Struggling to remember to take your does of finasteride every day? How about applying your minoxidil?

Building new habits can be very hard. Most of us do New Year’s resolutions every year and we know how bad the execution can go!

But just because it does not come easily doesn’t mean you should give it up — especially when it comes to your hairline. The positive news is that if and when you take the hair loss treatment as it’s prescribed, it’s far more likely to be effective.

To help you get into your new daily treatment routine, here are some tips. And here is the best part. They are all free.

1. Set a daily alarm for hair loss treatments

You know that free alarm feature on your phone that you use every day to wake up? Well, you can use that for your hair loss treatments as well.

Pro tip: Use a different sound than your usual alarm so your brain starts differentiating the two (and you don’t have that “is it time to wake up” panic that you get when your alarm goes off).

2. Put a physical reminder for Finasteride/ Minoxidil somewhere you’ll see it

Whether it’s making coffee every day, grabbing breakfast, or opening your closet, choose an item you touch every single day and pop a sticky note on there that says “TAKE YOUR FINASTERIDE,” or “APPLY YOUR MINOXIDIL.”

It sounds overly simplistic, and that’s because it is. But it’s also likely to work because it’s going to be hard to miss.

3. Attach it to another habit

It’s very likely you already have a few grooming habits that you don’t even think about anymore — such as showering or brushing your teeth (we sure hope). Try taking your Finasteride or applying Minoxidil right after one of those habits!

Before long, your brain will start connecting the two and it’ll become second nature. No really, this works! It’s called habit stacking and in an article on his blog, Atomic Habits, author James Clear explains why it’s so effective:

“…the reason habit stacking works so well is that your current habits are already built into your brain. You have patterns and behaviors that have been strengthened over years. By linking your new habits to a cycle that is already built into your brain, you make it more likely that you’ll stick to the new behavior.”

4. Download a habit-building app for hair loss treatments

There are a ton of free apps out there that use various methods to get you into your new habit of taking a Finasteride pill or applying Minoxodil. Some are more complex than others and it’s hard to narrow the list down.

Here are our top picks:

Habitica: For people who like the idea of gamifying their habit
Stickk: For people who want to bet on themselves with actual money
Chains.cc: For people who want a super-simple concept

These apps will do all the hard work of keeping you on track. And bonus, if you find one you really like, you can use it to develop all those habits you’ve been putting off trying to build (eating healthy, reading more books, calling your parents more…). 😊