How Often Should You Use Hair Serums?

If you’re looking to boost your hair growth — perhaps because of recent hormonal shifts contributing to hair loss, recent cancer treatment, aging, or just to give your locks a little extra oomph — there is no shortage of products to turn to. You’ve got your hair masks, supplements, shampoos, conditioners, medications, and of course, those little elixirs: Hair serums. 

We love a good hair serum at Foundation and think they are one of the most accessible and convenient solutions to boosting hair growth. 

But, exactly how often should you be using hair serums to see real growth? Let’s dive into this topic and untangle the mysteries behind the frequency of hair serum application.

Understanding Hair Serums

Before we dive into the specifics, let’s establish what, exactly, a hair serum is and what it does. Hair serums are specialized treatments designed to address various hair issues such as dryness, frizz, and hair thinning.¹ Unlike conditioners, which generally focus on moisturizing and detangling, serums often contain concentrated active ingredients intended to penetrate the hair shaft or the scalp to boost growth and overall health.²

There are so many hair serums available that we can’t tell you how they all work — depending on their ingredients and their goal, they all work a bit differently. For the purposes of this article, we’ll narrow our focus just to hair serums for hair growth. Specifically, let’s take a look at how Foundation Skincare’s Hair Serum works. 

This formulation is a topical product that was made for men and women dealing with hair loss, thinning, or shedding that are looking for a Minoxidil-free hair growth remedy. It contains science-backed ingredients like Stimucap to help prevent hair loss, and Capixyl, a biomimetic peptide that simultaneously stimulates growth. Other ingredients include: 

• Rooibos: Can help remove dead skin cells that block hair follicles
• Olive: Helps smooth cuticle of hair shaft to strengthen hair
• Menthol: Can stimulate scalp circulation to open up follicles
• Apple stem cells: Can help minimize hair shedding
• Potent antioxidants: Helps support the hair roots and provide essential nourishment to hair cuticles to prevent breakage

Like most other hair serums, you’ll apply FS Hair Serum to dry hair, ideally after washing it but before applying any other products (like styling products.) You’ll apply the leave-in solution directly to the scalp, gently massaging in each drop as you go. This way, the serum will nourish your hair right at the follicles, promoting new growth and helping minimize further loss. 

Benefits of Using Hair Serums

Research shows that using hair serums, such as Foundation Skincare’s, regularly can improve hair growth rate, hair density, and reduce hair shedding.³ You can use them to target specific areas like a receding hairline, bald patches, or thinning edges, or you can use the serum all over your head; just be sure to massage it directly into your head, so that it will nourish the scalp and hair follicles. 

More specifically, Foundation Skincare’s Hair Serum can help with hair loss due to: 

• male pattern baldness
• hormonal imbalance
• nutrient deficiencies
• stress or trauma (a shock to the hair follicles)
• extreme haircare or hair treatments
• family history or hereditary issues
• medical conditions including thyroid problems, lupus, diabetes, anemia
• bacterial or fungal infections
• autoimmune disorders including alopecia
• postnatal

To truly address hair shedding at the root of its cause, you may also need to make certain lifestyle changes or add in a supplement. We recommend combining Foundation’s Hair Serum with the daily UnTangled Supplement for best results. UnTangled contains vital micronutrients to nourish your health and hair from the inside out, while the serum will nourish it from the outside in. By using these products together, patients have shown improvement in hair growth and a reduction in shedding in as little as 30 days — you can notice full results after 90 days of consistent usage. 

Even with a powerful supplement and serum duo, you’ll still want to make sure you’re leading a healthy lifestyle. For example, your diet should be full of nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables, healthy fats, fiber-rich complex carbs, lean proteins, and lots of water. You’ll want to avoid things like smoking, drinking, and sugary or processed foods, as all of these things can impact your overall health — which impacts your hair.⁴

Hair thinning can also be caused by excess stress, hormonal imbalances, genetics, and certain medications or treatments.⁵ Addressing these underlying issues with the support of a doctor may be necessary. 

