Look, I made my own shampoo. And hair conditioner. And pre-shampoo mask. Actually, Prose made it for me in their NYC lab – but according to my specifications. Which is much the same thing? Right?
Actually it’s better for me if someone else does the heavy lifting because I am not really a hair person. My hair kind of sucks. It’s super-fine, tends to get really frizzy and has the wonderful combination of oily roots and dry strands that conventional hair products cannot begin to understand. Most conditioners weigh it down, while volumizing formulas don’t moisturise it enough.
So, hello Prose… the epitome of bespoke hair products. The brand claims it can custom create more than 50 billion possible unique formulas, based on a proprietary algorithm of 85 data points and 76 natural ingredients (like pea sprout, honey, lilac, jojoba oil, sunflower seed extract, and hyaluronic acid).
In a major step towards transparency, every single ingredient is listed with its EWG (Environmental Working Group) rating on the Prose website.
And the formulas are sans sulfates, parabens, dyes, mineral oils or GMOs. Plus, they are cruelty-free and have recyclable packaging. Good for the earth, good for me?
What you need is to take an extensive questionnaire on the site, which involves about 25 questions. Some are pretty usual – like your hair type and lifestyle. Others are more unique – like stress levels, diet and where you stay (this calculates the pollution levels, humidity, water hardness, wind and UV rays!).
I ordered the shampoo, conditioner and mask, all of which came in chic old school apothecary bottles (#shelfie goals!).
I have been trying all three now for several months now and honestly, they work as promised! Firstly, my hair smells amazing even through the summer sweat, thanks to the Amalfi-coast inspired Napoli fragrance (lemon, neroli, orange blossom). You can choose to go fragrance-free but I got tempted by the vacation vibes this promised.
The shampoo cleansed my oily scalp, without drying out the ends. And the conditioner did not weigh down the roots while, miraculously, leaving my ends looking softer and shinier. I still needed a serum to cut down on the frizz but it was definitely more manageable.
Actually, Prose, could you make a serum as well? There’s a hair oil, leave-in conditioner, curl dream, dry shampoo and scalp mask… none of which I haven’t tried yet, but I would definitely like a serum.
My favorite from the current lineup, however, has to be the Pre-shampoo mask (mine contains, among other things, maca root to stimulate the follicles, fermented rice water for smoothing, and apple vinegar and caviar lime to amp up the shine). Who wants to sit around with wet hair, waiting for a mask to soak in for a lifetime. This one goes on before I shampoo, preferably while I am relaxing on the couch and Netflix-ing, and makes my hair super-soft and shiny.
You know how difficult it is for me to write a review without finding at least one thing I don’t like. Seriously? Well, I tried really, really hard but this one just ticks all the right boxes.
Guess things are just that much nicer when they are actually made for you?
Angela says
I just placed my order. I hope it’s worth it for my fine straight straight straight hair. I’ll let you know how it works for me. Thank you for taking the time to blog. I appreciate you doing the work for me. Lol.