Keeps is one of the largest hair loss brands on the market. Their products are available online, which is both convenient and discreet for this category of product. Some consumers feel embarrassed shopping for hair loss products in-store, so it’s unsurprising the success the company has attained.
In this article we’ll review the ingredients in Keeps based on medical research to determine if it’s likely to be effective for hair loss.
Does Keeps Work?
The core offering of Keeps is a two-part supplement: finasteride and minoxidil. These ingredients are very well-studied for treating male pattern hair loss.
Finasteride is an oral medication that works by limiting conversion of testosterone (T) to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in the body, as the latter hormone causes baldness in the vast majority of standard male pattern baldness cases.
The dosage of 1 milligram (mg) finasteride daily used by Keeps is an effective dose based on medical research.
Finasteride has been shown in medical studies to be effective, increasing total hair count relative to placebo. It’s important to note that the placebo groups were also balding men, so increasing total hair count compared with them doesn’t necessarily mean a regrowth of hair; just that hair wasn’t lost as quickly.
We believe that finasteride is an effective medication for slowing and even pausing the continuation of hair loss due to male pattern baldness, but that it’s not likely to actually regrow hair to a significant degree.
Minoxidil is a topical solution that’s the generic version of Rogaine. Keeps contains minoxidil at 5% potency, which is more effective than the 2% potency based on medical research, so we commend them for studying the research and using an evidence-based dosage.
Like finasteride, minoxidil is effective in slowing or stopping hair loss, and may even promote a moderate amount of hair regrowth depending on the patient.
Overall we can conclude that the core two-part offering of Keeps should be effective for slowing the progression of male pattern baldness based on medical research.
Keeps Side Effects
Finasteride has a more concerning side effect profile than minoxidil, though neither are extreme.
A small percentage of men taking finasteride (<5%) experience sexual side effects such as erectile dysfunction and loss of libido. The concerning thing about this small risk is that those who do experience these side effects can suffer with them for long after the medication is discontinued.
There is even a term defined in medical literature called Post-Finasteride Syndrome because of the consistency of these sexual side effects in a small subset of men.
Our position is that even low risk of serious health effects are not worth it for a purely cosmetic medication, but patients will have to weigh the potential aesthetic benefit with the health risk.
Minoxidil has a much less severe side effect profile since it’s just a topical solution.
The side effects of minoxidil aren’t nearly as well-publicized as finasteride, but it has been shown in one medical study to inhibit collagen production in the skin. This study was in vitro, meaning a test tube study rather than on human participants, so the conclusions are weaker. There are many anecdotal reports online on this treatment negatively impacting skin and increasing wrinkles.
Collagen is the main structural protein in skin, and its natural decrease with age is one of the main reasons why the elderly have visibly damaged skin compared with young children.
We definitely can’t say for sure that minoxidil increases skin aging based on one test tube study, but it is possible.
Keeps Cost
Keeps is just selling well-branded generic drugs for their core offering. You can acquire the exact same dosage of the exact same drugs much cheaper from other vendors.
Keeps charges $35/month combined for the drugs, and they can be purchased from other vendors for half that cost or less. We don’t recommend specific vendors because we don’t recommend these drugs generally.
If you buy both finasteride and minoxidil (solution) in a combined monthly shipment from Keeps and pay upfront, the cost is only $70 or around $23 per month which is more reasonable and price-competitive with other vendors.
Keeps Shampoo & Conditioner Review
Keeps has two shampoo offerings: 2% ketoconazole shampoo and Keeps Thickening Shampoo.
Medical research has shown that ketoconazole shampoo at 2% is effective for treating hair loss to a similar degree as minoxidil, so this is an effectively formulated hair loss shampoo.
Keeps doesn’t publish the full ingredients list for this product so we can’t recommend it because we don’t know if there are harmful inactive ingredients. We disagree ethically with companies that don’t publish full ingredient information; it’s unfair to consumers.
Keeps doesn’t even publish an ingredients list on their website about the Thickening Shampoo, so we can’t determine whether it’s effective or safe. For that reason, we don’t recommend this product. At least the 2% ketoconazole shampoo should be effective for hair loss irrespective of minor health concerns.
Similarly, there is no ingredients list for Keeps’ conditioner so we don’t recommend this product either.
