How it works and why it’s worth the hype

When it comes to hair, you always want what you can’t have — and if that’s not the case, consider yourself lucky!

If you were born with pin-straight hair, chances are you’re constantly looking for a way to give your mane a bit of a bounce. If you have wavy or curly hair (like myself), then it’s likely that you’ve dealt with frizzy, poofy hair for more years than you’d like to admit.

But what if there was a way to enhance your natural locks and eliminate all the things you don’t like about it? Customized hair products just might be the answer to all of your problems.

Function of Beauty was founded in 2015 with the brand’s promise to help their customers embrace their natural and unique hair type with custom options. Created by a team of engineers from MIT, cosmetic scientists and developers, each product is individually formulated in FOB’s first-of-its-kind factory in Catawissa, Pennsylvania, using the latest science and technology to help ensure that the formula is just as unique as you.

The brand launched with with shampoo and conditioner, but since added a leave-in conditioner, hair serum, hair mist and more to their tailor-made line of haircare products. More recently, they have also branched out into the world of body care and skincare.

Function of Beauty

How does Function of Beauty work?

First, you start by taking a survey to build your hair profile. FOB asks you about your hair type, structure and scalp moisture. Then, you select up to five hair goals, with an option of a silicone-free formula.

FOB currently offers six different scents — mango, lavender, rose, peach, eucalyptus, pear — in three levels of scent strength, plus a fragrance-free option. Bathers can also add a little color to their shower experience by selecting a dye color for their soaps, including a special purple for toning blonde hair.

Finally, decide how you’d like your bottle identified as each is printed with its own personalized label.

At checkout, customers can decide whether to opt-in to their subscription service, allowing you to save 10% and receive free shipping on each order sent in 1-month, 3-month and 6-month intervals. The site also suggests additional hair product recommendations to add to your cart, like a customized hair mask, leave-in cream, hair serum and more.

Function of Beauty

Function of Beauty’s custom shampoo and conditioner starts at $40 for an 8 oz. set but for a limited time the brand is offering 10% off for new customers with the promo code NYP10.

Is Function of Beauty clean? 

Another great quality of Function of Beauty is the clean ingredients they use in many of their products. To be an ingredient in a Function of Beauty bottle, you’d have to make it past European Union safe cosmetics regulations, pass review in formulation with other ingredients, be 100% vegan, non-toxic and cruelty-free, and as often as they can help it, be responsibly sourced. 

Is Function of Beauty worth the hype?

Function of Beauty has received thousands of raving reviews (more than 73,000 five-star reviews on their website!) and is often raved about on social media, but we wanted to see how it worked first-hand.

I have naturally curly hair and while I have used way less heat on my locks over the last year and half (one of the only perks of this ongoing pandemic), if I have a reason to get ready, I usually use my Revlon One-Step Hair Dryer And Volumizer Hot Air Brush for an at-home salon look.

Function of Beauty

Nevertheless, for as long as I can remember, I’ve been looking for a way to rock my natural curls without the wonderful frizz or poof invading my day. After a week of trying out my customized Function of Beauty shampoo, conditioner, leave-in conditioner and hair serum, here’s what I noticed about my hair:

  • It’s visibly less frizzy
  • I have way more shine
  • It smells amazing (I went with the new mango scent!)

Overall, I’m a big fan of Function of Beauty’s customized hair products. Their products are affordable, transformative and highly beneficial thanks to their in-depth hair analysis.