Months into my quarantine last summer, I started noticing my hair was feeling extremely dry, deflated, and damaged (this was around July 2020) and wanted to try something to help revive my lifeless locks.   I had heard about WellBel’s Glamlab (currently their only product) from Danielle Bernstein’s IG (aka @weworewhat) and she seemed to really rave about it.  Although her hair looked shiny and healthy, I’m not Danielle’s biggest stan (I follow her really to stay in the know about the influencer world), so I didn’t want to take just her word for it, especially after she confirmed she’s signed on to help the company as a brand consultant. So I went and read countless reviews on the WellBel site to see if it was really worth the hype.  To my surprise they all seemed extremely positive and glowing, with tales of shinier, thicker, stronger, faster growing hair and nails in just a matter of weeks. 

Now these definitely could be fake reviews… but I figured why not give it a try.  I had gone from heat styling almost everyday to not blow drying or curling my hair for 4+ months and wasn’t seeing any positive results (of course in my hair’s defense, air drying damaged hair was not going to make it miraculously look shiny again).  

Also as a side note, I had been using Briogeo products in the shower, including their deep conditioning mask every week and honestly my hair felt worse off for it. I had to discontinue use of all their products as I think they were actually drying out my hair further and amplifying my problem... But back to WellBel…

WellBel’s Glamlab is said to “[provide] key nutrients for skin, hair and nails,” “[enhance] collagen formation,” “[thicken] and [strengthen] hair and nails,” and “[promote] hormone balance.”  They also note on their site that collagen is important in aging skin and hair and that WellBel supports collagen production as it includes “silica (from horsetail grass extract)” which has “collagen enhancing properties.”  Now this is far from a scientific explanation so it’s still unclear to me how the silica actually helps…  But essentially WellBel’s gist is that it’s “clinically validated & [contains] well-sourced ingredients to promote collagen, keratin & elastin formation.” Big claims to live up to.

Well today, 7 months into using WellBel everyday, I can say that I’m not sure it’s worth the hype.  Especially not when you consider I’m paying $53 a month for my subscription plus tax (one time purchase price is $59).   Here’s my reasoning:

I personally don’t think it’s making my hair grow any faster, I’m still averaging about half an inch a month, which is my normal (but that number is different for everyone).  

I thought for a bit it was making my hair softer and smoother but I also switched up my shampoo and conditioner around the time I started WellBel and I think I can attribute my softer mane more to the products than the pills -- I have noticed if I used something else in the shower besides my beloved Davines or Christophe Robin products, my hair is definitely not as soft or shiny.  My ends can sometimes even feel straw-like (yes I know, it’s likely time for a trim).

In regards to shine, my hair has endured years of bleach, hot tools, and sun exposure, so no pill was going to magically make it shiny again - toners and deep conditioning masks are really the only tricks up my sleeve for that.  

My nails were already strong pre-pills so I also can’t attribute nail growth or strength to WellBel either. 

And I honestly have been dealing with some facial rashes / acne since starting but am unsure if it’s related to the WellBel or its just irritation from wearing masks these days.  

The ONE upside I have seen is that I do think it is curbing my natural shedding.  It’s normal for people to shed up to 100 strands of hair everyday and I personally used to be overly aware of my daily shed (I have longer blonde hair so all those long strands used to add up in my brush and I could always see every single light strand clinging to my darker colored clothes).  After about 5 months of use, I did start to notice less shed everywhere and even my hairdresser mentioned she thought my hair felt a bit thicker.  I don't think my mind personally feels much thicker but I have appreciated the minimized shed.  

And while I’m happy it has helped me keep individual stands longer, I’m not sure WellBel is the answer to my concerns (which really is to nourish and hydrate my hair and keep it as happy as possible while I grow it out).  I think with all the positive reviews it has, it can definitely work wonders for others - so this is not a “don’t waste your money review” but instead a message to maybe go in expecting a few positive changes vs Rapunzel hair overnight. 

For now, I’m going to give WellBel a bit of rest and try something new - I hear liquid collagen is all the rage these days.  I’m really truly skeptical that it really is liquid gold but I’m extremely interested to see how it works.  I’ll report back once I have a few months under my belt.  If it doesn’t work, who knows, I might be back to give WellBel another test run!