoing prescription cost is the real revenue) plus a recurring cost for whichever treatment is prescribed. Expect ongoing monthly costs roughly in the range of £15 to £40 for a single treatment, more if you combine finasteride with a prescribed minoxidil product. Non-prescription topical minoxidil bought directly from a pharmacy is usually cheaper than the same product supplied through a subscription clinic service; see our minoxidil price comparison for exact current figures.
How online hair loss clinics work
Every clinic offering finasteride, or off-label oral minoxidil, is required to have a prescriber review your health history before prescribing, typically through an online questionnaire and sometimes a message or call with a clinician. This isn’t a formality: it’s how a prescriber screens for the things that make these medicines unsuitable for some people, including, for finasteride, any history of depression or suicidal thoughts, which the MHRA specifically asks prescribers to check for. A clinic that skips this step, or prescribes automatically, is one to be cautious of.
Oral minoxidil in the UK
What it is, off-label status, and honest safety data.
Topical finasteride
Unlicensed “special” status and the thinner evidence base.
Finasteride vs minoxidil
An honest head-to-head, including MHRA safety data.
Combining the two
What UK data actually shows, limitations included.
Minoxidil prices, checked directly
No prescription needed; open price comparison.
Numan vs Manual vs Sons
Three UK services compared on fees and terms.