EDITORIAL: Meet &BAM, a men's health and wellness brand

As the founders of &BAM, we all wrestled with male pattern balding. Individually, we had tried everything from ‘magical’ shampoos to hair clinics, spending our hard-earned money looking for a fix. We were left with less money and a head of hair that was no better than before… so we built &BAM.

A manifestation of our frustrations with the men’s health and wellness industry. Statistically, male pattern balding (MPB) is responsible for around 95% of hair loss in men, affecting around 66% of us before the age of 35. But, as we set out on our journey to build &BAM, we noticed that most men seemed apprehensive to openly discuss and tackle their hair loss (and a myriad of other health and self-care concerns).

While evidently an exceptionally common genetic condition, the psychological effects and impact on the self-confidence of hair loss are often overlooked. In an attempt to avoid these conversations, we hide behind fireside chirps – or “insults.”

But, at the end of the day – we were still left with one big question; why are we men so uncomfortable when it comes to openly discussing and tackling our concerns? 

To find the answer, we came together to conceptualise &BAM, and started asking friends and family about their personal health experiences, and the feedback was the same across hair loss, erectile dysfunction, and many other health-related concerns.

Ego: We hate to admit it, but often the big blocker in doing something that requires vulnerability, is our ego inciting fear. Men have earned a terrible reputation for avoiding doctors’ visits and failing to prioritise our own self-care. On average, we’re less likely to see a doctor than women, and we’ve been known to downplay our symptoms and box up our emotions.

Confidence: Guys tend to suffer in silence. Opening up about an intimate concern invites criticism which hurts our confidence even more – we get it (remember… we’ve been there). 

Stigma: Men have never really had a safe space to embrace their vulnerabilities and prioritise their self-care. 

Misinformation: This makes taking action hard – it creates confusion and can seem impossible
to find a suitable course of action.

There really was nowhere for men to solve these issues and get access to convenient care quickly and safely. So, we created one.

The positive news is that there is a cultural shift underway. Stereotypical gender norms are being tackled and wellness, self-care, and healthcare are becoming increasingly important priorities for men.

The &BAM mission is to tackle the stigmas around men’s health and self-care by helping millions of South African men face them head-on. We've set out to build a space that crushes the stigma, keeps men informed, and helps grow their confidence. We're making men’s care easy, sexy, and something to celebrate.

So, how do we do this, and what are we treating at the moment?

We ship clinically proven prescription treatments for hair loss and erectile dysfunction, directly to your door.

Here’s how:

1. You complete an online medical onboarding form. This takes 15 minutes. At the end, you will pay a once-off R150 consultation fee and book a convenient time for a doctor to contact you.

2. The doctor contacts you at your selected time to discuss your medical history and recommended treatment plan. This all happens within 24 hours.

3. Next, we send you a link to purchase the treatment that the doctor has recommended for you. We’re a subscription service with treatment plans that start at R260 per month.

This means that you will be charged monthly or quarterly on a recurring basis, but you can adjust your subscription at any time. And while we’d definitely be sad to see them go, our customers are also able to cancel their subscription at any time.

We also have non-prescription hair-loss fighting products available, including a daily shampoo (R270) and conditioner (R270) with so much more in the pipeline too.

At &BAM, we’re committed to walking this journey with men across our country, empowering them to take a proactive approach to healthcare, without taking themselves too seriously.

 

Written by and Supplied by: &BAM.

Guzzle Media