Customize your hair routine with Formula.co + A Giveaway!

My hair has taken a lot during my lifetime, from the time I was twelve to fourteen I dyed my hair black, then once I reached High school and colored hair was allowed I bleached my hair and dyed it bright. From the time I was in high school until I was about twenty one my hair was every color of the rainbow, until it reached a point when it started looking damaged and thinned out a bit as I got older. So for the last few years I've maintained my natural hair color, and I don't straighten it as often as I used too instead I keep it the natural wavy curly state it grows. My hairs natural state is caught between curly and wavy, it is also a bit puffy and frizzy, always has been.

When it comes to shampoo/conditioner I've always just kind of bought what caught my eye and never landed on a "favorite" brand to buy because they all seemed about the same to me. Recently I learned about a newer brand called Formulate who creates customized shampoo/conditioner until I was contacted by one of their members. Yes, you read that right their shampoo/conditioner is customized to YOU! Plus their products are Preservative free, Sulfate free, Paraben free and Cruelty free.

You start out your journey by filling out a personalized hair profile, they ask you several different questions to narrow down exactly what you are looking for and your current hair state. They ask how long your hair is, if your scalp is sensitive, how thick your hair is, what types of tools you use on your hair and more, the process takes about five minutes. At the end they give you a summary of everything and the formula selected for you based off of your answers! I do want to note that if you need to go back to fix something or you decide to come back later to make a purchase and re-fill out the profile your ingredients list may be slightly different as they have a few products that do the same thing and they get swapped out from what I noticed (I took the test three times to see how the end results would be). You get to select your scent as well and how strong of a fragrance you want. Everything is saved to your Formulate profile which looks like this:

Once your profile is complete the last step is to order your set and wait for it to arrive! You can order full size which is $49 for one shampoo and one conditioner each 14oz, or you can order a trial set for $19 which comes with one 4oz bottle of each. How long the bottle lasts depends on you, I typically wash my hair every 3-4 days otherwise it puffs up or looks greasy from over washing so I followed the same schedule with this set. I've been using it for about two weeks and a half weeks, I have about half a bottle left but I noticed when I first received the bottles they aren't filled up all the way there is about a 1-2 inch space from the product to the top of the bottle. So I'd say I've used about a quarter of the product. It comes with a easy to follow directions, they recommend using four pumps of the shampoo to get rid of any residue, grease or dirt on your hair then rinsing it followed by one more four pump wash with the shampoo. After the second rinse they recommend four pumps of the conditioner as well then leaving it in for a few minutes before rinsing. You may experience an adjustment period going from products with sulfate to a sulfate free product.

What if you don't like your formula or it isn't working quite as you expected? No need to worry, on the Formulate app you can provide feedback to their chemists and request a re-formulated set at no additional cost to you. They want you to have a product that works for you and want you to continue using their products so they want to make sure you are happy and expect some may change their forumlas. I myself changed my formula, as I mentioned my hair is caught in the middle of wavy and curly, I usually have large loose wavy curls. The formula seemed to be making my hair somewhat straighter while separating the curls but it looked more out of control and fluffy than normal. A second thing I noticed was the conditioner of this set didn't seem to wash out right and instead super absorbed into my hair, which made it smell freshly washed for several days but it made it look greasy at the same time.  I also didn't like the smell of the scent I choose which was "At Dawn" a combo of rose, green apple and pear it was too over whelming. For my new set I asked for a little more frizz control and a new scent "Freshly Squeezed" which is tangerine and sweet orange. It didn't take long for my new set to arrive.

How do you know if they actually changed the formula? The main sign that showed me the formula had changed was how the conditioner looks, if you look at the image above both are the conditioner I tried  yet they look completely different.

Did it work for me? I would say yes. There is not a giant change in how it looks, my hair is still a bit frizzy but I don't think that will ever change no matter what I use but I can tell a difference. My hair looks less dry and looks healthier than it did before, the main change is how it feels. When I run my hand through my hair it feels healthier,lighter, smoother and it seems like I get less tangles. Before it just felt dry. My hair also seems easier to style and stays feeling cleaner longer than with traditional shampoo/conditioners. My scalp feels healthy + moisturized, I have not noticed any issues with dandruff or feeling like my scalp is dried out from the rising temperatures outside. In the photo above on the left you can see my hair looks a bit dry and extra frizzy, on the right you can see that it looks more moisturized and less frizzy. I really like the new scent in the second formulate set I received and my husband enjoys the small as well because it is both refreshing and smells clean. Will I continue to use this? I would like to continue using it because I do like what it does to my hair, however I want to see how long the bottles last first before deciding.

Want to win a Formulate Shampoo/Conditioner set of your own?

Click HERE to enter to win your own set. 

Rules: Open to US Residents, Ends 04/18. Winner will receive a email with a code to claim their free set, Everyone who enters will receive a $5 coupon off their purchase.

⇨ Please note this link will take you to my profile on the formulate website, to enter the giveaway click on the "Enter My Giveaway" located under my name. Blog comments are always appreciated and help support my blog, you do not need to comment in order to enter but if you do enter this giveaway please leave me a comment stating "I Entered" or tell me which of the scents (top of post) sounds best to you.

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Formulate for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others.My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.