BeMinimalist is a rapidly growing home-grown Indian brand which is fiercely competing with some of the biggies in the skincare/haircare industry. I have tried a couple of serums from this brand and I was pretty impressed with their effective solution targeting very specific skin concerns and that too in pocket-friendly pricing. I have never tried a lot of products for my hair. It is mostly just shampoo, conditioner and coconut hair oil. Recently, I have been noticing a lot of hair fall. This can be because I started working from home at the beginning of the pandemic and somehow this has increased my anxiety level significantly. I have tried some home-based remedies but they did not really improve the condition. While I cannot really control my stress level even if I try really hard, I tried to look for some anti-hair fall serums and stumbled upon the Minimalist 18% Hair Growth Actives Hair Serum For Reducing Hairfall & Growth.

There is a kind of similar product by the Ordinary as well. Basically, you will find a lot of similar serums targeting the same concerns by both the ordinary and Minimalist. Minimalist products are usually cheaper than the Ordinary. I cannot really compare the hair serum by the Ordinary with the Minimalist one at the moment. I am sure that one is also very good but I am pretty much impressed with the Minimalist Hair Growth Actives Hair serum.

Price and Quantity: The Minimalist Hair Growth Actives Hair Serum is priced at INR 799 for a 30ml bottle.

Product Description: The product description mentioned here is based on the information available on the packaging.

What it is: A powerful hair growth serum with a blend of 5 proven ingredients (capixyl, redensyl, procapil, anagain, and baicapil) in a high concentration of 18%. A potent combination of peptides and extracts for fuller, thicker hair.

Features:

• Hair growth formula: A super potent, multi-functional hair growth serum containing 5 proven ingredients. Capixyl 5% + redensyl 3% + procapil 3% + anagain 3% + baicapil 4%. Starts to show reduction in hair fall by 4th week and new hair growth by 8th week.
• Safe and powerful: A completely safe, yet powerful serum for both men and women, that can be used everyday without any side-effects that are generally associated with other treatments.
• Potent ingredients: Infused with saw palmetto extract and sanguisorba officinalis (SO) root extract to further boost the performance of the serum.
• High quality ingredients: All ingredients are sourced from leading suppliers – capixyl (Lucas Meyer, Canada), redensyl (Givaudan, Switzerland), procapil (Sederma, UK), AnaGain (Mibelle AG, Switzerland), baicapil (Provital, Spain)
• Clean and transparent formulations: This formula has a pH value of 5.0- to 6.0 and is fragrance free and silicone free.

Ingredients: Butylene Glycol, Aqua, Dextran, Acetyl Tetrapeptide-3, Trifolium Pratense (Clover) Flower Extract, Propanediol, Arginine, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Germ Extract, Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Germ Extract, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, Sodium Benzoate, Gluconolactone, Calcium Gluconate, Glycerin, PPG-26-Buteth-26, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Apigenin, Oleanolic Acid, Biotinoyl Tripeptide-1, Pisum Sativum (Pea) Sprout Extract, Isomalt, Sodium Metabisulfite, Larix Europaea Wood Extract, Glycine, Zinc Chloride, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Xylitylglucoside, Anhydroxylitol, Xylitol, Saccharide Isomerate, Sanguisorba Officinalis Root Extract, Serenoa Serrulata (Saw Palmetto) Fruit Extract, Capryloyl Glycine, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Lactic Acid

My take on the Minimalist 18% Hair Growth Actives Serum:

• I have never used a hair serum before and did not have much idea how this is going to be. So, when I first took out a few drops on my palm it looked and felt a lot like a yellowish hair oil. I put the serum on my scalp directly and just gently rubbed it. I tested for 2-3 days with a small amount just to see if it gives me any allergic reaction. Thank god, it did not cause me any irritation.
• The texture of this serum is definitely oily but it did not make my scalp excessively oily. I applied it 3-4 times a week at night before going to bed and washed it off with a mild shampoo the next day. Now, this can be a challenge to wash your hair 3-4 times with shampoo if you are used to doing hair-wash only once or twice a week. I cannot get away without a hair wash because on the second day of application, it definitely made my scalp very oily and it gave me difficulty sleeping with that oily scalp. I know it is probably a weird problem but I simply cannot sleep with an oily scalp.
• Now coming to the result part, I have been using it almost for one and a half months. I did not notice any significant hair growth but my hair fall problem is significantly reduced. Earlier, I was seeing a lot of hair on my pillow cover, in my entire bedroom and in the bathroom but going by that I can for sure say that this serum worked for me to reduce my hair fall quite a lot.
• I read a couple of reviews where people mentioned that they had acne after using this product on their forehead. I did not experience it. I kept the application part limited to a maximum of 4 days a week and also washed it off with shampoo the next day. Another problem people mentioned is that after discontinuing they have noticed that their hair fall has increased. I am still using this serum and plan to use it for another month or so. I will update this post after I discontinue using this product.
• From the ingredients list, I could see that there are a lot of actives in this formula. So, it is better to use a very small amount and check if it suits you or not and then decide how much amount you want to use on a weekly basis. If you have any doubts or face any issues, immediately consult with your dermat.

Hope you found this review useful. Have a nice day 🙂

Update

As promised here is the update after I stopped using the hair serum. My hair fall has definitely increased but not at an alarming level like it was happening before I started using this product. I also spotted a lot of baby hair growth recently. So, the hair growth happened but not immediately after I started using this product. I would say, after 3 months or so I could actually see some new hair and feel some volume when I touch the back part of my head.