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hims Skincare Review: I Tried Their Serum and Wrinkle Cream

William Barton
Expertise:

Style, Grooming, Fitness, Boots, Workwear

William has been covering men's style, grooming, and fitness topics for The Adult Man since 2018 as both a writer and photographer. Based in North Carolina, he's also the face of premier men's boots website BootSpy.com and the popular BootSpy YouTube channel. If William could only wear one outfit for the rest of his life, it'd be slim blue jeans, a green fitted oxford shirt, Chelsea boots, and a nice watch. Read full bio.


Last Updated: Apr 4, 2024
6 min read

Going to the doctor to get a prescription is a giant hassle. The only positive is that you know for a fact you’re getting the right stuff—whether it’s for hair-loss, ED, skincare, or performance anxiety.

I gave hims a shot to figure out if getting prescription skincare online was as easy as they claim. Here’s my hands-on review of their prescription skincare.

Note—this is not medical advice. I’m not a doctor. I’m only explaining my experience with the brand. 

The Adult Man Image/Icon image source: hims
hims

Bottom line: hims is the a great telehealth company for men, but there are some drawbacks, too. Their subscription model isn’t as transparent as I’d like, but a simple email is all you need to cancel. Whether the medications work is a matter of how your body responds, and hims has shown plenty of success.

Ratings: The Adult Man Image/IconQuality of Materials The Adult Man Image/IconValue for Money The Adult Man Image/IconPackaging The Adult Man Image/IconCustomer Service
Pros:
  • The prescription process couldn’t be easier
  • Checking out and buying the medication was hassle-free
  • The skincare treatments seem to work, but I still need a few weeks to really see the difference
  • Discreet packaging and a simple, minimalist design on the containers
Cons:
  • Getting your prescription automatically signs you up for an ongoing subscription, which isn’t immediately obvious
  • To cancel, you’ll need to email their customer support---there’s no easy-cancel button

It’s too cliche to say, “I hate going to the doctor.”

Does anybody enjoy it?

The last time I went, I had to get a malaria shot for an upcoming trip to Africa. In the doctor’s office, I let it slip that I was extremely nervous about the trip. One, because I was a teacher leading a group of 14 teenagers on a trip to Africa; and two, because plane flights make me quiver and shake like a dog dropping a deuce.

She gave me a pill—a beta-blocker—something that would help me keep my wits but would ease the tension of the flight. And it worked: I was as cool as a cucumber, even when the plane slightly vibrated. 

I thought to myself, “that’d be awesome if I could get that same thing before every flight.”

Now, several years later, I found that you can through an online telehealth platform. 

One of the most popular online telehealth platforms is hims. While I don’t have any upcoming flights, I wanted to give the brand a try to see if their prescription service was really as easy as they made it seem. 

Here’s what I learned. 

What Is hims?

hims got their start back in 2017 with an alternative model that’s become increasingly popular: telehealth that treats taboo conditions. 

For instance, it used to be that guys struggling with erectile dysfunction (ED) had to sit in a doctor’s office and explain their difficulty—something a lot of dudes find embarrassing. 

Same goes for hair-loss. While there’s no shame in trying to keep your hair-line where it is, many gents feel there’s a stigma against caring about the way you look. 

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hims offers the same medicines you can get from a physical visit to the doctor—whether that’s Viagra, Cialis (generic brands, too), Finasteride, or Minoxidil. But they do it via telehealth.

When you go to purchase whichever treatment, supplement, or medication you’d like, you have a virtual chat with an actual medical doctor. And if they determine that the prescription you’re looking for will help you, you’re good to go. 

Beyond treating ED and hair loss, hims also offers skincare treatments (in-depth review below), collagen and biotin supplements, sleep-aids, and even cold-sore and genital herpes treatments. 

hims

Going to the doctor to get a prescription is a giant hassle. The only positive is that you know for a fact you’re getting the right stuff---whether it's for hair-loss, ED, skincare, or performance anxiety. hims is the premiere telehealth company for men and they make the process simple and easy.

Shop Hims

My Hands-On Review

Anti-Aging Serum and Goodnight Wrinkle Cream

To get a feel for the ordering process, I tried out the hims prescription anti-aging serum and their non-prescription Goodnight wrinkle cream.

hims skincare treatments product shot closeup against white background

The active ingredients in the anti-aging serum are tretinoin and niacinamide. There are three different strengths available, and you can request whichever you think would help treat your skin the best. 

I went with the moderate dosage as I’m still relatively young and wrinkle-free. But I have a wrinkly forehead and my wife has been reminding me I’m getting crows-feet and mouth lines. 

She didn’t buy the whole “it makes me look distinguished” bit. Hence the anti-aging serum. 

Active Ingredients

Tretinoin is a synthetic form of vitamin A and it’s used mainly to treat fine wrinkles, dark spots, and acne. 

