Custom hair care: Formulate shampoo and conditioner review
Written By Jenny Wu on
04/08/2021 UPDATE: I received an email from Michael, the co-founder of Formulate, regarding past issues with customer service:
Another challenge we recently faced was we outgrew our original facility and had to shut production down for 5 days as we relocated and set up at the new facility. This naturally created a backlog but we have since caught back up.“
I have not used their products again since I initially wrote this review (too busy testing new brands), so I can’t confirm or deny his explanation. But it does seem like the negative comments on this blog have stopped.
01/02/2021 UPDATE: It seems that Formulate’s customer service has gone downhill since I last tried them. Negative reviews are being ignored, and instead customers are posting about their poor experiences here. This is extremely disheartening, and I will be updating the ratings to reflect these changes.
I reviewed the personalized Prose shampoo a while back, and now I’m ready to share my experience with a third custom hair care brand: Formulate.
For those of you not familiar with personalized hair care, there are now a few brands (3 that I’m aware of) that will formulate (hehe) custom shampoos and conditioners based on your hair and scalp’s needs. If you’ve tried a million shampoos and nothing seems to work, personalized is definitely the way to go. The question is just which brand.
The Formulate Experience
If the Functions of Beauty consultation was too generic and Prose’s was too wordy (not necessarily a bad thing in this case), the Formulate consultation is the perfect middle ground.
They look at your environment, lifestyle, current hair + scalp condition, and hair care goals – all which impact the key ingredients in your shampoo and conditioner. My favorite part is the acknowledgement of an oily root and dry ends – something that always drives me nuts when I only see dry, oily, OR balanced as the only options!
The formula is already paraben free, sulfate free, and cruelty free, There is also a fragrance-free option, or you can select from one of their 11 scents. I chose Green with Envy, which is a refreshing and beautiful green tea + honey blend. You can also opt for the strength of the scent, if you want more noticeable fragrance that lasts all day.
Overall I enjoyed the consultation process and felt they asked just the right number of questions to fully address my hair and scalp needs. In case they missed anything, there’s a notes section at the end for you to enter your own comments as well.
Formulate Shampoo + Conditioner Review
Packaging
Sleek geometric pump bottles that would look elegant in any bathroom, plus with braille for the visually impaired. 10/10 for the thoughtful and beautiful design. I also love that they come in large 14oz bottles, it means repurchasing less often, which means less waste.
Scent
There are 12 to pick from, ranging from fresh to floral to fruity to fragrance-free. I don’t get a distinct green tea or honey scent from Green With Envy, but it’s beautiful and fresh nonetheless. Tidal is your typical “ocean” scent and a good unisex option, though I was hoping to get more coconut notes.
Formula
Sulfate, paraben, and cruelty-free by default, you can further tweak it during your consultation to avoid silicones, nuts, gluten, or go completely vegan. Once you’ve completed your order, you can view your custom formula in detail in your dashboard. Formulate breaks down each ingredient and how they help accomplish your desired hair goals!
Texture
Both of my Formulate shampoo and conditioner were on the lighter side. The shampoo lathers wonderfully, but the conditioner doesn’t have the usual slip found in conventional products since I opted mine to be silicone-free.
Price
$19 for both with 4oz each, $39 for the 8oz, and $49 for 14oz. You must order them as a set your first time, but you can reorder them individually. No minimum free shipping!
Formulate Shampoo Experience
So for my Formulate formula, I focused on replenishing, lengthening, color protection, increasing shine, and scalp health, and let’s just say that the shampoo nailed it. I raved about it as one of my recent hair care favorites, because it’s everything I wanted from my Prose shampoo minus the initial scalp tightness.
The Formulate shampoo has also helped maintain my hair color, which after 6 months usually turn 50 shades of orange, but so far so good. Something else I noticed is that my hair has grown longer than it’s ever been able to, though that may also be the vitamins I’m taking. Either way, hair loss is slightly minimized, and that’s always a welcome change!
Formulate Conditioner Experience
Now the conditioner….there’s a reason I don’t use them, because they do nothing for my strands. I tried the Formulate Conditioner in place of my hg Sachajuan Hair Repair, and sadly it made my hair significantly drier. Not sure if it’s conditioners in general or this specific formula, but Formulate’s support was fantastic and sent me a reformulated conditioner asap in hopes of improving the situation.
It seems that for a while Formulate’s customer service suffered due to their rapid growth, but the brand is aware and has since addressed these problems (see co-founder statement above). Would love to hear from anyone who’s had recent experience with their cs – both positive and negative!
