If you have any social media you have probably heard of Function of Beauty. Custom beauty products are becoming more and more popular these days and in 2021 it's probably going to be one of the most requested services. It looked like it's going to take an eternity to arrive so I got it technicaly for my birthday but well...here it is almost 2 months early.
Function of Beauty does different kinds of custom beauty products but today we're going to look at the haircare they offer. How it works is that you fill in a little quiz regarding your hair type, texture, concerns and goals and you get a shampoo and conditioner according to the results. You can also pick the scent, color and size of the bottles. In addition to these two products, which are pretty much like a bundle you're expected to get, you can now get a leave-in conditioner, hair mask or a hair oil. I wanted to experiment a little so I went for the leave-in conditioner. I got the 473ml shampoo and conditioner and 236ml leave-in and the whole order came up to €67.40 with a 20% discount code and there's also €5 shipping in the price. I feel like they always have one code active with an influencer or just their own.
The products are vegan, cruelty-free, paraben-free, sulfate-free, customized and sustainability focused. My shampoo and conditioner are also silicone-free because I got the option to select that in my quiz. The leave-in doesn't have this choice.
Now, my hair is wavy 2B, high porosity, partially bleached and it loves protein. I follow the Curly Girl Method but not absolutelly strictly anymore, that's why I don't mind the leave-in having silicones that much. I still use majority of CGM friendly product though and I want to consider this for readers who might be following CGM and want to know if the products are CGM friendly.
My hair as described by the quiz results is wavy, medium density and normal scalp in terms of being dry or oily, it's basically neither. My goals were curl definition, replenishing the hair, strengthening the hair, thermal protection and volume. I picked blue-gray shampoo and orange conditioner and a strong peach scent. The leave-in is creamy by default so there's no picking that.
I love that they tell you in the quiz which ingredients are going to be used to complete each of the goals. That way I was able to navigate a little bit and select some proteins for the formula. You can also select which shampoo/conditioner duo you want in terms of size, I went for both large bottles because they were the best deal and I don't plan on buying the set again anytime soon because I have a lot of products to go through.
Packaging and shipping
I placed the order on 15.1.2021 and it was shipped 20.1.2021 which is five days later. The package was supposed to be delivered 15.2.2021 but at the end it arrived 4.2.2021 so the delivery was quite fast.
I really like the packaging, the box is very small and there's just the three products in it with some additional information and a set of stickers. Each bottle is well secured with a twist-off lid and a plastic plug so it doesn't spill. You get a pump for each product as well.
There's also a little leaflet where you can see all the hair goals you selected and how they're defined as well as all the ingredients lists. There are also instructions on how to use the products.
The ingredents
You can look at the ingredients before you place the order, during the product creating stage but it's not possible to find after you place the order. I am really happy that they have the ingredients in the box once you get the products.
The ingredients lists are pretty long but I wanted to check if the products were CGM friendly. Right of the bat I know that the leave-in isn't because it has dimethicone in it which is a big no-no. But let's look at the shampoo and conditioner.
The shampoo is approved by isitcg.com with caution, it contains chelating agents which are great if you have hard water or you want to get rid of build-up. But you also shouldn't use them very often so it's more of a clarifying shampoo. It also contains polyquats which can cause build-up on fine hair. The conditioner is fine as well, it just contains some water-soluble silicones. And the leave-in contains full on dimethicone but I knew what I was getting myself into with that one because they tell you that all the additional products do contain silicones.
The application
In the information leaflet you get instructions on how to apply the products. You should shake all of them before application, that's one common rule.
The shampoo should be lathered first in your hands with a bit of water but I usually add water after I distribute it on my scalp...I guess it's a personal preference. They also advise you to wash twice because the second time the shampoo lathers a lot more so you know that the hair is cleaner.
The conditioner should be applied from ends upwards and once you apply it, it can sit on for 3-4 minutes. Then you should throughly rinse it out. I use all my conditioners this way so I would say I'm set with the conditioner.
The leave-in can be used after washing as a leave-in treatment which is applied to damp hair through the lengths and not to the roots. You can also use it as a refresher so you can distribute it in your dry hair for a quick refresh. After you apply it to dry hair you can also use curling iron or a flat iron to style the hair. I asked for heat-protecting products so I guess this has some added benefits. You can also do a wet refresh with the leave-in, just wetting the hair and applying product where it's needed should be fine. You can also use a small amount to tame frizz a flyaways. It's a very versatile product!
First impressions
Today I decided to use all three products and give you my first impressions to start with. All the products have a pump so they are quite easy to use even if you wash your hair upside down above the bathtub. I like the smell, it's quite strong but I wanted it strong so it's fine by me. And I was a little surprised with the textures.
The shampoo is a lot thicker than I thought it was going to be. It spreads out like a jelly cream and leaves like a layer on your hands but once it touches water it lathers like crazy. I went in with 4 pumps because that seemed to be the amount I would use for first wash. But I was sooooo wrong. It was just way too much and there was creamy foam everywhere. My head did feel very nice and clean though. For the second time I took two pumps and I would be just fine with one. It rinsed out well, didn't leave any weird residue and my hair and scalp felt very clean. The hair was a little tangled afterwards and it had that protein feel to it. So it was time to use some conditioner.
