Science and Data-Backed List of Ingredients for Haircare

Our Journey into Haircare Science 

“We built a data driven master-list of the best ingredients for hair, separated from marketing jargon.”

Haircare science started as a hobby shared between me and my brother. It was an unlikely obsession—I worked in bio-tech and my brother worked in fintech. But, over time, we used our individual skills & expertise to scientifically explore the best natural ingredients for hair and develop an advanced haircare science.

As 30-something year old men, our social media feeds were littered with ads about keeping our hair. We’d lather on strange-sounding ingredients in drugstore bottles and cross our fingers that there would be fewer hairs in the shower drain. Then we’d look in the mirror and ignore the fact that our hair always looked like we had just rolled out of bed. It was frizzy. It was dull. It was unhealthy. 

But then, for the first time in our lives, we really noticed someone with great hair—an elderly family friend from our childhood travels throughout Morocco. Her hair was luscious. It was shiny. It was strong. We asked what she did with her hair, and she gave us recipes that had been passed down among generations of her family originating in the Moroccan Atlas Mountains (you can see more of this story here). This is where our obsession with products for hair and haircare science began.

We began using free time in our bio-tech lab to mimic our friend’s ancient recipes. And after work, we’d race to Sephora to test the “best” hair products. We tested everything, and we even found a few things that worked. But then we’d look at the backs of the bottles, and they were written in a language that could only be understood with a PhD. So we decided to take a science-based approach to figuring out what ingredients worked and why.

First, we systematically ranked every product we liked and the effects each ingredient had on our hair, and on the hair of online reviewers. Then we manually input every ingredient in each product, and we ran data regressions to identify the ingredients for hair that were usually found in the best products, and the hair effects typically associated with products that included each ingredient. Our analysis of the products for hair factored in effects like increased volume; better shine; less breakage; improved scalp hydration, hair hydration and moisture; etc. From there, we built a data-driven master list of the best ingredients for hair, separated from marketing jargon. We removed any ingredient from the list that wasn’t considered “clean” by Paula’s Choice, the Environmental Working Group, or Sephora.

Then we combined our list with our tried-and-true Moroccan base recipes—argan, prickly pear, flaxseed, black cumin, rose oil, pomegranate oil, and rhassoul clay. We formulated samples in our lab and added our own proprietary, patented hair ingredients to create the most effective products on the market. In fact, we make sure that every ingredient in Mounia is doing work and every product we sell has a special patented technology focused on amplifying its particular benefits.

Let’s do a deep-dive into our formulations to see which ingredients for good hair we use and why. Below is our list of the best ingredients for hair used in each of our haircare products.

And we still try to improve our formulas each day, both by reading the newest research in hair science and by listening to customer feedback. We aren’t a big corporation trying to add a ton of filler ingredients to squeeze every drop of profit from YOUR hair. We’re just like you—we want to use only the best products for hair and we’re obsessed with treating our hair the way it deserves to be treated.

Sincerely,

Xander & Andrew