The second Formulate conditioner was definitely better. Still not as smoothing as Sachajuan, but for a conditioner, it’s not bad. It leaves my hair slightly shinier, smoother, and softer compared to sans-conditioner, which is impressive since the formula is silicone-free.
If I use conditioners in my routine, this would be a great replacement, but don’t expect this to take the place of more intensive hair treatments.
Formulate vs Prose vs Functions of Beauty
If you’re interested you can read my Prose haircare review and Functions of Beauty review in more detail :)
Final Verdict
-
Packaging
9
-
Ingredients
9
-
Texture/Application
8
-
Performance
7
-
Price
8
Overall I'm really happy with my Formulate experience, especially their shampoo. If I was rating the shampoo alone, it would be a 9+ for sure, but the conditioner just isn't enough for my hair.
To be fair, all the personalized conditioners from the 3 different brand I've tried fell short of my expectations, and I think it's because my hair needs more than just conditioner. Luckily I'm able to reorder the Formulate shampoo on its own, which I will be doing next time. And yes, it has dethroned the Prose shampoo, though I'm still a fan of Prose's custom hair masks.
However it seems their customer service has gone downhill since and issues with unsuitable formulas are not being addressed. As such, I will no longer be recommending their products.
I was impressed that the co-founder personally reached out to let me know they've addressed their customer service issues. Based on their response and the lack of negative comments lately, it does seem like things have gotten better.
Passionate about science-based skincare. Tested hundreds if not thousands of products since my 20's. Working regularly with brands like iHerb, Ulta, CurrentBody, and MedStar Health to share my knowledge and experience in all things beauty. Learn more.
Skin profile: 35+, dry/combination, focused on well-aging, hydration, and a healthy glow ✨
Comments & Questions
LindaLibraLoca
Customized hair care - we have really come a long way from the Schauma days of my youth. I use conditioner religiously, but always follow up with a hair oil to protect from frizz.
Anne - Linda, Libra, Loca
Lisa Autumn
Oh I always wanted to try a custom made shampoo!
x Lisa | lisaautumn.com
allie
Ohhh... never heard of this shampoo before! It sounds great and I looove the packaging!
xo, allie
www.champagne-tuesdays.com
Shireen L. Platt
These sounds absolutely lovely! Good luck everyone who entered, I'm located in the wrong country as always. LOL!
Jenny Wu
Sorry, I wish they shipped to Canada! Seriously you guys are like right there, and closer than Hawaii and Alaska!
Lackadaisy
Sounds good, but I got to add that the packaging is just so stylish <3
Alyssa
You already got me on personalized. Having had my hair bleached and dry, I use 2 different shampoos and conditioners each, plus treatments, just to keep my hair healthy, smooth and shiny.
xx Alyssa | STYLE VANITY
Jessica
This sounds fantastic. I'd love to check this out myself. Thanks dear!
Jessica | notjessfashion.com
Radi
For sure these products look amazing! The packaging draws me in right away.
Happy 2019!
www.fashionradi.com
sonia // daring coco
I wouldn't mind trying something like this. I've been trying different shampoos for my scalp but haven't really been 110% content with them. I'm currently using Angel Wash by Kevin Murphy. It's great on my hair, ok on the scalp but I'm noticing it's not really plumping with volume on the roots. I'll need to investigate some more, sadly I'm in Oz and I think I did once check out Function of Beauty but I can't remember why I didn't go ahead.
Sxx
daringcoco.com
Liz
Custom shampoo? Sounds amazing! I love the packaging :)
Lots of love ♥ January Girl
Gabrielle
How amazing you can even talk with the brand's chemist for further information; what a great concept! Happy 2019 darling!
aglassofice.com x
Sam | Violet Hollow
I had no idea you can create a custom shampoo! I must have been living under a rock because this is genius. My hair is so finicky, that this might be the way to go for me. Formulate sounds fantastic but I will check out Function of Beauty as they ship to the UK. Amazing review as always Jenny! xx
Violethollow.com
Sonny
I was browsing the internet for shampoo till I saw Formulate. Kinda cool! I thought of reading a review first before I order it. Your review of the product is very helpful. Thank you????
Neha
The packaging looks lit here.
The concept of personalize hair care is very important innovation in the world of hair care.
A lot of brands out there are working on this mechanism, like, Bare Anatomy, Prose, Vedix.
