Want to know if a product really works? Welcome to Slow Beauty. Since it can take up to six weeks to see results from using a new formula, we have testers try the best and buzziest in hair and skin care for double that amount of time to determine what actually makes a difference.
My relationship to my hair didn’t used to be a complicated one. Growing up, my mane was my calling card: straight-ish brown strands, plentiful but thin in nature, that reached past my waist and were almost always tied into a low ponytail or, on special days, two low pigtails. During my preschool and kindergarten years, my dad was the one who would get me ready in the morning, and low ponytails were his speciality (read: the only hairstyle he could crank out consistently), and I continued the tradition into elementary school. I got my hair cut for the first time when I was 11 years old, a result of my general ambivalence about the whole thing. Of course, I went through periods of being in love with my hair straightener (tragic in retrospect) or my hair gel (tragic but make it crunchy), but it wasn’t until my 20s, and now 30s, that I started to become concerned. Did my hairline always look like that? And by that, I mean, dominated by a slightly off-center widow’s peak and lean patches on either side of said peak. According to my childhood photos, yes, this had always been the case. But, then again, had it? Had it gotten worse? More sparse over the years? Were the supposed changes due to stress? Hormones? The plight of getting older?
Combine this, let’s say, unfortunately common thought spiral with our culture’s recent “outsize[d] focus on our scalps,” and it’s no wonder so many women are fixated on whether or not they’re losing their hair. I, personally, have found myself thinking about it quite often, feeling self-conscious to wear my hair in certain styles that might highlight my lack, and obsessing over whether this is something about myself I could conceivably change.
So when I was offered the opportunity to try Vegamour’s GRO+ Advanced Hair Serum for 12 weeks, I was excited to give it a shot. According to my beauty editor comrades, Vegamour is a well-respected brand, and the serum in question purports to use plant-based phytoactives and peptides to boost scalp hydration; strengthen roots; target shedding and thinning; and improve hair density. In essence, Vegamour’s ingredients are meant to create a healthy environment, so that with long-term use, hair might grow—and also not fall out as easily. According to Vegamour’s website, I was to apply the product daily (“consistency is key”) and wait three months to start seeing results. Here’s what happened.
Courtesy of Vegamour
To be honest, I wasn’t expecting any miracles this week. That’s the ethos of this column, after all! Instead, I was mostly focused on the daily experience of using the hair serum, and I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. At the start, my colleague told me to use the product on dry hair, which made me nervous, since my strands get oily quite quickly. I worried: Would each use leave my scalp greasy, and therefore turn this entire exercise into a complicated puzzle of hair washing/drying/serum-ing? But I shouldn’t have feared. The water-based concoction is so light that I forget about it minutes after applying.
We’re still in the waiting period. According to Vegamour’s website, one can “expect to see results” from this hair serum in about three to four months. (We’re really putting the slow in Slow Beauty here.) The daily ritual of massaging the serum into my temples has given me much to think about, including what it means to be constantly noticing or analyzing a part of your body. Existential crisis: triggered.
I’m still hesitant to report anything substantial here, but there’s definitely some sort of placebo effect going on. I look at myself in the mirror and think, Maybe it does look fuller around my temples? Is there suddenly more hair there? Has it magically transformed? No, of course it hasn’t. But after three weeks of daily attention, my mind clearly wants there to be an effect. Hopefully, by next week, I can be a bit more clear-eyed.
No substantial changes that I can see, though I’m still confident this could all work! It’s an easy enough task, and either way, I do feel like I must be keeping my skin hydrated and healthy. That feels like a win.
Courtesy of Vegamour
The placebo effect still seems to be working—my temples look a little fuller to me, even though I know, scientifically, that can’t be right. Even so, it’s nice to soak in the feeling.
Halfway through! My Vegamour serum and I are practically best friends now; I’ve even experimented with using it on wet hair too. I hesitate to analyze too much at this point, but I appreciate the opportunity to give my temples some extra attention. I’ve honestly never used anything consistently when it comes to my hair, so an improvement either way.
I can’t believe it, but I seem to be almost done with my first bottle of serum. The last day or so, I haven’t been able to get a dropper full of product, but I have been able to pour a bit of serum from the bottle into my hand and apply it that way. I think it’s safe to say that if you’re using the serum every single a day (I’ve admittedly missed a day here or there, but I think the average customer would do the same) then one bottle can last you about 6 weeks. Not bad, all things considered, but a good thing to know, since you’re not supposed to see results for three months.
Two months complete! I’ve officially moved on to my second bottle of serum and have been a bit more indulgent lately, sometimes using a full dropper on one side of my scalp and then repeating on the other side. This is partially because I realized every once in a while I was forgetting to use the product altogether. We’re going to finish out the last month of this Slow Beauty process strong.
Courtesy of Vegamour
I’m very excited to take my “after” photos in a few weeks and do a true comparison. Over the weekend, I attended a wedding and pulled my hair back into a half-up-half-down ’do, something that really accentuates my bare temples, in my opinion. Maybe I was high on sunshine (the wedding was in Puerto Rico, after all), or maybe the product really is working, because this time around, the lack of hair didn’t bother me as much.
I can’t believe we’re almost at the end. I’m not going to lie, I’m back to feeling a bit self-conscious about my temples after seeing a few photos of my hair looking particularly sparse—though my partner reminded me that, in these instances, I hadn’t washed my hair in a day or so, which definitely does not help.
Alright, guys, I’m back on the other side of the fence. Maybe I do see some new growth?! I will say I’ve been traveling a lot this month and find it harder to keep up with the once-a-day cadence while I’m away from home. But I’d give myself an A- so far.
Now that we’ve come to the end of this experiment, I have to say, I’m going to keep it up. There are some baby hairs on both sides of my head that feel very promising (were they there before? I don’t think so! but maybe?), and I really want to see if they keep growing. Plus, the product is simple enough to use. Maybe there’s hope for me and my temples after all?
Design Courtesy of Leah Romero
The author before and after using the serum for 12 weeks.
Final Thoughts
Despite it being 12 weeks later, I’m still definitely in the early stages of my relationship with the Vegamour serum. Per the product’s website, you’re supposed to start seeing results around three to four months, and I’ve just recently hit the three-month mark. But to use the same metaphor, I’m happy to report that I’d like to keep dating this little guy. I found the serum quite easy to use; I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how the quick-drying formula doesn’t leave my hair greasy at all, meaning I can use it whenever it fits in my schedule best, and not the other way around.
Personally, I’ve found assessing hair growth to be a challenging task. After staring at something every day, it can be easy to feel like your mind is playing tricks on you, similar to how it’s difficult to recognize a change in a loved one because you’re seeing them so often. My current read, and what I think these photos show, is that I’m seeing some growth and density, including new short baby hairs coming in. It’s not a shocking amount, but such things take time, so I’m more than willing to keep the experiment going.
The serum is an investment at $78 a bottle, so if you’re also hoping to try, and you have the coin to spend, I would suggest going for the three-pack, which brings the price down to $66 a pop; after all, to hit three months, you’ll have to use a few bottles anyway. And if you see me on the street this summer, let’s compare hairlines.
