HOW SHANNON SAVED HIS MANE WITH MOSH
Shannon Karaka is best known for his TV appearances on Home And Away, the 2020 season of The Bachelorette and winning the Mr Polynesia, Australia title. The 31-year-old hails from New Zealand and grew up in western Sydney. His career history includes working in sales, and he’s the founder of Get Happy Co – a Hawaiian shirt company that supports mental health. He’s a CrossFit enthusiast and loves dabbling in tech investing in his spare time. I’d never thought much about how
important my hair was to me until I started noticing some hair shedding when I was 23 years of age. I was unsure why it was happening at the time, but what I did know is it was really affecting my confidence.
Apart from the fact that I thought I was too young to go bald, I was also thinking about pursuing an acting and modelling career, so the timing couldn’t have been worse.
As it turns out, my grandfather on my mum’s side was bald, so genetically, things weren’t looking good for me. I knew that if left untreated, I’d probably go bald, too.
Like most guys, visiting a doctor in-person to discuss my hair loss wasn’t something I was keen on, so I started researching other solutions online. Let me tell you, there’s a jungle of hair loss information out there! And, as I came to learn, a lot of the advertised ‘treatments’ aren’t based on any solid scientific evidence, or they just want to take your money and not actually help!
Luckily, I ended up coming across Mosh during my search. Turns out I’d actually dealt with them during my time working at Google. They were an up-and-coming start-up backed by the founders of Tinder, so I was already familiar with their brand and service.
Their online doctor consultations really appealed to me because it meant avoiding the awkwardness of seeing my GP faceto-face. I know a lot of people are a little embarrassed to talk about hair loss openly and in person, so this type of service is perfect for that. They allow you to do everything online, including text-based consultations with a doctor as well as share videos or images. The experience was seamless!
Fast forward a few years and I’m still the proud bearer of a full and healthy head of hair. My bushy mane has since appeared on The
Bachelorette 2020 (where I reached the final three!) and on Home And Away in 2017, where I played one of the River Boys. Good times!
So, in the spirit of helping other blokes in my predicament, I’d like to share a bit about my Mosh experience and how they helped save my hair.
WHAT IS MOSH
Mosh is an online men’s health clinic. It was started by two Aussie guys who believed there had to be a better way to address men’s health issues and reduce the stigma around getting help for problems related to hair loss, sexual health, mental health and skincare.
If it wasn’t for them, I probably wouldn’t have addressed my hair loss issue as soon as I did.
The service provides a discreet consultation with an Australian GP who specialises in men’s health issues. It’s all done from the comfort of your home, on your schedule. That means no awkward GP waiting room visits or spending days of your life trying to self-diagnose with Dr Google! It’s also great for guys who might otherwise find it difficult to get access to treatment, either due to location or lifestyle challenges.
HOW DOES MOSH WORK?
Once you enter the Mosh website you simply navigate to the area of your health concern – in my case, hair loss. From there, you answer a few short questions about your health and medical history. It only takes two minutes or less.
After the questionnaire is complete, and assuming you’re eligible for treatment, you’ll be contacted within a few hours to arrange a no-obligation text, call or video chat with an Australian doctor.
What I love about the process is that it’s entirely automated, so you don’t have to go through a bunch of sales staff to get the medical advice you need. Also, all the doctors are Australian-qualified and know their stuff when it comes to hair loss.
The consultation process ensures you’re properly assessed and you receive a treatment plan that’s appropriate for you.
MY EXPERIENCE
I completed my GP consultation and requested a video call to give me extra comfort. Conveniently, Mosh offers afterhours appointment times.
Based on my questionnaire responses and video consultation, my allocated doctor created a hair loss treatment plan specifically for me. He explained why he was prescribing my medication and allowed me to ask questions, which really put my mind at ease.
My consultation was followed up by an email with further information about my treatment, which I was able to read in my own time. There were also some links where I could read more about hair loss on the Mosh website. If you’re interested in delving deeper into hair loss causes and treatments, I’d highly recommend reading Hair Loss Treatment: The Only Guide You Need on the Mosh website.
THE TREATMENT
If you’re like me and your treatment plan includes a prescription, Mosh will connect you with your pharmacy of choice and have the medication delivered to your door in plain packaging. I was a little worried that my housemates might figure out what I’d ordered, but they never suspected a thing. Mosh has the discreet packaging thing down pat!
If you don’t need a prescription or you’d simply prefer to try non-prescription treatments, there’s an option to do that too.
Best of all, there’s no pressure to sign up if you decide any of the treatments aren’t for you.
If you do proceed, treatments can be oneoff or based on quarterly subscriptions, which means you’ll always be kept stocked up on your treatments via post.
But what about follow-up consultations? Mosh have that covered because they know your condition can change over time and sometimes treatment plans need to change. Your treatment plan includes nurse follow-ups, educational support material, and ongoing medical support at no extra cost. Now that’s what I call good care and good val-ue!
THE OUTCOME
I’d always imagined treating my hair loss would be a long and embar-rassing process, but not with Mosh – they made it so simple.
And up until I wrote this story, no-one even knew I was receiving treatment!
The doctors are highly experienced and professional so I felt I was in good care throughout the whole process.
I now use Mosh products regularly to prevent shedding and my hair is strong and healthy as a result. Basically, I owe much of my hair confidence to Mosh. I’m a big fan of their products and services and I’d recommend them to anyone experiencing hair loss.
MORE ABOUT MOSH
Mosh (getmosh.com.au) is an online health clinic, a one-stop shop for those who are dealing with hair loss, erectile dysfunction, mental health and more. The online health clinic connects Australians with accredited doctors (and psychologists) and organises treatments in discreet packages to be delivered to your door.
Customers complete an interactive questionnaire to assess their unique needs. Mosh then uses algorithms to flag or weed out people with medical conditions not appropriate for telehealth.
Mosh was founded in 2018 by Gabriel Baker and David Narunsky. The pair’s aim was to provide affordable and accessible treatment while removing the stigma around “embarrassing” health issues such as hair loss and sexual performance. The Australian-based company has completed several rounds of funding as it looks to continue with its rapid growth.
I’d always imagined treating my hair loss would be a long and embarrassing process, but they made it so simple.