Anna
Formulate sucks. They never replied to my 3 emails and 3 direct messages to my “personal chemists” that I sent requesting a refund. I commented on their Instagram and they deleted my comment and never responded. Horrible customer surface and their shampoo made my hair SO greasy.
Jenny Wu
Sorry you had a poor experience, but you should contact paypal or your credit card and file a chargeback if that's the case. As for the shampoo quality, I can only say that I had a similar experience with Function of Beauty when I picked features that did not work for my scalp. However I am surprised that they did not help you try to reformulate, that is poor customer experience indeed.
Amber
Formulate sucks for me I did not like the smell it made my hair smell like somebody with stink breath eating an orange tic tac thats how it made my hair smell .
Jenny Wu
Because of the scent? You do realize you can pick that right? And if you don't like you should be giving that feedback to Formulate so they can address the issue. Posting about it here isn't going to help you.
Andy Monroe
Tried Formulate. My hair started to to fall off. Had to go through so much to get the refund... Customer Support is awful too. Stay away!
Marie C.
Took 4 weeks to receive my package in Des Moines. Then I wished I'd never received it. Just awful. Zero stars.
Jenny Wu
At first I thought your comment was legit, until I saw that both you and Andy Monroe above share the same IP address. And it's an IP address from an ISP in Canada, so explain how you're getting your package in Des Moines? Nice try spammer.
Jessica
I tried Formulate and was very disappointed with their solution and their customer service follow-up. Their packaging is delightful -- who doesn't want to have geometric bottles? However, this doesn't make up for the way their product worked for me. Others may have different experiences. As they don't allow a way for people to submit negative feedback, here I am on this article.
The shampoo was just "fine" -- comparable to a store brand shampoo in feel, smell, and cleaning power. However, the conditioner left my hair completely oily in a way I didn't think was possible. I applied a normal amount of conditioner and after drying with a towel and hair dryer, when I scrunched my hair with my fingers, my hand came away sticky and slick with grease. It was painful to brush through. I thought surely I answered the questionnaire incorrectly, or their questionnaire was missing something critical -- this conditioner is NOT for my hair! I have light textured hair with thin strands. It lays flat. It does not need oil!
I contacted them, and received two back and forth responses that basically told me to dilute the conditioner with some shampoo. No indication that the formula was incorrect, that I'd answered incorrectly, or any effort to work towards a better formula -- just "try this and see." No "oh, that's horrible, let's ship out a better formula" or "you know, we demand great experiences, here's your money back" -- just "keep trying" as though I'd only just discovered how to wash my hair in my mid-thirties and needed to improve my technique like I admittedly do with parallel parking.
Packaging? 5/5 stars it does look good
Customer service? 0/5 stars
Formula? 1/5 stars only because the shampoo did remove oil and dirt
Shipping? 2/5 stars only because they warned me upfront it would be delayed, although it was delayed even longer than the expected date. It took well over a month to deliver this disappointment.
There is no way to submit negative feedback so that potential customers can be warned. Be warned! It's all marketing, no transparency.
Jenny Wu
Hi Jessica, I can't speak to your experience with the formula as they are different for everyone, but wow I'm sorry to hear about the poor customer experience. Have you tried posting/reaching out to them via social media? Either way I will be updating my review to reflect this.
Ashley
I have tried Prose (and I love it, but not the price). I tried Formulate and was super excited to try it. It took a while to arrive (they warned it would). I hopped in the shower almost immediately to give it a try. My hair felt super greasy when I got out of the shower. I thought maybe I hadn't rinsed well. So the next time I rinsed very well and it was even greasier. When I got my hair cut the stylist asked what I used in my hair. I then tried just the shampoo and the shampoo WAS nice for my hair. It made my hair feel great (and smells good). I reached out about the conditioner and didn't get a bad response like some people I got NO response. Bit the bullet and went back to Prose (which to be fair is also shipping on an increased delay) and my hair is happy. Kind of sad because I would have stuck with Formulate if they'd even been like "Let's see how we can fix it for next time."
Jenny Wu
Sorry to hear about your experience Ashley. Unfortunately that seems to be a common occurrence with them now, and I've updated my post to reflect this as well. I'm glad at least the shampoo worked for you!
Ashley
I just came across this review and thought I would comment. I’ve been using Formulate for 2 months and have not had any problem with my formula. Even though I was a little concerned when I read that some individuals’ formulas were not working for them. My hair is very oily, fine, and wavy. I’ll have to admit the products have not drastically changed the oiliness of my hair but has made a slight difference I think. The products have given my hair more volume, strength, and curl definition which I also put as my hair goals. The shampoo makes my hair feel smooth, unlike other shampoos I’ve used, and the conditioner makes my hair feel nice as well. Over time the products have made my hair easier to detangle which was difficult before. I have not had any problems with customer service but that’s just my experience.
