Prose Shampoo Honest Reveiw

I finally jumped on the Prose bandwagon. After listening to all of my favorite pod casters rave about it (yes, I’m aware that they are paid advertisements but I trust that they wouldn’t push a product that they don’t believe in. Apparently, I’m that devoted or naive a podcast listener)

If you’re not familiar with Prose it is a custom hair care line. You fill out a questionnaire on their website and they will formulate shampoo/conditioner for your specific hair care needs. They also make pre-shampoo hair mask, hair oil, dry shampoo, and supplements.

Before I get into the Prose shampoo honest review let me tell you a little bit about my hair and routine. I believe in having all the information is helpful before you make a purchase based on someone else’s experience. But realistically, you probably already have your mind made up regardless of what reviewers say.

Already interested in trying Prose? Use this link and we both get $10 off!

I have long, straight hair. My scalp is rarely oily or overly dry; it’s just normal. My biggest hair concerns are split ends, volume and shedding. I only wash my hair twice a week and use heat (blow dryer and curling iron) twice a week. I get my hair trimmed about once a quarter (I really should get it trimmed more often but I honestly just forget about it) and some form of hair color, be it permanent color, gloss, or just highlights; happens about once a quarter also. Again, I would like to do this more often but time just slips away from me.

The Prose questionnaire

The Prose questionnaire is quite extensive, which I appreciate. I took the Function of Beauty questionnaire when trying to decide which product to try and was less than impressed with their questions. Prose asks you about your daily lifestyle, how much water you drink, type of food you eat, exercise, etc. They ask your zip code so they know what type of weather you typically have and air pollutants. They ask what type of hair you have, what your concerns are, and how often you style your hair with heat and products, hair color, etc. They want to know what type of scent you like in your shampoo (if any) and if you prefer silicone or sulfate free products.

My Prose ordering process

I choose to purchase the shampoo and conditioner plus the pre-shampoo mask. It took about two weeks to receive my package once my order was placed. Included in the box is an ingredient list of everything they put into my personalized products.

When it is getting close to time to reorder, Prose sends a new questionaire to see how I’m liking the products and if I have seen any positive or negative changes in my hair. They also make note of the changing season and will alter the shampoo/conditioner formula to reflect the change in local humidity and warmer temps.

My Prose packaging

The packaging is simple and minimal (which I like) and comes with helpful instructions on how often to use the hair mask and how much shampoo/conditioner to use in the shower. They even have a podcast with episodes about hair care, using Prose to unwind and finding time to relax and how to be mindful about your hair routine.

Prose Pre-Shampoo Mask

I’ve used the pre-shampoo mask since late February, every 10 days to two weeks. I always make sure I use the mask when I have lots to time to devote to hair care as it’s not meant to be a speedy process. I’m surprised that the mask has lasted as long as it has. I’m still on my first container and I don’t skimp on the amount I use each time. My process is to wet my hair in the sink with cool water, wring it out then apply two to three handfuls of the mask to my hair (avoiding my scalp). I twist it up in a clip then apply a face mask and relax for the next twenty to thirty minutes. When the timer goes off I peel off my face mask and jump in the shower to rinse out the hair mask then shampoo as normal.

After seven applications (over the past two and half months) I can tell that my ends aren’t as crispy and split as they normally would be. My hair is always very soft the next day but then the texture is back to normal after a few days.

Prose Shampoo and Conditioner

If you are used to a thick shampoo and conditioner, this may take some getting used to. It is thinner and more runny than a typical shampoo. The bottles are smaller than what you buy in the store so you are defiantly paying more per ounce but custom-anything comes with a hefty price tag. At first I was worried that I would run out of product before it was time to reorder but I’ve found that  the 8.5 oz. bottles lasted two months. But keep in mind, I only wash my hair twice a week (three times if I get particularly sweaty when working out and then only if I feel I have time to wash it after the work out).

I use four squirts of shampoo and about the same amount of conditioner. I’ve read some reviewers say that the shampoo doesn’t suds up as much as they like but I’ve never had that problem. Most drug store shampoos contain sulfates which helps create the foam. Since Prose doesn’t contain sulfate (you can also opt out of silicone which is the ingredient in conditioner that helps detangle your hair), and if you’re hair isn’t used to a shampoo that doesn’t contain these ingredients, it may take a bit to get used to it. I’ve noticed that some salon quality and high end shampoos don’t contain sulfates and/or silicone; so either it really is an ingredient to avoid or their marketing departments are trying to convince us that we don’t need it and should pay more for shampoo sans sulfate. Here Mad-Men, take my money.

I also purchased a scalp scrubber on Amazon and use that to give my scalp a nice massage and scrub each time I shampoo. Scalp scrubber makers claim to stimulate blood flow to the scalp and in turn promote hair growth. I don’t know if that is the case and have no evidence to prove it but it feels good and they aren’t expensive; so why not use it?

Is it worth it?

If you’re use to Suave prices, Prose will be a bit of a shock at $25 for each 8.5 oz. bottle. But they have a satisfaction guarantee and will reformulate your products if you’re not happy with them or give you a full refund. I haven’t had to ask for a refund but I’ve watched other review videos where they did ask for the refund and it wasn’t a problem.

For me, so far, it has been worth it. I’m on my second go-round of shampoo and conditioner. I’ve noticed that my split ends aren’t as out of control as usual but shedding is still a problem. Prose has recently come out with vitamin supplements that claim to help with shedding and hair loss but the jury is still out; I’ve only been taking them for two weeks.

They also have a hair oil and dry shampoo that I would like to try but are way out of my price range. I’ll stick with my Aussie Miracle Oil and homemade dry shampoo.

If you do decided to try Prose, use this link and we both get $10 off. Signing up for the subscription service will help save 15% off each order. You can set your subscription to reorder every month, every two months or more. You can also pause or push back your order if your bottles aren’t empty yet. I pushed back my subscription in late March l and it was super easy, no questions asked.

Have you tried Prose or another custom shampoo? Yay or nay?