This Hair Growth Product Made My Hair Grow 8 Inches In 6 Months
Technically, Jazmin Alvarez has been in the beauty space her entire life.
Fransebas
mbg Assistant Beauty Editor
mbg Assistant Beauty Editor
Hannah Frye is the Assistant Beauty Editor at mindbodygreen. She has a B.S. in journalism and a minor in women’s, gender, and queer studies from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Hannah has written across lifestyle sections including health, wellness, sustainability, personal development, and more.
March 21, 2023 Our editors have independently chosen the products listed on this page. If you purchase something mentioned in this article, we may Beauty routines are never truly stagnant—practices evolve and change like we do. In As of Late, we chat with influential folks about their current products and rituals. Here, we get a snapshot of what they're doing right now: the sacrosanct formulas they use until the last drop, the fresh launches they've got their eyes on, and of course, the why behind it all.
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Technically, Jazmin Alvarez has been in the beauty space her entire life. While her resume will describe her as a 14-year veteran of the beauty and fashion industry, she spent most of her younger years in the hair salon. Her mother and grandfather sparked her initial love for the industry, two beauty entrepreneurs in their own right. Flash forward to present day, you’ll find Alvarez in her very own curated clean beauty store in New York City, Pretty Well Beauty. Alvarez spent years exploring clean beauty in person and online, only to be met with overwhelming, unwelcoming, and non-inclusive shopping experiences. It was then that Alvarez realized there was room for something better, something where everyone is welcome. Whether you shop online or in person, PWB is the antithesis of what Alvarez experienced before. The shop holds only 40 retailers, all selling exceptionally clean and natural products. What’s more, Alvarez ensures there are products to shop for every skin color and hair type—something many beauty retailers neglect. Not only are these products available, but many of them come from small, Black-owned businesses that provide ingredient and sustainability transparency, so you can shop with confidence. To put it simply, PWB is a curated shopping experience, done in the most thoughtful way possible. As you can imagine, Alvarez is constantly testing out new and natural beauty products in an effort to curate the very best for her shoppers. I got the pleasure of chatting with this clean beauty guru about everything she’s been using as of late and trust me, the following picks don’t disappoint.The tried-and-true: Deeply hydrating hair masks.
"It's a night-and-day difference if I go a week without using a hair mask. In other words, my hair cannot thrive without it. I have curly hair, which is naturally on the drier side. Other people might be able to get away with not hair masking, but I'm not one of them.
"I do constantly experiment but there's two that I always go back to which are the Hydrating Hair Mask from Innersense and the Mask from Holy Curls. Those are the two that keep my curls how I need them to look and feel."
Holy Curls
Curl Mask
$42
Some hair masks weigh down your strands, but not this one. The lightweight yet deeply replenishing formula calls upon natural ingredients like baobab and shea to transform your curls within 15 minutes (or longer, if you have the time).
The surprise hit: A scalp mask for hair growth.
"My surprise hit in this scalp mask for hair growth, it's called No.1 by mFlorens. When I was going through the hair transition I cut all of my hair off. I'm someone that has had long hair my whole life so I had short hair for the first time in my life and I hated it. I was desperate for my hair to grow back faster. I was using all of these different hair growth oils in different places and nothing was really working.
"One day this brand reached out to me that I had never heard of. Their founder had alopecia and she regained all of her hair growth and wanted me to try the scalp mask. Essentially, it encourages quicker speed of the hair growth cycle.
"I was apprehensive because I thought it sounded like a gimmick. But, this product made my hair grow eight inches in six months.
"I measured it every single month and took photos to document the process. I noticed growth within the first two to three weeks and I could actually feel it, too. It's also been one of the top sellers at Pretty Well Beauty since 2019."
mFlorens
No.1
$120
The nutrient-rich blend uses plant, flower, and nut extracts along with botanical oils to penetrate the scalp and encourage regrowth. Altogether, this one product provides anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, detoxifying, exfoliating, stimulating, and nutritive powers to your scalp in a single step.
The up-and-coming: Butterfly pea flower in skin care.
"I've been seeing a lot of butterfly pea in skin care products. I'm really excited about it because I love butterfly pea. A lot of people don't know that it has so many health benefits for our gut as well as the skin. It's not just a pretty tea that changes colors.
"In skin care, it's so beneficial because it promotes collagen and elastin production. I'm excited to see more blue butterfly popping up in natural skin care versus just drinking it as a tea.
"There's a serum by a brand called Luna Nectar that we carry at Pretty Well Beauty that has the butterfly pea flower in it. If you look at the serum it's a pretty purple color and that's the natural color, there's no artificial coloring in it.
"It's one of my favorite products and I use it every single day as the last step in my skin care routine. I put it on top of my SPF because it has a light mattifying effect."
Luna Nectar
Neptune Hyaluronic Acid Blur Serum
$32
This multi-purpose serum combines the hydrating power of hyaluronic acid with anti-inflammatory actives from green tea, butterfly pea flower, everlasting flowers, and more. Use it on barre skin, before makeup, or as the last step in your routine for a soft matte, yet hydrated complexion.
The pleasure: Regular facials.
"If I had to prioritize anything whether it be a massage, a wrap, or a facial I will always do a facial. That's just something that is so important for me not only because I want to maintain my skin health but I also just love them.
"I've been getting facials since I was 14. I've had all different kinds and I'm always really excited to try different facialists but I do have one person I've been going to for many many years. They're always customized. She always does extractions but she'll add something a little bit different each time.
"Sometimes it's microdermabrasion and sometimes it's LED light. And that's how I approach skin care at home too, I always change things up depending on what my skin needs."
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The travel staple: Shea butter everywhere.
"When I travel I like to have things that serve multiple purposes, like shea butter. You can use it on your face, you can put it in your hair, you can put it on your body, or you can put it on your lips.
"I sell raw shea butter products at Pretty Well Beauty. I love the one from Ilera Apothecary because it does have a little bit of vitamin E in it but other than that it's just raw shea butter. It's whipped, too so it you don't have to warm it up, it just melts on contact."
Ilera Apothecary
Shea Butter
$15
Everyone could use some shea butter on hand, whether it's for travel or everyday use. This one levels up the hydrating powers with additional vitamin E, yet stays true to the simplicity of shea butter that's been adored for ages. Pop it on your lips, run it through split ends, hydrate your cuticles, or use it as a face moisturizer—the options are truly endless.
The thing my mom taught me: You should only trim your hair on the full moon.
"One thing my mom told me that I still practice is to only trim your hair on a full moon. That's the harvest season and if you follow the moon and understand what the moon represents at its fullest, that's a time for shedding, getting rid of the old, and starting a new, preparing for a new moon.
"Cutting away old hair during a full moon ritual is one thing my mom taught me and that's how my hair has always been, even since I was growing up.
"I have all of the full moons in my calendar and I put alarms a couple of days before so I can prepare."
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