It’s no surprise that we’re in an era where you can get almost anything you want custom tailored to you. Think Care/of, who will send you personalized vitamins, Birchbox will send you personalized beauty samples, and Stitchfix, which will send you a selection of clothes personally selected for you. So when buying shampoo, of course you can even get it personally formulated just for you. Enter Function of Beauty, a custom blended shampoo and conditioner set based on your personal hair goals. Read on for our full Function of Beauty musk shampoo review and how we really felt it stacked up to our old favorites.
To begin, you take their hair quiz to determine your type of hair and overall goals for the shampoo.
Second, you select your hair and shampoo goals. While the goals might seem a little daunting (do I need to be worried about anti-aging for my hair?) you only have to select up to five of the 17 choices. I went with fix split ends, volumize, thermal protection, and straighten. Sure you can buy a shampoo to deep condition but that most likely won’t also have thermal protection and oil control. The ability to mix and match is the best property of Function of Beauty. Push it to make the exact formula you need.
Step three; this is the fun part! You can customize what color shampoo and conditioner you’d like (they come in clear bottles). I went with the mint color and they are definitely the best looking packaging in my shower. You can also select your fragrance. The default is “all (you) calyptus”. While I love eucalyptus scent, I’m much more of a musk person. Anything that borders on the masculine smelling I’m usually a fan of. I went for the “musk-have” scent (which they call cedarwood + violet) and turned out to LOVE it. Another great option is selecting the strength of the scent. I have friends who struggle to find something that is lightly scented and this would be a great option if you fall into this camp.
Another great option is the ability to mix different size shampoos and conditioners. We all have one that runs out first and you’re stuck with half a bottle of the other left. For me, I always have conditioner left so the large shampoo and small conditioner is perfect.
It’s really as easy as that. You send off your preferences and they go to work mixing up your custom shampoo.
How did it stack up?
I’d have to say I was very excited by the idea of customizing my own formula as well as the mixed bottle size which would hopefully eliminate some conditioner waste that I currently have going on. But beyond that, I am only 50/50 on the product; I was expecting more. Were my expectations too high? Here’s what I loved and what I didn’t love about the product:
What I loved:
- Musk-have fragrance: They call this cedarwood and violet and while I don’t exactly get violet out of it, I do love the musky, woody scent. I really love the way it smells and have used nearly the whole bottle since I love the scent so much.
- Subscription option: I am working to get my whole life onto a subscription rotation. Anything I don’t have to remember to pick up is a win for me. I love that this gives you the option plus the ability to alter the frequency.
- Different size bottles: My shower is a waste yard of 3/4 empty conditioner bottles. At the time of writing this I can count 3. Being able to order a large shampoo and small conditioner is a much better option for me.
- Design: Everything from the website to the bottles and how they are packaged is very nicely designed. While this shouldn’t 100% sway you toward a purchase, it certainly helps.
- Free shipping and returns: If you’re going to take a risk on an internet purchase it better have free returns.
- Fragrance strength: Like I said before, I’ve had friends who struggle to find lightly scented options. This is a great option. Or if you love the smell, crank it up to strong.
What I don’t love:
- Tends to make my hair greasy: My blend has a little too much moisture for my fine to medium hair and while I’m ok for the first day, by the second day my hair is looking greasier than normal. If I decide to order again I’ll need to tweak my formula to try to reduce some of the moisture.
- Price: While there are certainly more expensive shampoos, this is definitely targeted at someone who purchases salon shampoo and conditioner. At $36 for two 8oz bottles, that is often more than many people’s shampoo budget.
- Long lead time: From the date I ordered, it took 25 days to actually receive my shampoo. While I know they are custom mixing my formula, that is a long time for what I call “The Arc of Enthusiasm” to wear off. You’ve almost forgotten you’ve ordered it by that point. Blame it on our immediate satisfaction today but 25 days feels like a long time! Once you’ve ordered the first time, they do send you a reminder email so that you can receive your next batch before you run out- super helpful!
What do you guys think? Is custom shampoo and conditioner something you would consider trying?
If you’re interested, the first five people can use our code to get $5 off their purchase.