Vitamin A speeds your skin-cells through their life-cycle, so while you might have some irritation at the start of treatment, you’re encouraging faster skin growth. (Fun fact: Polar Bear liver is so incredibly high in vitamin A that after many early-century European explorers ate small bits, their skin sloughed off and they died. So that’s how that works).

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The anti-aging serum also has Niacinamide, which has been found helpful for most skin-types. It helps encourage moisture-retention and is prescribed often for folks suffering from eczema. It can also help lighten up dark spots, smooth wrinkles, and encourage new cell-growth. 

The Goodnight wrinkle cream is non-prescription and should be used after the anti-aging serum. It has caffeine and hyaluronic acid, which combine to reduce redness and keep your skin moisturized.

I’ve been using these products for the past 16 days and haven’t had any irritation. Treatments usually become noticeable after eight-to-twelve weeks, so I don’t have a stunning before and after photo yet. 

My skin definitely feels better, and I’ve been getting compliments from my wife. I should have a better idea of how the medication worked in a month (I’ll come back and update with a before and after). 

The Prescription Process

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Getting my prescription anti-aging skincare set was much easier than I thought it’d be. 

Normally, going to the doctor means sitting in a waiting room, filling out mysterious forms, realizing after an hour you’re in the wrong waiting room, filling out more forms, driving across town to a pharmacy, and then getting a bill for $300 a few months after the fact. 

I didn’t have that experience with hims. 

A few minutes after checking out with my prescription, a doctor sent me a message through the hims instant-messaging platform (also to my email). I answered a few questions, sent three pictures of my face, and was cleared for my prescription.

After talking with the folks at hims, they explained that this process was very similar to how they prescribe medication for hair loss, ED, and any of their other medical treatments. 

You simply answer a few questions related to your issue which a medical professional will review and if your medical professional clears you for a prescription, your treatment gets shipped out right away. 

The Subscription

Many prescriptions come with a certain amount of refills—for instance, my anti-aging serum can be refilled 11 times before I need to consult again with a doctor. 

hims sets you up on an automatic subscription, so unless you cancel, they’ll ship your next dosage and charge you accordingly.

When I first ordered, I wasn’t aware I was on a subscription, so I was a bit shocked when I saw a second charge from them the month after I first bought my skincare routine. 

Because my order was prescribed, it can’t be returned, so even though I wasn’t looking to re-up, I have to eat that cost. For me, that’s not so bad as the skincare routine is around $50 and it seems to work well. 

For other medications, the price can be much more steep ($200-$400), which could deal a deadly blow to your budget. 

After I found the second charge, I emailed customer service to cancel. They got back to me on the same day, and I just had to answer a simple questionnaire. 

It would’ve been nice to get an email before being charged and shipped my second dosage, as I still have about half of each container left. And it would’ve been nice to find an easy-to-cancel button in my subscription portal rather than a “pause” button.  

My Thoughts Overall On hims Skincare

What I Like

  • Getting a prescription was super-easy and hardly took any time.

  • The checkout process was simple, and I could ensure I was getting exactly what I needed.

  • My skincare products seem to work, though I’ll need a few more weeks before I can really determine how effective they are.

  • The simple design and discreet packaging is nice.

What I Don’t Like

  • When you get your prescription, you’ve already signed up for an ongoing subscription. It’s not very clear that’s the case. You’ll be billed every month until you email and cancel.

  • There’s no easy ‘cancel’ button. There’s a ‘pause’ button, but it automatically starts again after a month.

Who is hims for?

hims is an excellent choice for guys looking for prescription skincare treatments but don’t want to spend the time and effort setting up a doctor’s appointment. No insurance and no awkward face-to-face discussions needed.

The Verdict

If you’re looking for a discreet, easy, comfortable way to order advanced skincare online, hims is a solid choice.

I found the entire process simple and intuitive. And the packaging is bland which, in this case, is a great thing.

If you’re looking to just give your new medication a try, and you’re not sure if you want to stump up for a regular subscription, you need to email their customer service. While ordering is easy, cancelling your subscription takes a few extra steps. It would be nice to see more transparency here, as their current policy has mostly led to negative experiences for customers.

But when I emailed to cancel my skincare routine, they got back to me within the day and from there cancelling was easy. That said, I wasn’t aware I was in a subscription in the first place, and that’s a problem.

Still, there’s no other service that does telemedicine for men as well as hims. Their process is streamlined so you can get exactly what you need quickly.

hims

Going to the doctor to get a prescription is a giant hassle. The only positive is that you know for a fact you’re getting the right stuff---whether it's for hair-loss, ED, skincare, or performance anxiety. hims is the premiere telehealth company for men and they make the process simple and easy.

Shop Hims

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