Is this customized shampoo kick all it’s cracked up to be?
This post is in collaboration with Formulate. I received the Formulate products for free in exchange for review; however, all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that support The Lipstick Narratives.
Giving advice about hair care seems a bit silly to me, considering I only wash my hair once a week. I barely have enough use to talk about! But over the past year or so, I’ve been trying to find the best hair care for me. I continuously see marketing and reviews for shampoos, conditioners, and styling products that rave about results, but I’m learning that doesn’t necessarily mean results for me.
That’s what is intriguing about the concept of customized shampoos–you get to select the features that are most relevant to you.
If you’re new, let me briefly fill you in a bit:
Hair type:
- Fine
- Thin
- Naturally straight
- Untreated
Struggles:
- I’ve been struggling with hair loss due to an internal issue (i.e. not breakage due to tight ponytails, frequent heat, etc.) We (me + the doctors) aren’t sure if it’s due to my gluten intolerance, B12 deficiency, hormones, or just a natural hair cycle. So we’re just going with the flow for now.
- I’ve got a few patches of psoriasis on my scalp, and my scalp is generally dry (not dandruffy, but very dry, sometimes flaky).
How did Formulate perform? Let’s find out.
P R O S
Thorough Questioning Process:
The questionnaire is through but not complicated or long. I loved that aside from basic questions regarding your hair type and desired results, they asked about your zip code to assess the climate, humidity, and UV index for the next 2 months.
It also asked how often you wash your hair and gave you an estimate as to how long your product would last. I was my hair 1-2x per week, and Formulate estimated a 14 oz. bottle should last about 7 months.
The Scents
Scent isn’t a driving factor for me when it comes to product, but something that smells good definitely won’t upset me. I selected the Green with Envy scent, which is green tea and honey. The other scents offered include: Verdant (grass, lilies, eucalyptus), Tidal (coconut, sea, warm sand), Shoreline (spice, citrus, sea), Fresh Squeezed (sweet orange, tangerine), Burgeon (blooming orange blossom), and At Dawn (green apple, pear, rose).
The Packaging
Formulate’s packaging is so aesthetically pleasing. It’s a geometric and simple with alternating black and white. It looks high quality, which I love.
Customized Formula
The whole point of the Formulate brand is to bring quality, well developed, and customized hair care, which is great. They take where you live and the weather into consideration as well as how often you wash, your styling habits, etc.
Plus, say your formula isn’t perfect the first go around. They’ll tweak it and send you a new set for free. And if you still aren’t satisfied, they’ll issue a refund. The customer service is great.
My initial formula wasn’t perfect. I noticed my scalp getting irritated, so they sent me a gentler shampoo formula.
C O N S
It may take a while to get your perfect formula.
While I love that Formulate is willing to reformulate for you as many times as you need, the fact you might have to do that is a con in itself. As amazing as the Formulate chemists are, they aren’t perfect so sometimes your product won’t be either. You may have to go back and forth a few times before finding your Goldie Locks formula. And while they’re accommodating, the service is supposed to take guess work out for you.
It’s a little pricey, especially if you wash your hair frequently.
A 14 oz. set of shampoo and conditioner will run you about $40. For me, that’s no big thing, because I only wash once or twice a week. Shampoo lasts me forever. But if you are someone who washes your hair everyday, you’re going to rack up quite the bill. However, if hair care is something your prioritize, it’s not outrageous in price.
DID I ACHIEVE MY OVERALL HAIR GOALS?
Because I’m not 100% positive where my hair woes are stemming from, I don’t feel bad saying I don’t think this formula solved my problems. My scalp is still pretty itchy and dry. But I will note that when you only wash your hair once a week, you accumulate a lot of product and general gross stuff on your scalp. I’m noticing since using this shampoo that the length of time before I notice buildup is longer, which is good. I still am noticing a little thinning and sparse patches.
However, I do notice my hair is breaking less often, is shinier, and seems healthier overall. Because of the thinning, I struggle with a lack of volume. While this shampoo definitely makes my hair feel healthier, it doesn’t always add volume. But I’m not docking points for that. My hair does what it wants, so sometimes it wants to cooperate, sometimes it doesn’t.
THE BOTTOM LINE
I love the passion and mission behind Formulate. The idea of customized shampoo is great, and anything that aims to make my life easier is something I can get behind. The customer service is also great, which goes a long way!
Because of my psoriasis, I tend to prefer my medicated shampoos over this, just because it tames the itching. But I don’t want to negatively review this because of that. I like it. I’m not going to say it’s my ultimate products and I’ll exclusively use this for the rest of my life, but I am enjoying it. And I think you will too.
— G I V E A W A Y — [CLOSED]
Would you like to formulate (cheeky, eh?) your own customized shampoo and conditioner set? Formulate was kind enough to offer a giveaway to my readers and a chance to win your own customized set!
Enter to win your own customized set here. *
Formulate has brought industry-leading chemists & engineers together to create technology that formulates based on your unique characteristics and the efficacy of our growing list of ingredients that are good for you and good for your hair.
*Giveaway open to US only. Ends on 3/26. Winner will be selected and contacted by Formulate
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