Frequency of Use Based on Hair Type

The average serum is meant to be used at least once per day, and consistency is key. As Dr. Shab Caspara said in a recent article in Shape Magazine, “Any hair growth product is only effective when used daily or as frequently as possible. The hair growth system is tough to manipulate without a consistent protocol that involves a hair growth serum and other complementary tools [such as derm rollers to increase penetration].”²

Foundation’s Hair Serum, for example, is designed to be used twice a day, morning and evening. We recommend using three to five drops for the first week, and working up to 15 drops per application, to test sensitivity and to become accustomed to the serum’s ultra stimulating effect.

Of course, this may vary depending on your hair type. 

Oily Hair

• If you have oily hair, you’ll want to find a light and non-greasy serum. Depending on its purpose, you can use the serum daily or just a few times a week. If it is a hair growth serum, it is likely meant to be used at least once per day for full benefits. For example, Foundation Skincare’s Hair Serum is oil-based, but it won’t stain or leave an oily residue, so even people with oily hair can use it twice a day. If this makes your hair feel oily, limit it to once a day before bed.

Dry or Damaged Hair

• People with particularly dry or damaged hair can use a hair growth hair serum as directed. Oftentimes this means using it once or twice a day. If you’re using Foundation Skincare’s Hair Serum, you should use it twice a day, morning and night, with dry or damaged hair. For very damaged hair, you may need to continue using it twice a day for longer than someone with normal hair. 

Normal Hair

• Those with normal hair should use their hair serum as directed. With Foundation Skincare’s Hair Serum this would mean using it twice a day, morning and night, until you achieve your desired result. Then, you can cut back to using the serum just once a day for maintenance. 

Other Factors Influencing How Often 

Other factors that will influence how often you use your hair growth serum include: 

• The type of serum: Some hair serums are made to use daily, while others are designed to use weekly or even bi-weekly. Be sure to read the instructions for your particular hair serum. 
• Your scalp’s condition: You may have a dry or itchy scalp, or a more oily, acne-prone scalp. If your serum contains oils, you’ll want to use it less frequently if your scalp is acne-prone. 
• Hair growth goals: If you’re actively trying to grow your hair, you’ll want to use your serum as often as you (safely) can. (Again, read the label!) If you’re just maintaining your hair, you can use it less frequently. 
• Lifestyle and environmental factors: If your environment is filled with pollution and your lifestyle filled with stress, you may need to use your serum more often to counteract these hair growth inhibitors – but never use more than the instructions recommend. 
• Your individual response: Pay attention to how your scalp and hair is responding to the hair growth serum. You may need to cut back or add more, depending on how it’s working for you. 
• Your schedule: Of course all of this has to work within your daily schedule, so finding a rhythm that works for you is key. 

How to Apply Hair Serums Correctly

Again, instructions for applying your serum for hair growth will vary widely depending on the specific product. But in general, you’ll want to apply a hair serum to dry and clean hair, directly to the scalp, and then massage it in. 

As an example, here’s how you should apply Foundation Skincare’s Hair Serum: 

• Lightly tilt your head back and place three to five drops, an inch or so apart, on to the skin (not hair). Start with hair loss areas and eventually apply over your entire scalp. 
• Massage this leave-in solution gently in a circulation motion, one drop at a time. You should feel a tingling sensation.
• Use the serum twice a day (morning and night) for the best results. Over time, you can gradually increase the amount you use to 15 drops.

So, how often should you use hair serums? The answer isn’t one-size-fits-all. Be sure to read your product’s instructions, and then depending on your lifestyle and hair type, you can increase or decrease from there. 

Remember, consistency and patience are key. The serum won’t change things overnight, but over time, a hair growth serum can be a powerful little elixir for healthier, fuller hair.  

Learn more about how to care for your hair from the inside out in the FS Journal.

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References: 

1. https://us.gisou.com/blogs/blog/what-is-hair-serum 

2. https://www.shape.com/hair-growth-serum-7550078

3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7522433/

4. https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/nutrition-for-hair-regrowth 

5. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hair-loss/symptoms-causes/syc-20372926