Hair care. It’s not always easy to get right. Everyone’s is uniquely different, whether straight or curly, frizzy or smooth, dry or grease-prone, the shelves are full of products promising strength and shine.
Yet more often than not, the results fall short of expectation. It’s about time we stopped treating hair care as one-size-fits-all. More and more brands are developing personalized solutions, and today we’ll compare three of the best — Prose vs Function of Beauty vs Aura. Our goal is to help you decide which personalized hair care brand is best for you.
Custom hair care: what’s it all about?
Personalized hair care has grown increasingly popular these days. New lines offer transformative results for all hair types by asking customers to complete a detailed quiz before purchase.
These quizzes are designed to assess metrics like hair quality, type, thickness, length, strength, and porosity. You’ll also be asked to describe any problems you experience with your hair including any washing, styling, and heating treatments practiced on a daily basis.
And then voilá, a bespoke formula is made. Custom tailored to your individual needs and goals, the question remains: do personalized shampoos and conditioners deliver more than standard options?
Benefits of personalized hair care vs one-size-fits-all
A custom shampoo or conditioning formula is designed for an individual’s exact hair type, though that’s not the only thing that sets personalized products apart from their generic counterparts. Traditional shampoos and conditioners fail us on so many levels, personally and environmentally.
Traditional hair care products like chemical shampoos strip human hair of its natural oils. Exposure to these harsh chemicals dry out the scalp and actually cause a deterioration of hair quality and appearance with long-term use. Not only that, chemical shampoos are terrible for the environment. As excess product spins down the drain after each shower or bubble bath, it inevitably accumulates downstream in our rivers, seas, and soils. Perhaps not the biggest ecological nightmare, but an (avoidable) negative impact on our environment nonetheless.
Thus for the health of both your scalp and the planet, personalized shampoos and conditioners have a lot to offer. Whatever your motivation for switching up your hair care routine — selfish, altruistic, or both — you’re likely to see better results. Or at least I did, when I tried custom formulations from Aura and Prose recently.
What’s the best custom hair care brand — Prose, Function of Beauty, or Aura?
Personalized hair care comparison: Prose vs Function of Beauty vs Aura | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| How to purchase | Begin your online consultation here. | Take the hair quiz here. | Fill in your personalized hair care plan here. |
| Hair care Products | Pre-Shampoo Hair Mask Pre-Shampoo Scalp Mask Shampoo & Conditioner Hair Oil Dry Shampoo Curl Cream Leave-In Conditioner Brushes | Shampoo & Conditioner Purple Shampoo Leave-in Hair mask Hair serum (personalized body and skin care also available) | Shampoo Conditioner Masque Color enhancing pigments Neutralizing pigments |
| Benefits | Increase shine and volume Works fast Reduces greaseImproves natural curlsSilky smooth hair No more tangles Goodbye dandruff | Healthy hair Defined curls Super softnessControls unruly hair Hair smells great | Perfect curls Maintain desired toneEnhanced colorMoisturized hairSmooth appearance |
| Ingredients | Formulations made of a unique combination of safe and sustainable natural ingredients. A full list of ingredients can be found here. | Clean, science-backed ingredients sourced and tested to ensure safety, quality, and efficacy. Guaranteed not to include these 40 ingredients. | Results-driven ingredients including cupuacu butter, barley protein, tea tree oil, murumuru butter, chia seed oil and more. |
| Features | Natural ingredients Clean hair care Certified B Corporation Sustainable practices | Cruelty free 100% vegan Sulfate free Sustainability focused | Patented personalization technology Thoughtfully sourced ingredients Vegan formulas Cruelty-free products and practices Paraben-, SLS- and SLES-free Packaging made with recycled materials |
| Individual product price range | $25- $48 | $29-$49 | Shampoos, conditioners, and masques are priced at $28 |
| Subscription available? | ✅ The Salon is Prose’s personal membership service, which includes:
| ✅ As a Function Plus member you can opt for ongoing deliveries on a schedule of your choice every 2, 3, or 6 months. | ✅ Create an account and set up your subscription here. |
| Refund policy | Return your order for a full refund or receive adjusted formulas free of charge. | Reach out within 30 days of receipt for a refund or reformulation. | Contact Aura Support for a refund or adjusted formulation. |
| Website |
What sets each hair care brand apart?