The conditioner was a lot less thick than I thought it was going to be. The texture is nice and creamy but quite thin. I went in with 4 pumps because I felt like I need quite a bit of conditioner. It doesn't have a very good slip but I use my Curly Secret detangling brush every time I wash my hair anyway. So I distributed the conditioner through the hair, partially detangled with my fingers and then went in with the brush. It went just fine but if you have very coarse or thick hair and you have problems with detangling, this conditioner might not have enough slip and you'll probably end up using a lot of it. I don't really have problems with tangled hair that often so for me it was absolutelly fine and my hair felt quite moisturized after I washed it out. I did a bit of scrunching while rinsing the conditioner out and some really nice clumps formed.
The leave-in was quite a surprise as well. It's a very lightweight cream and my hair was just sucking it in like nothing. I was surprised how much my hair soaked up. I went in with 4 pumps at first, glazing and then scrunching it in but after a couple scrunches it felt like I didn't put anything in my hair so I went again with 4 pumps and that was where my hair felt more saturated. There was a little bit of definition forming as well as I was scrunching the product in. I really like this leave-in so far, it reminds me of some of my favorite leave-in conditioners.
I finished my wash day by applying the Jessicurl Rocking Ringlets curl activator, Giovanni L.A. Turbo Foam and the Mixed Chicks Curl Sculptor. The gel is the only new product to me so I hope the results are going to be good. I plopped for about 10-15 minutes like I always do and then I diffused my hair to 80% dry. After that I get lazy and my hands get tired, I put on my Curl Keeper clips and wait for it to airdry for as long as it needed. There wasn't a strong cast, but there was some hold provided by the gel. The definition wasn't bad either.
After the hair dryed completelly I warmed up half a pump of the Verb Ghost Oil in my hands and scrunched the waves to get rid of any cast (not much of it there though). I shook out the roots a bit and there was the finished wash day. It always takes a minute for my hair to settle down and take their final form but this is how my hair looked like.
I am very happy with this wash day. I have some great volume, my hair feels light as air. There was a little bit of cast afterall but I had no problem breaking it down. The waves are nice and juicy and very defined. I am surprised because I was applying the products into very damp but not quite dripping hair and I was raking through majority of the products so I wasn't expecting juicy thick clumps at all. So far I cannot tell who's to blame for these amazing waves but we'll see.
Thoughts after couple months
I didn't want this review to be released a year after I buy the product and I've been using them quite enough to be sure what I think about them. So let's look at them one by one.
The shampoo is great, especially if you have hard water like I do. It has incredible lather, you don't need much and it cleans your scalp like nothing else. I would compare it to my Malibu C Un-doo-goo shampoo as they feel quite similar and they are both without sulphates. That being said it's not my shampoo every wash day because shampoos with chelating agents is quite a strong cleanser and it should be used quite sparingly. So I usually use it when I can really feel the build up or when I just know I need a better cleanse and low-poo isn't enough.
The conditioner is really nice, I like that it has protein because my hair really accepts protein well in masks and conditioners. It doesn't have the best slip, especially when I apply it after the Function of Beauty shampoo. But when I use it after regular hydrating low-poo it seems to be a little better for detangling. Maybe it's because the chelating shampoo strips the hair a little more. However the conditioner is at least nice and lightweight so my hair doesn't feel weighted down when I use it. It does leave my hair pretty soft and smooth and it works well when I detangle with my Curly Secret brush.
The leave-in steals the show for me. I know it has silicones and I really shouldn't like it this much but I just really do. It's super lightweight, the protein hits my hair like a truck every time I use it and the definition I get when I use it is pretty amazing. I've been testing it with different combinations of products so I can really determine if it's the cause of magic on my head and it's true. I do have a nice affordable dupe for it though so if you want a very nice and lightweight protein heavy leave-in just go to DM drugstore and pick up the Balea Winter Protect Hair Milk. It has pretty much the same results and it's CGM approved (unlike the Function of Beauty one).
So yeah, I would say that I really like the Function of Beauty products and I do use them a lot. Would I recommend getting them? Honestly, I feel like it's a very personal thing because you do get a customized product that is probably going to work very well for your hair type. For example I am very happy with my products because I have hard water, I need a lot of protein, I have wavy hair that's quite thick and strong and I wanted thermal protection as well in my formula. So for me it's perfect and I really enjoy using them. But the price is up there, this is not a cheap beauty experiment and if you end up not liking the products then it's a lot of money through the window. I would say I really like the products and they are very well tailored to my needs but if it wasn't my birthday gift and I didn't have the money I wouldn't be to bothered not to have these products. I am a fan of customizable anything beauty related but it's absolutelly not necessary.
Have you tried any Function of Beauty products? Let me know in the comments and thanks for reading!