Cas
I absolutely LOVE Formulate the team is always so responsive and accommodating when I want to change something up. I doubt I'll ever use anything else! They ask you to try using the product differently if you have an issue and if that doesn't help then they are all about changing the formula. I found the routine change they suggested solved all my issues.
Ann
I can attest to the fact that they are not replying within the same day. It takes several days, in fact. The ONLY time I got an immediate response is when I canceled my subscription. I was extremely disappointed with the so called "customization process." My hair is extremely fine and it can be oily. They sent me a conditioner that is not only way too heavy for my hair type but also quite useless for a person that lives in a hot humid place. The "fix" suggested several days after I posted a message to the chemist - mix in a little shampoo with your conditioner. Really? Really?! That's thr scientific approach to "customization"? I can get overly moisturizing shampoo and conditioner at a drugstore and do that. I followed the brilliant science based advise. Now I'm sitting here with greasy waxy hair that was washed the night before last. It's so waxy that my hair keeps the shape after taking it out of a ponytail. It leaves so much residue that I had to wash my brush and comb with dishwashing liquid to get the gross residue off. I needed a product used to cut kitchen grease and scalding water jusy to get the gunk sent by this company off of my brush. Waxy hair attracts dirt and suddenly I'm finding lint stuck in my hair. Maybe the angle is to make people have to wash their at least once a day so they have to buy more or maybe they are just lazy. Isn't the point to *not* have to buy and try many off the shelf products? If this is the service provided, why not just go back to trial and error. Why put a "chemist" into the process. Use Amazon. I used HairLabs by Strands clarifying shampoo to get the gross residue out of my hair and changed to the Strands custom product. It's more expensive but you don't need nearly as much of it. It's actually custom. You get a report describing exactly the characteristics of your hair.
I cannot recommend Strands enough. Fantastic.
Formulate - stay away. You are better off experimenting with sulfate free products from Walmart.
Jenny Wu
Thank you for sharing your experience, and I'm sorry to hear about their chemist's response to a formula that's clearly not suitable for your hair type. I really hope they reach out and try to make things right with you, but I'm glad you've found a better alternative. I've never heard of strands but I'm definitely intrigued now!
Renee
Ann, I wish I had seen your comment before buying. I’m having the exact same results…greasy, residue filled hair just after washing. It’s horrible! Customer service was no help either. Basically told me they would keep trying until they got it right. Meanwhile, I keep sending them my money? No thanks! Subscription cancelled!
Renee S
I just ordered and I’m highly disappointed. These products have left my hair super greasy and covered in film. I reached out to customer service and they just replied with “Don’t worry, we’ll get you to the right levels.”. Really?? So in the meantime I just keep spending money in hopes they eventually get it right?? I guess returning is not an option. $50 down the drain…literally.
Jenny Wu
Not sure why you would or should keep spending your money if you didn't like the formula. I take by their response that they're sending you a replacement with a different formula? If not I would ask for it, file a BBB report if they don't agree, and even file a credit card chargeback. They should not be charging you to fix something if it's an issue on their end.
Karyna Myluska
Stay away from Formulate! Their customer service is trash. I wish I had read the comments before ordering. I have been dealing with them since early January. The products left my hair greasy, waxy and unclean. I brought this up to my hair technician and her advise was to double up on the amount of conditioner. I was skeptical but I still tried it twice. It made very little difference. I requested a reformulation. Nobody got back to me in 2 days. I finally got pissed and demanded a full refund. Nothing. Crickets. I emailed their customer service after canceling my subscription. I got a response right away acknowledging the cancelation but completely ignoring the request for refund! I am filing a dispute with my credit card. I already ordered Prose instead. They were great but I wanted to try something new. Lesson learned.
Lisa
I’ve been using this for 3 months. I used to lose a ton of hair in the shower and now hardly lose any, my scalp used to itch if I didn’t wash it every other day, now i can go 3-4 days and it doesn’t itch ever. I have really curly hair that I usually straighten and it seemed stiff after I washed it and straightened it the first few times. It has definitely gotten better and when they emailed me for feedback, i let them know and they adjusted the formula for next time. I am definitely going to keep using it for now and try to get it perfect! Considering trying the skincare also!