Well, it really depends on what you’re looking for.
Prose stands out for its personal membership service — The Salon — which has some key advantages compared to other subscription offerings. From 1:1 appointments to exclusive products and generous discounts, Prose is a great option for those who are thinking of switching to personalized hair care long-term.
For those who love their skin as much as their haircare, Function of Beauty shines brighter than the rest. After all, generic skin care products are just as damaging as chemical shampoos and conditioners. Function of Beauty is the one for you if you want to transform your entire beauty and self-care regime through personalization. Don’t shop around, your needs can be met all in one place.
Aura has got something right, and that something is its ingredients. Aura’s products are jam-packed with luxurious, natural ingredients. Plus, these guys are seriously committed to ethical and sustainable practices. They’re cruelty free, vegan, Paraben free and use 100% recycled product packaging.
Reviews: What do customers think about Prose, Function of Beauty, and Aura?
When choosing a new beauty product, the best advice comes from experience. That’s why customer reviews are so important. We’ve collated online reviews for each of our three pickings to help you decide which personalized product to invest in. We’ll take you through the entire process, from quiz to final results, through the eyes of the customer themselves.
Let’s dive in.
What’s the best personalized hair care quiz online?
The first step on any personalization journey. Let’s see how Prose, Function of Beauty, and Aura stand up to the customers scrutiny.
Review of Prose’s hair care quiz
Take a look at this Reddit reviewer’s take on Prose’s online Quiz.
Function of Beauty’s online quiz
Former Business Insider reporter, Remi Rosmarin, loved Function of Beauty’s easy quiz experience.
Aura’s custom hair care quiz
Aura was one of Allure’s top new hair-care products for February 2021. Here’s why!
Which brand’s packaging and appearance do customers like most?
Let’s go over the first impressions: how each of these products arrive on your doorstep. Let’s take a look at some customers’ takes on the packaging and design of our three hair-care brands.
Prose’s packaging
Seriously pleasing packaging. That’s what online blogger HelloGiggles thought of Prose when it arrived in the mail.
Function of Beauty’s packaging
Blogger GeekyPosh loved Function of Beauty’s cute packaging but found that the pumps could do with some improvement.
Aura’s packaging
Beautypackaging.com just loved Aura’s sustainability credentials.
Which personalized shampoo and conditioner brands work the best?
Now for the most important bit — the results. After all, that’s what personalized hair care is all about. It’s time to find out whether customers were satisfied with their hair after use.
Is Prose hair care legit?
Lauren’s Life has documented her 30-day prose hair care journey online. Check it out!
Is Function of Beauty hair care legit?
This reviewer loves what Function of Beauty has done for her curls.
Is Aura’s custom hair care legit?
Kamala Kirk of Spa & Beauty Today says that “my hair felt and looked incredible after just one use”.
The Verdict: Is personalized shampoo from Aura, Prose, or Function of Beauty worth it?
For starters, personalized hair care is here to stay. This results-driven approach to hair care is transforming the look, quality, and feel of our hair and showing us that dry, brittle, damaged hair doesn’t have to be a curse. Prose, Function of Beauty, and Aura are leading the way in this new hair care revolution. Given that all are roughly the same price (between $25 and $50), the question still remains: which one is best for you?
That ultimately depends on you, and of course, your hair. But here’s what we think.
For the color lover we recommend Aura. The only one of the three brands offering personalized color pigmentation and neutralization. This is the perfect choice for colored hair, as well as anyone who likes to regularly experiment with different colors.
For the convenience seeker we pick Function of Beauty. They offer flexible subscription plans that allow you to receive your products as often (or infrequently) as needed with upfront commitment.
For all around experience, we pick Prose. Membership promises amazing discounts, exclusive products and 1:1 consultations to ensure you’re using the products correctly. For a lot of people, this white glove experience can make all the difference.
So there we have it, our final review of the top three personalized hair care brands for women. Whichever you choose, know that you’re currently ahead of the curve as personalized hair care is set to revolutionize any self-care routine. Forget about one-size-fits all traditional shampooing and conditioning — we’re done with damaged hair. It’s time for natural ingredients, bespoke formulas, and epic results. If you give one of these brands a shot, let us know about your experience in the comments below.
oh, and pssst…..If you’re losing your hair faster than you’d like or notice sudden thinning, check out our review of Hers for hair loss treatments.
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