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We have to account for the fact that there are people out there (large populations can be found in Calabasas) who choose to buy furniture-included McMansions in planned communities, but by and large, it's safe to say that most of us prefer things as personalized as possible. Bras, foundation, last meals in prison... everything is better when it's tailored to your specific preferences.
Function of Beauty, a haircare start-up founded in 2015 by two MIT engineering grads and a cosmetic chemist, believes that to be true when it comes to shampoo and conditioner, too. For the last three years, customers were able to fill out a questionnaire on the brand's website that asks their hair type, goals, color, scent, and product name preferences in order to develop their own custom shampoo and conditioner (prices start at $36). Just last week, though, Function of Beauty opened its NYC lab to the public by appointment only, so you can watch every single ingredient go into your special-snowflake formula. (If it matters to you, and it probably does, know that the whole thing is incredibly Instagrammable.)
The company insists the model is near-perfect and that less than 1% of customers are dissatisfied (those who are can get a full refund within 30 days or a reformulation until they're happy), and they're certainly not playing when it comes to the custom part — no two formulas have ever been the same. So we had four editors with different hair types and needs test-drive the shampoo and conditioner, ahead, and weigh in on how made-to-order compares to mass-market.
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